Tigers sink Tribe again

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

Miguel Cabrera wasn’t exactly in his comfort zone as he batted with the bases loaded in a tie game and the wind swirling on a chilly, damp day.

The Detroit slugger delivered a two-run single in the seventh inning, though, leading the Tigers to a 6-4 win over the Cleveland Indians on Saturday.

“It was really tough and I had to try and stay focused,” Cabrera said after his line drive off Kerry Wood (0-1) broke a 3-3 tie and helped Detroit to its 10th consecutive win over the Indians. The Tigers are 18-4 in the series the past two years, outscoring Cleveland 116-79.

“We’ve won a few against them, but they have some thump in their lineup and that could turn around in a hurry,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “It was a good win on a miserable day.”

Justin Verlander (3-2) gave up three runs over six innings, striking out nine. A year ago, the right-hander was 4-0 with a 0.90 ERA and three games of 11 strikeouts against Cleveland.

Joel Zumaya pitched two innings and Jose Valverde worked the ninth for his eighth save.

“We’ve been talking about those guys all year,” Verlander said. “When you have the offense we have and a bullpen that shuts down the other team, you have the opportunity to get some wins.”

Austin Kearns drove in three runs for Cleveland, which has lost five straight and nine of 11. The Tigers, meanwhile, avoided their first four-game losing streak since losing five straight from Sept. 8-12.

Wood got two quick outs in his first outing of the season. The right-hander, signed to a two-year, $20.5 million contract in December 2008, had been out since mid-March with a strained muscle in his upper back that put him on the disabled list for the 13th time in his career.