GDT43: 5/21/13 - DET (23-19) AT CLE (26-17) - 7:05 p.m. ET

Tigers: RHP Max Scherzer (5-0, 3.98 ERA)

Scherzer is 2-0 with a 3.98 ERA in three starts in May. He's averaging 11.26 strikeouts per nine innings, fourth best in the AL. His 9.11 baserunners per nine innings is the seventh fewest. He is 6-4 with a 5.17 ERA in 12 career starts vs. the Tribe.



Indians: RHP Corey Kluber (3-2, 5.40 ERA)

Kluber was solid in his last start, a win in Philadelphia. The right-hander allowed three runs in six innings, striking out five without a walk. In Kluber's prior start, Detroit roughed him up for eight runs in 4 2/3 innings.





Tigers, Indians get together for division showdown
Scherzer, Kluber open two-game set at Progressive Field

By Doug Miller / MLB.com | 5/20/2013 8:57 PM ET

Max Scherzer is learning what it means to be a veteran horse of a top-notch Major League pitching staff. Corey Kluber would love to someday wear that mantle.

On Tuesday night, a key American League Central series kicks off between Scherzer's Tigers, led by Miguel Cabrera, who hit three homers in Sunday night's loss in Texas and leads the Majors with 47 RBIs, and Kluber's Indians at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

Both pitchers will try to put up another rung in the ladder to what they hope will end up being a division title. The Indians come in having won five straight and 18 of 22 to take a 2 1/2-game lead over the Tigers, who have dropped eight of their past 12. That includes losing two out of three to the Indians earlier this month in Detroit.

For Scherzer, his last outing wasn't spectacular, but the right-hander pitched through it. The Tigers ended up losing that game to the Houston Astros, but Scherzer did the best he could on a day he didn't quite have his best stuff, going seven innings while giving up five runs and striking out seven in a no-decision that put a delay in what was a four-game winning streak.

"From my stuff standpoint, I'm actually getting better throughout this year," Scherzer said. "I like where my curveball is at. It's getting better and better and it's going to allow me to be a good pitcher."

His manager, Jim Leyland, seems to agree.

"He's been around the plate," Leyland said. "He had a freak game the other day, he was a couple inches from being absolutely perfect. He left a couple pitches over the plate. He's pitched extremely well."

Meanwhile, Kluber had a solid outing in his last start, beating the Phillies in an Interleague matchup in Philadelphia with six innings of three-run ball that included five strikeouts.

"He was more aggressive," Tribe manager Terry Francona said. "His angle on his fastball was more downhill, which made his cutter, slider more crisp. I felt he attacked a lot better."

When Francona said "better," he was comparing Kluber's outing to his previous start, in which he took a loss against this Tigers club in Detroit after struggling with eight earned runs on 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings. So Kluber has a challenge ahead of him facing the same team again, but his improvement in Philadelphia could give him some confidence moving forward.

"Obviously, I threw more strikes," Kluber said after the victory. "I was more aggressive in the strike zone and I didn't fall behind too many guys. I didn't carry the last game into this one at all. It makes your job a lot easier when you get ahead of hitters."

Tigers: Miggy mania
Cabrera put on a show on Sunday night in Texas, even for the reigning AL Triple Crown winner. He hit three home runs and went 4-for-4 with five RBIs and now leads the Major Leagues with 67 hits this season. He also exited Sunday's game with a .387 batting average. It was his second career three-homer game.

• The Tigers finished Sunday's game with eight extra-base hits and the club has recorded at least one extra-base hit in 36 consecutive games. The 36-game streak is the second-longest such streak this season, trailing the Pittsburgh Pirates' current 39-game streak.

• Torii Hunter is two home runs shy of 300 in his Major League career. Hunter would become the 17th active player with 300 or more home runs.

Indians: Series superstars
Cleveland has gone 8-3-4 in 15 series played thus far this season (5-2-1 at home; 3-1-3 on the road). The Indians have played 10 consecutive series without a series loss (6-0-4). Yet Francona wants his club focusing on that day's game only, not looking at series or even "segments of a series."

"And if you play the way you're supposed to, I think sometimes those things start adding up, in a positive way," Francona said. "What happened two weeks ago, let alone yesterday ... I want these guys to always come in feeling like we're going to win regardless of what happened yesterday."

• Second baseman Jason Kipnis has hit safely in 13 of his last 16 games dating back to May 3, batting .333 (22-for-66) with 13 extra-base hits (five doubles, two triples and six home runs) and 20 RBIs in that span.

Worth noting
• Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta went 2-for-5 with two doubles on Sunday night and has hit safely in 28 of his last 33 games. He is batting .344 (43-for-125) with 20 runs scored, nine doubles, four home runs and 17 RBIs during the 33 games.

• Indians veteran Jason Giambi is third among active players in home runs (431) and RBIs (1,416) behind Albert Pujols of the Angels and Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees.

Doug Miller is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @DougMillerMLB. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.





INJURY UPDATE:


• RHP Octavio Dotel (Right elbow inflammation, 15-day DL retroactive to April 20, 2013).

• OF Austin Jackson (pulled right hamstring, 15-day DL retroactive to May 12, 2013).






To track MLB play-by-play: http://m.mlb.com/scores/


On the Internet

MLB.TV
Gameday Audio
• SCOREBOARD
• Official Press Pass game notes


On television

•
• Direct TV Extra Innings Schedule


On radio

• AND/OR
• XM Channel Schedule








• WED, May 22:
TIGERS: (RHP Justin Verlander (4-4, 3.17 ERA)) AT
INDIANS: (RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (3-2, 5.31 ERA))
7:05 p.m. ET (FS-D / FM 97.1)


• THU, May 23:
TIGERS: (RHP Rick Porcello (2-2, 5.92 ERA)) VS
TWINS: (LHP Scott Diamond (3-4, 4.99 ERA))
7:08 p.m. ET (FS-D / FM 97.1)


• FRI, May 24:
TIGERS: (RHP Anibal Sanchez (4-4, 2.77 ERA)) VS
TWINS: (?HP TBA (0-0, -.-- ERA))
7:08 p.m. ET (FS-D / FM 97.1)


• SAT, May 25:
TIGERS: (RHP Doug Fister (5-1, 3.62 ERA)) VS
TWINS: (RHP Kevin Correia (4-4, 3.90 ERA))
4:08 p.m. ET (FS-D, MLBN / FM 97.1)


• SUN, May 26:
TIGERS: (RHP Max Scherzer (TBA ERA)) VS
TWINS: (?HP TBA (TBA ERA))
1:08 p.m. ET (FS-D / FM 97.1)

STARTING LINEUPS:

TIGERS

Andy Dirks, CF (2-for-11, 3 K’s off Kluber)
Torii Hunter, RF (1-for-3, K off Kluber)
Miguel Cabrera, 3B (4-for-9, HR, walk, 3 K’s off Kluber)
Prince Fielder, 1B (2-for-7, HR off Kluber)
Victor Martinez, DH (0-for-3, walk off Kluber)
Jhonny Peralta, SS (4-for-7, walk, K off Kluber)
Matt Tuiasosopo, LF
Alex Avila, C (2-for-7, walk, 2 K’s off Kluber)
Omar Infante, 2B (2-for-6 off Kluber)

P: Max Scherzer


INDIANS

Michael Bourn, CF (1-for-11, walk, 4 K’s vs. Scherzer)
Jason Kipnis, 2B (3-for-14, 2 walks, 4 K’s vs. Scherzer)
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS (7-for-29, HR, 2 walks, 11 K’s vs. Scherzer)
Michael Brantley, LF (7-for-25, HR, walk, K vs. Scherzer)
Carlos Santana, C (3-for-23, 4 walks, 3 K’s vs. Scherzer)
Mark Reynolds, 1B (0-for-8, walk, 5 K’s vs. Scherzer)
Jason Giambi, DH (0-for-3, 2 K’s vs. Scherzer)
Mike Aviles, 3B (4-for-10, K vs. Scherzer)
Drew Stubbs, RF (0-for-3, K vs. Scherzer)

P: Corey Kluber

DET - Top 1st
B:1 S:3 O:1
Andy Dirks called out on strikes.

B:0 S:1 O:2
Torii Hunter flies out to center fielder Michael Bourn.

B:3 S:2 O:3
Miguel Cabrera grounds out, third baseman Mike Aviles to first baseman Mark Reynolds.


CLE - Bot 1st
B:1 S:2 O:0
Michael Bourn singles on a line drive to center fielder Andy Dirks, deflected by pitcher Max Scherzer.

B:1 S:1 O:1
Jason Kipnis lines out to center fielder Andy Dirks.

B:3 S:1 O:1
Asdrubal Cabrera singles on a soft fly ball to center fielder Andy Dirks. Michael Bourn to 3rd.

B:1 S:0 O:2
Michael Brantley out on a sacrifice fly to right fielder Torii Hunter. Michael Bourn scores.
CLE 1 - 0

B:4 S:1 O:2
Carlos Santana walks. Asdrubal Cabrera to 2nd.

Coaching visit to mound.

B:0 S:2 O:3
Mark Reynolds grounds into a force out, shortstop Jhonny Peralta to second baseman Omar Infante. Carlos Santana out at 2nd.

CLE 1 - 0 AFTER 1 INNING

DET - Top 2nd
B:2 S:3 O:1
Prince Fielder strikes out swinging.

B:0 S:0 O:1
Victor Martinez singles on a sharp ground ball to center fielder Michael Bourn.

B:1 S:2 O:2
Jhonny Peralta flies out to center fielder Michael Bourn.

B:0 S:1 O:3
Matt Tuiasosopo flies out to center fielder Michael Bourn.


CLE - Bot 2nd
B:3 S:1 O:1
Jason Giambi pops out to third baseman Miguel Cabrera in foul territory.

B:1 S:2 O:2
Mike Aviles flies out to center fielder Andy Dirks.

B:1 S:0 O:3
Drew Stubbs flies out to left fielder Matt Tuiasosopo.

CLE 1 - 0 AFTER 2 INNINGS

DET - Top 3rd
B:1 S:3 O:1
Alex Avila called out on strikes.

B:1 S:1 O:2
Omar Infante grounds out, second baseman Jason Kipnis to first baseman Mark Reynolds.

B:0 S:0 O:3
Andy Dirks grounds out to first baseman Mark Reynolds.


CLE - Bot 3rd
B:1 S:1 O:1
Michael Bourn grounds out sharply, second baseman Omar Infante to first baseman Prince Fielder.

B:3 S:2 O:2
Jason Kipnis grounds out, second baseman Omar Infante to first baseman Prince Fielder.

B:1 S:0 O:3
Asdrubal Cabrera flies out to left fielder Matt Tuiasosopo.

CLE 1 - 0 AFTER 3 INNINGS

DET - Top 4th
B:2 S:2 O:1
Torii Hunter grounds out, third baseman Mike Aviles to first baseman Mark Reynolds.

B:3 S:2 O:2
Miguel Cabrera flies out to center fielder Michael Bourn.

B:2 S:3 O:3
Prince Fielder called out on strikes.


CLE - Bot 4th
B:1 S:0 O:1
Michael Brantley lines out to shortstop Jhonny Peralta.

B:2 S:2 O:2
Carlos Santana flies out softly to left fielder Matt Tuiasosopo.

B:1 S:2 O:3
Mark Reynolds grounds out, shortstop Jhonny Peralta to first baseman Prince Fielder.

CLE 1 - 0 AFTER 4 INNINGS

DET - Top 5th
B:0 S:1 O:0
Victor Martinez singles on a ground ball to left fielder Michael Brantley.

B:0 S:0 O:0
Jhonny Peralta singles on a ground ball to left fielder Michael Brantley. Victor Martinez to 2nd.

B:3 S:3 O:1
Matt Tuiasosopo strikes out swinging.

B:0 S:0 O:2
Alex Avila flies out to left fielder Michael Brantley.

B:3 S:1 O:3
Omar Infante flies out to center fielder Michael Bourn.


CLE - Bot 5th
B:1 S:3 O:1
Jason Giambi strikes out swinging.

B:1 S:1 O:2
Mike Aviles flies out to center fielder Andy Dirks.

B:2 S:3 O:3
Drew Stubbs strikes out swinging.

CLE 1 - 0 AFTER 5 INNINGS

DET - Top 6th
B:3 S:1 O:0
Andy Dirks homers (5) on a fly ball to right field.
TIED 1 - 1

B:0 S:2 O:0
Torii Hunter doubles (13) on a fly ball to right fielder Drew Stubbs.

B:0 S:1 O:0
Miguel Cabrera homers (12) on a fly ball to center field. Torii Hunter scores.
3 - 1

B:3 S:3 O:1
Prince Fielder called out on strikes.

B:2 S:2 O:1
Victor Martinez singles on a sharp line drive to right fielder Drew Stubbs.

Coaching visit to mound.

B:1 S:3 O:2
Jhonny Peralta strikes out swinging.

B:0 S:3 O:3
Matt Tuiasosopo strikes out swinging.


CLE - Bot 6th
Defensive switch from center field to left field for Andy Dirks.

Defensive Substitution: Don Kelly replaces left fielder Matt Tuiasosopo, batting 7th, playing center field.

B:1 S:2 O:1
Michael Bourn grounds out, second baseman Omar Infante to first baseman Prince Fielder.

B:3 S:3 O:2
Jason Kipnis called out on strikes.

B:2 S:1 O:3
Asdrubal Cabrera flies out to center fielder Don Kelly.

3 - 1 AFTER 6 INNINGS

DET - Top 7th
B:3 S:2 O:1
Alex Avila grounds out, second baseman Jason Kipnis to first baseman Mark Reynolds.

B:0 S:1 O:1
Omar Infante singles on a ground ball to left fielder Michael Brantley.

Coaching visit to mound.

Pitching Change: Cody Allen replaces Corey Kluber.

B:2 S:2 O:2
Andy Dirks lines out to center fielder Michael Bourn.

B:4 S:1 O:2
Torii Hunter walks. Omar Infante to 2nd.

B:2 S:3 O:3
Miguel Cabrera strikes out swinging.


CLE - Bot 7th
B:1 S:2 O:1
Michael Brantley grounds out, first baseman Prince Fielder to pitcher Max Scherzer.

B:2 S:2 O:2
Carlos Santana lines out to center fielder Don Kelly.

B:2 S:3 O:3
Mark Reynolds strikes out swinging.

3 - 1 AFTER 7 INNINGS

DET - Top 8th
B:0 S:3 O:1
Prince Fielder strikes out swinging.

B:1 S:3 O:2
Victor Martinez strikes out swinging.

B:1 S:3 O:3
Jhonny Peralta strikes out swinging.


CLE - Bot 8th
B:1 S:3 O:1
Jason Giambi strikes out swinging.

B:0 S:3 O:2
Mike Aviles strikes out swinging.

B:1 S:3 O:3
Drew Stubbs strikes out swinging.

3 - 1 AFTER 8 INNINGS

DET - Top 9th
Pitching Change: David Huff replaces Cody Allen.

B:3 S:3 O:1
Don Kelly called out on strikes.

B:4 S:1 O:1
Alex Avila walks.

B:1 S:2 O:1
Omar Infante singles on a sharp line drive to left fielder Michael Brantley. Alex Avila to 3rd.

B:0 S:2 O:1
Andy Dirks singles on a line drive to center fielder Michael Bourn. Alex Avila scores. Omar Infante to 2nd.
4 - 1

Coaching visit to mound.

Pitching Change: Matt Albers replaces David Huff.

B:0 S:1 O:2
Torii Hunter grounds out softly to first baseman Mark Reynolds. Omar Infante to 3rd. Andy Dirks to 2nd.

B:4 S:0 O:2
Matt Albers intentionally walks Miguel Cabrera.

B:1 S:1 O:2
Prince Fielder singles on a ground ball to right fielder Drew Stubbs. Omar Infante scores. Andy Dirks to 3rd. Miguel Cabrera to 2nd.
5 - 1

B:3 S:3 O:3
Victor Martinez called out on strikes.


CLE - Bot 9th
Pitching Change: Jose Valverde replaces Max Scherzer.

B:1 S:1 O:0
Michael Bourn singles on a ground ball to center fielder Don Kelly.

With Jason Kipnis batting, Michael Bourn steals (6) 2nd base.

B:1 S:2 O:1
Jason Kipnis pops out to catcher Alex Avila in foul territory.

B:1 S:1 O:1
Asdrubal Cabrera hit by pitch.

B:1 S:1 O:2
Michael Brantley flies out to left fielder Andy Dirks.

B:1 S:1 O:3
Carlos Santana pops out to shortstop Jhonny Peralta.


TIGERS WIN 5-1

CLICK HERE FOR BOX SCORE


W: Scherzer
L: Kluber


Game Info

IBB: Cabrera, M (by Albers).
HBP: Cabrera, A (by Valverde).
Pitches-strikes: Scherzer 118-77, Valverde 16-10, Kluber 111-77, Allen 27-17, Huff 21-13, Albers 17-9.
Groundouts-flyouts: Scherzer 6-6, Valverde 0-1, Kluber 5-6, Allen 0-0, Huff 0-0, Albers 1-0.
Batters faced: Scherzer 27, Valverde 5, Kluber 27, Allen 6, Huff 4, Albers 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Allen 1-0, Albers 2-1.
Umpires: HP: Mike Everitt. 1B: Marty Foster. 2B: Scott Barry. 3B: Tim Welke.
Weather: 86 degrees, overcast.
Wind: 13 mph, Out to RF.
T: 3:09.
Att: 17,374.

Game 43: Scherzer overshadowed, not overlooked
BECK'S BLOG
Posted on May 22, 2013 at 1:54 am

Max Scherzer deserved more mention than he received out of Tuesday’s 5-1 Tigers win over the Indians, but some guy named Cabrera stole the show with a line-drive home run to straightaway center at Progressive Field.

He didn’t see it. He heard the swing and the crowd reaction and knew what happened. But he has seen plenty of them over the years. He knows enough about them to realize if he could hold the Indians down after their first-inning run, he had a very good chance of ending up on top.

“Their starter was throwing the ball well, keeping our hitters at bay. I just knew if I could continue to throw up zeroes, eventually we’ll get to him,” Scherzer said. “I just have confidence in our hitters like that, because they’re so good. At any point, they can strike.

“Tonight was a perfect example. Dirks hits a home run, Torii hits a double and then Miggy hits a bomb, and all of a sudden, we’re losing 1-0, now we’re up 3-1. That’s what makes us so dangerous.”

That’s what makes Scherzer’s outings so production. With eight innings of one-run ball, he’s 6-0 for the second time in three years.

It was an unusual outing for him. It’s not that he has never been on a roll like that before, but his roll of 22 consecutive outs began without a strikeout for the first 10 hitters of that stretch. In most outings, he gets into rolls like that because of the strikeout, even if it costs him pitches. Then he struck out seven of the last 12.

“I was throwing the ball well tonight. I thought Alex [Avila] and I were sequencing [pitches well],” Scherzer said. “They did hit a couple balls hard at people. That’s just baseball. Today they got caught. And the other batters, I did a good job of locating the ball in and away and changing speeds. I thought that’s what allowed me to be successful tonight.”

Scherzer tried to be less predictable, throwing back-to-back changeups when hitters might be expecting fastballs, or throwing his recently-developed curveball more often against left-handed hitters. All of his pitches were working, he felt.

He felt like he settled into a groove as soon as the leadoff hitter in the second inning, Jason Giambi, who fouled out behind third base on a 3-1 pitch.

“I felt I was able to slow the game, take a deep breath and execute that 3-1 pitch,” Scherzer said. “I felt like after that, I was able to settle down and locate my fastball. From then, I was able to execute pitches. I felt like I had all four pitches, fastball, curveball, changeup, slider. That’s what allowed me to be successful.”

For those watching, it looked like playing catch at times. For Scherzer, his groove was a thought process more than anything.

“For me, you’re just concentrating on which hitter’s up and the sequencing you need to do, what pitches you want to start him with and what pitches you want to finish him,” Scherzer said. “You’re constantly working with Alex, what his game plan is, what my game plan is, how we wanted to attack them. Tonight I felt like we did a good job of blending the two games together. There’s times I trusted him and there’s times I felt like I had the right pitch. And between the two of us, we were able to consistently throw the right pitch. When you have that type of execution, good things can happen.”

Play of the game: It would be difficult not to give that honor to Cabrera for his go-ahead two-run homer on a pitch diving down and away. Check out the game story for more.

Outs of the game: Scherzer told manager Jim Leyland he was fine to pitch the eighth, and he didn’t disappoint. Knowing it was his last inning, he combined his adrenaline with his philosophy that the last 15 pitches are the most important of the game. He then proceeded to strike out of the bottom third of the Indians lineup in order.

“I definitely had the adrenaline flowing in that situation,” Scherzer said. “With Giambi up, you know he’s a great hitter, anytime he can strike. I think I started him off with two changeups and was able to finish him with a fastball. Those types of sequencing in those type of at-bats, when you go back in that situation when you know that’s your last inning, to go back and throw as hard as you can, you try to collect outs.”

Strategy: After Torii Hunter’s ninth-inning groundout advanced Andy Dirks and Omar Infante to second and third base, respectively, Terry Francona opted to intentionally walk Cabrera and take his chances against Prince Fielder. Fielder’s single scored another vital insurance run, making it a 5-1 game. It’s the second time in four games Fielder has followed an intentional walk to Cabrera with an RBI hit.

Line of the night: Scherzer’s pitching’s line was just outanding — 8 innings, 2 hits, a run, a walk and 7 strikeouts.

Stat of the night: 28 — career home runs for Miguel Cabrera against Cleveland, most for him against any opponent.

Print it: “He’s a hard guy to get out. No matter when he’s up there, no matter what the situation is, he’s a tough guy to get out. When he grinds that at-bat out, it’s something to see.” — Jim Leyland on Cabrera