Indians set AL record with 21st straight win

WASHINGTON -- Jay Bruce and Roberto Perez both homered as the Cleveland Indians set an American League record with their 21st consecutive win -- a 5-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday.

Cleveland had matched the 2002 Oakland Athletics' 20-game winning streak with a win over the Tigers on Tuesday.

With another triumph in front of ecstatic home fans in Cleveland they surpassed that AL record, and tied the 1935 Chicago Cubs for the second-longest winning streak in Major League history.

The 26-game wining streak by the 1916 New York Giants is considered the longest ever in the Major Leagues -- despite the fact that the Giants' run actually included one tie game, which wasn't counted toward official statistics.

"It's pretty special," said Indians manager Terry Francona, who has played down the streak in a bid to ease pressure on his players, who haven't lost a game since August 23.

The Indians have out-scored opponents 139-35 during the streak.

"Our guys are enjoying it, and they should," Francona said. "When you do something and do it the right way, you should enjoy it."

Indians starting pitcher Mike Clevinger gave up one earned run in 5 2/3 innings to get the win.

Cody Allen pitched the ninth inning to earn his 27th save.

Detroit starter Buck Farmer gave up four runs in four innings and took the loss.

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but the Indians responded promptly.

Francisco Lindor led off the bottom of the first with a double into the right field corner.

Lonnie Chisenhall struck out but Jose Ramirez drew a walk. Farmer struck out Edwin Encarnacion for the second out, but Bruce hit a fly ball to left field that just made it over the wall for a three-run homer and a 3-1 lead.

The Indians scored again in a testy third inning in which Detroit manager Brad Ausums and catcher James McCann were ejected.

Jose Ramirez doubled with two outs and scored on a bloop single to right field by Encarnacion to extend the Indians' lead to 4-1.

Bruce, the next hitter, took a close pitch for ball four. McCann said something to home plate umpire Quinn Wolcott, and was immediately thrown out of the game.

Ausmus, who was on his way to the mound, detoured to the plate to argue further and he, too, was sent packing.

With Carlos Santana, the next hitter, at the plate, and John Hicks, the next catcher, behind it, Farmer threw a fastball that Hicks reached for but missed. The ball hit Wolcott in the left shoulder, knocking him on his back. After a brief delay, Wolcott remained in the game.

The Tigers knocked Clevinger out of the game in the sixth inning, scoring two unearned runs. Miguel Cabrera hit a grounder to third baseman Yandy Diaz, who threw wildly to first for an error, allowing Cabrera to reach second base.

Castellano followed with a double, scoring Cabrera to make it 4-2. Clevinger retired the next two hitters, but Andrew Romine lined a single to right, scoring Castellanos as Cleveland's lead dwindled to 4-3.

Farmer and relief pitcher Daniel Norris combined to retire 11 straight batters through the middle innings.

But the Indians stretched their lead to 5-3 when Perez smacked an 0-2 pitch from Norris over the center field wall.

The Indians have trailed for only four of the 189 innings played during the streak. Indians starting pitchers during the streak are 19-0 with a 1.67 ERA.

"Everybody pretty much has had a hand in doing something," Francona said.

Bruce said the key was not to focus on all the victories piling up and the historical implications as they do.

"We're not consumed by the streak," Bruce said. "What consumes us is coming to the park every day getting ready to play that game.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Baseball: Tigers down Yankees in brawl-marred game

Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera and New York Yankees catcher Austin Romine came to blows Thursday in a brawl-filled battle that saw the Tigers emerge 10-6 winners in Detroit.

Amid anger over apparent head-hunting pitches, punches flew and eight were ejected. The benches cleared three times before it was all over.

"You don't see games like this very often, for good reason, because of injury concerns," said Detroit manager Brad Ausmus -- one of those tossed from the game. "I hope I never see one again."

Yankees manager Joe Girardi and New York relief pitcher Tommy Kahnle were ejected in the sixth inning after Kahnle threw a fastball behind Cabrera's head.

Yankees reliever Aroldis Chapman had finished his warmup pitches when Cabrera approached home plate and traded words with Romine.

Romine flung off his face mask and Cabrera shoved him with both hands before throwing a series of punches as Romine wrestled him to the ground.

Players from both dugouts and bullpens poured onto the field in wild scenes as Romine was ejected for the first time in his career and Cabrera for the ninth.

Cabrera said he was trying to calm things down when he got into it with Romine.

"First of all, when they threw at me, it was OK. I was cool with that," Cabrera said. "They started to argue with the umpire and I said to Romine to calm down. He said, "I'm not talking to you" and I said 'Oh, wow.' ... When I got back to home plate, I tell him, 'You got any (expletive) problem with me?'

"He said, 'Why?' I said because I try to calm (things) down and you try to act tough. And he said something like, 'You want to fight?'"

- Tensions rising -

Tensions had risen earlier, after Tigers starting pitcher Michael Fulmer hit Yankees designated hitter Gary Sanchez with a pitch in the previous inning.

Sanchez had homered earlier in the contest -- his fourth home run in the three-game series between the teams.

Girardi was certain Fulmer hit Sanchez intentionally. The Tigers said Fulmer, who recently came off the disabled list with elbow irritation, felt a 'zinger' when he released the ball.

"If you can't see that Fulmer clearly hit Sanchez on purpose, there's something wrong," Girardi said. "I think it could have really been avoidable."

And the sixth-inning melee that followed was far from the end of it.

Yankees relief pitcher Dellin Betances and bench coach Robby Thomson were ejected in the bottom of the seventh inning after Betances drilled Tigers catcher James McCann in the helmet with a 98 mph (157.72 Km/h) fastball -- which again caused the benches to empty.

Tigers reliever Alex Wilson was thrown out of the game after hitting Yankees third baseman Todd Frazier on the thigh with a pitch in the eighth -- again bringing players out of their dugouts and leading also to the ejection of Ausmus.

Girardi was unhappy with the officiating in general, and especially angry that Betances was ejected by crew chief Dana DeMuth after home plate umpire Carlos Torres didn't.

"To me, there's a lot of confusion and that's not to mention the strike zone late in the game. Just a very poor job on their part, very, very poor," Girardi said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Tigers look to end 28-year World Series drought

The Detroit Tigers, populated over the years by some of Major League Baseball's (MLB) most dynamic and colorful players, return to the World Series for the second time in six years looking to end a 28-year title drought.

A charter member of the American League (AL) dating back to 1901, the Tigers have won just four Fall Classic crowns but are peaking along with Detroit's brilliant autumn leaves thanks to a sparkling starting rotation and dangerous lineup.

Led by the towering talents of pitcher Justin Verlander and slugger Miguel Cabrera, the Tigers put an inconsistent campaign behind them down the stretch to overtake the Chicago White Sox for the AL Central division crown.

The Tigers roared back by winning eight of their last 10 regular season games while Chicago lost 11 of their last 15.

Detroit then beat Oakland 3-2 in a best-of-five AL Division Series and swept the top-seeded New York Yankees 4-0 in the AL Championship Series (ALCS) to add the current group's achievements to past glories.

The Tigers were a powerful team in their early days, featuring one of baseball's greatest players in Ty Cobb.

The fiercely combative Cobb led Detroit to three consecutive AL pennants from 1907 but lost each time in the World Series.

Cobb played 22 years in Detroit and still stands first on MLB's all-time career batting average list at .367 and second in hits with 4,191, a total surpassed only by Pete Rose in 1985.

The outfielder so dominated that when the initial Hall of Fame voting took place in 1936 he garnered the most votes, topping Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson among Cooperstown's inaugural class.

Lean years

Slugger Hank Greenberg, nicknamed "the Hebrew Hammer" as the best known Jewish player of his day, helped Detroit win their first World Series in 1935 and challenged Babe Ruth's single season home run mark of 60 set in 1927, with 58 in 1938.

He served 45 months in the military during World War Two and, after he was discharged, rejoined the Tigers in 1945 and helped them win their second World Series that season.

Though the early years featured high-powered offenses, Detroit won their next crown in the 1968 'Year of the Pitcher.'

Hitters were so overmatched that season that MLB lowered the pitching mound the next year to give hitters a better chance, but in 1968 Detroit's pitchers led them to a seven-game triumph over hard-throwing Bob Gibson and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Portly left-hander Mickey Lolich overshadowed team mate Denny McLain, who won 31 games that season, notching three wins in the Series, including a Game Seven victory on two days rest.

The '70s brought lean years, but 1976 was a season of wonder for rookie Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, whose eccentric patting of the mound and chattering to himself made him a famed figure as the 21-year-old rookie posted a 19-9 mark and 2.34 earned run average (ERA).

The last title for Detroit came in 1984 after a record start of 35-5 propelled them with starter Jack Morris, reliever Willie Hernandez, and Kirk Gibson and Alan Trammel leading the charge.

Economically depressed

The 2012 Tigers have given the economically depressed city something to cheer about, as the club surpassed three million in attendance despite the hard times that hit the Detroit area.

This echoes the way the city responded to the Tigers of 1968, bonding in support of the baseball team one year after a bloody five days of rioting in the city left 43 people dead.

These Tigers set their sights on a fifth title in their 111-year existence with their starting rotation pitching lights out.

Verlander, so dominant in 2011 he was a twin winner of MLB's top individual awards in taking the Cy Young as best pitcher and adding AL Most Valuable Player honours, posted a 17-8 mark this season to anchor a rotation that has thrived in the playoffs.

Along with Doug Fister, Max Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez the Tigers allowed just two earned runs in the ALCS, pitching to a 0.66 ERA and holding the Yankees to a batting average of .144.

Cabrera led the league in home runs (44), runs batted in (139) and batting average (.330) to become the first player in 45 years to claim the Triple Crown and forms a potent middle of the order backed by slugging first baseman Prince Fielder and postseason terror Delmon Young.

Fielder (30 homers, 108 RBIs) was added as a free agent after signing a nine-year, $214 million deal, while Young has been a postseason powerhouse.

Young, who hit five homers and drove in six runs in last year's playoff run by Detroit, who reached the ALCS before falling to Texas, slugged a pair of homers and had six RBIs in ALCS against the Yankees.

source: abs-cbnnews.com