Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Indians: Game 2 – MLB Post Game Analysis
The Detroit Tigers demonstrated their preparation for the postseason when they hammered the Cleveland Indians 10-1 on Tuesday, September 6 at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio to gain a valuable lead in the American League Central division and cement
their chances of making it through.
The Indians had given a tough time to the Tigers throughout the season but a revival of form for the latter has them surge to a winning percentage of .563 for the season while the former is now struggling to maintain the .500 barrier, currently at .504.
The Tigers have been performing decently on the road right through the onset of the regular season and this was yet another display of their heroics playing away from home. A strong batting performance backed by Rick Porcello’s spotless pitching saw the
Tigers bag their 80th win of the season and 38th win on the road. A five-run first inning followed by a three-run second inning was enough to torment the Indians and Porcello’s pitching on top of it added insult on injury for the home
side.
Victor Martinez starred for the Tigers yet again as he drove in three runs and scored another two in his four at-bats to improve his batting average to .325 for the season. The designated hitter gave his team the required impetus to amass ten runs and take
the pressure to the Indians, who had been vying all season for the AL Central top notch.
Detroit’s manager Jim Leyland praised his team’s performance saying that winning this late in the season will surely add confidence to the bench which is all-set to feature in the playoffs. He added that the Indians were their sole competition in their journey
to the postseason and taking them head-on and eliminating their advantage will definitely help the confidence of the team.
Indians entered the three-game series with an aim to win all three games so that their chances for qualification remain. However, they have lost the first-two games and will now be quite sure that their campaign is largely over. They led the Central by seven
games on May 23 but have since faced a dip in form and are now third in the division.
Indians’ manager Manny Acta said that this was a must-win series for the Indians and this loss has now put his team in a bad spot. He further added that anything is possible in this game and a win in virtually every game here on and a spell of losses for
Detroit might turn the tables for the Indians.
Porcello played a major role in this destruction of Cleveland. The starter gave away just one run and three hits in 6.1 innings to bag his 13th win of the season with just eight losses to his credit thus far. He made a solid statement for his
inclusion in the rotation for the postseason as the Tigers now look to trim their rotation for the Divisional Series.
"I tried to stay aggressive and pitch like it was a scoreless game," Porcello said. "No lead is safe." The pitcher said that he is now taking one game at a time and that consistency is his prime goal now. If he continues with this approach, he surely will
earn a permanent spot in the rotation.
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