DETROIT: The Indians struck gold using a new lineup, used the long ball and a received strong outing from starting pitcher Josh Tomlin to top the Detroit Tigers 2-1 at Comerica Park on Friday night.
For the Indians, it’s a Central Division win against a team they haven’t been able to consistently beat in several seasons. It also gets them back to a .500 record (7-7) as a key hitter, Michael Brantley, inches closer to returning from the 15-day disabled list.
All of the Indians’ runs came via the long ball, and it included some instant gratification on a new lineup confirmation. Indians manager Terry Francona inserted Carlos Santana in the leadoff spot for the first time, keeping Rajai Davis and Jose Ramirez on the bench. Santana has had plenty of previous success against Tigers starter Justin Verlander (1-2).
And he responded by belting a solo home run to lead off the game and instantly putting the Indians ahead 1-0. Santana is the first Indians batter to hit a home run in his first career plate appearance as leadoff hitter since Joe Carter in 1984.
After the Tigers tied the score in the sixth, the Indians struck again. Leading off the seventh inning, Marlon Byrd took Verlander to the opposite field for a solo home run to put the Indians back in front.
From that point, it was up to the Indians’ bullpen. Zach McAllister relieved Tomlin in the seventh inning and, with the tying run on third, struck out Jarrod Saltalamacchia to end the inning. Bryan Shaw worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning and Cody Allen, a day after throwing 30 pitches in a loss to the Seattle Mariners, earned his fifth save of the season in the ninth by going through the heart of the Tigers lineup.
After Santana’s home run in the first, Tomlin (2-0) kept a dangerous Tigers lineup at bay and held a 1-0 lead for five innings. It wasn’t until the sixth that the Tigers got to him, and it all happened with two outs.
Ian Kinsler started it with a single. Justin Upton, the Tigers’ slugging free-agent addition in the offseason, drove a double to center field that scored Kinsler all the way from the first and tied it 1-1. With first base open and two outs, Tomlin went after Miguel Cabrera but was careful working around the edges and ended up walking him anyway. Tomlin was then able to escape the inning still tied by getting Victor Martinez to ground out to Francisco Lindor at shortstop.
Prior to that, a double by Martinez in the second inning was the Tigers’ only hit off of Tomlin in the first five innings. Tomlin allowed one run on four hits and one walk to go with four strikeouts in 6⅔ innings.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ