It was not an image that Indians fans wanted to see. Detroit’s Victor Martinez, a friend turned foe, ran up the first-base line, thrust his right arm skyward and silenced an already subdued Cleveland crowd on Thursday with a three-run home run in extra innings.
There were scattered cheers from the Tigers faithful who made the trek to Progressive Field, adding some insult to the misery of the Tribe’s 11-4, 11-inning blowout loss in the finale of a critical four-game divisional series. Opening September with three losses to Detroit was not what the Indians had in mind when they welcomed their rivals across the state line.
“I’m not going to lie to you and say it isn’t tough,” Indians starter Trevor Bauer said. “We had a chance to win the game. To have it end, especially like that, a loss is always tough, but a loss like that stings a little bit. But there’s a lot of season left, a lot of games to be played.”
Twenty-four games, to be exact.
That is how many contests Cleveland has to try to cut into its six-game deficit behind the American League Central-leading Royals and the five-game gap that exists behind the Tigers, who currently lead the chase for the AL’s second Wild Card spot. It goes without saying that this series against Detroit wound up being one big missed opportunity.
Staff leader Corey Kluber took it on the chin on Monday. Closer Cody Allen blew a rare save on Tuesday. After Danny Salazar temporarily righted the ship with his first career shutout on Wednesday, Cleveland turned in what ultimately wound up being a clunker in the finale. The Tribe showed its signature fight, but a seven-run outburst in the 11th inning erased much of the effort.
It was the kind of series that can crush a team living on the fringe of contention.
“They’ll be OK,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “After the tough loss [on Tuesday], they came back. There was energy. There’s nothing else to do.”
The loss on this night fell on the shoulders of reliever Josh Tomlin, who was making his first appearance for the Indians after some time away for the birth of his daughter. In a span of six batters in the 11th inning, the right-hander issued two walks, yielded three hits and relinquished five runs. That outpouring was punctuated by the rocket shot down the right-field line by Martinez, a former Indian.
When it was all said and done, Detroit pounded out seven runs in the decisive frame, turning a tightly contested battle into a laugher. That canceled out the nine shutout innings spun between Bauer (5 2/3 innings) and the five relievers who preceded Tomlin. It also more than overcame Cleveland’s effort against starter Max Scherzer and the Tigers’ bullpen.
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