Tribe zaps Tigers in 11

CLEVELAND (AP) — Casey Blake homered with one out in the 11th inning to give the Cleveland Indians a 6-5 come-from-behind win Monday night over the Detroit Tigers, who slid 51⁄2 games back in an AL Central race that could soon be over.

Blake turned on a 1-2 pitch from Zach Miner (3-4) and drove it into the left-field bleachers for his second game-ending homer in four days, a shot that lowered the Indians’ magic number to seven and inched them closer to their first postseason appearance since 2001.

The Indians trailed 5-2 in the eighth before rallying to take the opener of a three-game series that could decide the division.

As Blake’s homer cleared the wall and he began rounding the bases, the Indians, who spent most of the game on the top step of the dugout, poured onto the field as Cleveland fans danced in the aisles.

Pounded

Blake was greeted at the plate by his teammates, who pounded him in celebration and then hopped in unison as fireworks exploded above Jacobs Field.

Rafael Betancourt (5-1) struck out four in two scoreless innings for the win.

Jhonny Peralta homered twice for the Indians, who were in danger of seeing their lead slip further before rallying off Joel Zumaya.

Placido Polanco homered and Ramon Santiago drove in two runs for the Tigers, who had their five-game winning streak snapped and may have suffered a loss that could haunt them into the offseason. Detroit dropped 31⁄2 games behind the New York Yankees, who lead the wild-card race.

Peralta’s second homer, a two-run shot in the eighth off Zumaya, tied it 5-5.

The Indians, who kicked around the ball in the fourth, were held to two runs and five hits in the first seven innings by starter Kenny Rogers, Detroit’s Mr. October last season, who gave the Tigers a September start they had to have.

But Zumaya, the rocket-throwing right-hander who was beaten by the Indians in extras on Aug. 23 at Comerica Park, couldn’t protect a 5-2 lead.

Grady Sizemore walked leading off and Asdrubal Cabrera, who seems to be in the middle of every Indians rally, singled.

Zumaya retired Travis Hafner on a grounder that advanced both runners before Victor Martinez’s RBI groundout brought Cleveland within 5-3.

Peralta, who homered to straightaway center field leading off the fourth, drove a 1-0 pitch the opposite way and all Tigers right fielder Magglio Ordonez could do was stand and watch it sail into Detroit’s bullpen.

Rogers, who had two stints on the disabled list, pitched a season-high seven innings. The crafty 42-year-old also picked Jason Michaels off first base in the sixth inning, giving him 91 career pickoffs to tie Mark Langston for the most in the majors since the statistic started being kept in 1974.

Leyland praise

Alternating between a cigar and cigarette as he reclined at his office desk before the game, Tigers manager Jim Leyland looked as if he was getting ready for a spring training game in March, not a September showdown with playoff implications.

He praised the Indians, his own team’s perseverance and then summed up the Tigers’ chances of catching Cleveland.

“We got a shot,” he said.

It’s a longer one now.

The Indians were loose, too, before their biggest game this season. A few of them battled in a baseball video game at the far end of the clubhouse while outfielder Kenny Lofton napped on a leather couch.

However, the division leaders appeared to tense up in the fourth when two errors led to Detroit scoring three times for a 5-1 lead.