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 The Cleveland second baseman homered twice, including a three-run
blast, to highlight a seven-run, seventh-inning outburst, as the
Indians defeated the Detroit Tigers 9-3 on Friday night at Comerica
Park.
Kipnis had not cleared the fences since April 21, when he hit one
against Kansas City.
"I haven't even done it in BP in about two months," said Kipnis, who
now has five home runs. "It was nice. The guys were like, 'You were
sprinting around' and I said, 'I forgot what it feels like. I don't
remember.' It came at a big time in the game and it's always nice to
be able to contribute to a win."
Designated hitter Nick Swisher had a two-run single and shortstop
Asdrubal Cabrera followed Kipnis' first homer with one of his own
during the Indians' highest-scoring inning of the season. Their last
seven-run inning was Sept. 12, 2013, against the Chicago White Sox.
"They don't come too often," Indians manager Terry Francona said.
"When it's on your side, they're welcome. We hadn't done really
anything up to that point."
Kipnis smacked his second homer and Swisher added an RBI double in
the ninth. Center fielder Michael Brantley supplied four hits and
starter Trevor Bauer (4-4) picked up the win while giving up three
runs in six innings for Cleveland (48-47).
Right fielder Torii Hunter had an RBI double for Detroit (53-39).
Tigers All-Star designated hitter Victor Martinez contributed two
hits in his return after missing eight consecutive games with side
soreness.
Detroit starter Anibal Sanchez (6-4) sailed through the first six
innings and held a 3-0 lead. But he quickly found trouble in the
seventh as Cleveland loaded the bases on two singles and a walk.
Swisher's two-run single knocked out Sanchez, and pinch hitter Ryan
Raburn's double off reliever Ian Krol tied the game at 3.
"He just left some pitches up," Tigers catcher Alex Avila said of
Sanchez. "It's very rare that you're going to be able to breeze
through. A team is eventually going to make a run and you've got to
be able to manage that. This one just kind of imploded."
Al Alburquerque struck out the next two batters but Kipnis knocked a
1-2 pitch into the right-field stands to put the Indians on top.
"He's such a good player that even when he's not swinging great, he
has a presence at the plate," Francona said of Kipnis. "He's going
to battle. He will get real hot. Maybe today is the day when we see
not just hits but a lot of production with it."
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Kipnis hit what Avila described as an errant slider.
"I wouldn't say it was a terrible pitch but you're probably looking
for the strikeout right there," he said. "It caught a little more of
the plate rather than going down and in. You're talking about
centimeters. That's all it takes."
The Indians' Cabrera hit his ninth homer on the next pitch to make
it 7-3.
The Tigers had taken a 1-0 lead in the first inning on second
baseman Ian Kinsler's bases-loaded sacrifice fly.
Hunter lifted the Tigers to a 3-0 advantage in the fourth. Following
singles by Victor Martinez and left fielder J.D. Martinez, Hunter
drilled an opposite-field double to knock in Victor Martinez, but
J.D. Martinez was thrown out at the plate.
Hunter scored with third baseman Nick Castellanos batting when he
stole third and scampered home on catcher Yan Gomes' throwing error.
Gomes has 12 errors, a major league high for catchers.
NOTES: The teams play a day-night doubleheader on Saturday because
of an April 15 postponement. RHP Drew VerHagen will make his major
league debut in the opener for Detroit after having his contract
purchased from Triple-A Toledo. VerHagen was 6-7 with a 3.67 ERA for
the Mud Hens. ... RHP C.C. Lee was recalled from Triple-A Columbus
by the Indians, temporarily giving them 10 relievers on the roster.
Lee appeared in 13 games with Cleveland in April and May and went
0-0 with a 4.76 ERA. ... Cleveland RHP Justin Masterson will begin a
rehab assignment at Columbus on Sunday night with a start against
Indianapolis. Masterson went on the 15-day disabled list July 8 with
right knee inflammation. ... Cleveland began an 11-game, 10-day road
trip, all against American League Central teams. ... The Tigers
agreed to a 20-year extension of its spring training agreement with
the city of Lakeland, Fla. The contract now runs through 2036.
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