Detroit Tigers beaten by Cleveland Indians 6-7 in series finale – MLB Update
Detroit Tigers lost to the Cleveland Indians 6-7 in a thrilling encounter at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio on Sunday, September 16 in the finale of their three match series.
Starting pitcher Rick Porcello had a forgettable time on the mound as he gave up eight hits and four runs in just over four innings. Relief pitcher Drew Smyly was also unable to control the flow of runs. The rookie gave up two hits and a run in two plus
innings.
However, it was the closer Jose Valverde who took the loss after giving up three hits and two runs in just 0.1 inning, allowing the Indians to come back from behind to snatch a thrilling win.
Brennan Boesch and Delmon Young made the most of scoring opportunities to give Tigers a dream start. Indians fought back superbly, scoring runs at regular intervals to claim a vital 5-3 lead in the sixth.
Miguel Cabrera’s three run home-run to left kept Tigers in the game but the Indians were not prepared to give up on Sunday. Carlos Santana and Lonnie Chisenhall drove in crucial runs to take their side home.
"It was a good comeback," Leyland said. "There wasn't anything cheap about it. It was a heck of a ballgame. Give them credit. That's the way it goes. Turn the page and move on."
"You've got to get the ball to the outfield there," Chisenhall said.
"We were asking a lot of Valverde," Leyland said. "He had better velocity than he had the last couple of nights. We talked to him before the game and he said he was good to go."
Manager Jim Leyland will be extremely disgusted with the fact the Tigers blew away an excellent opportunity to secure a rare series sweep at Progressive Field. Losing in a crucial American League Central Division contest, the Tigers also missed out on the
chance to get back to the top of AL Central standings table.
Leyland will be expecting his men to regroup and bring some consistency in their results in these closing stages of the season to improve their chances of making it to the playoffs.
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