By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Tigers 12, Indians 0 – The Tigers thumped the Cleveland on Tuesday night one night after the Indians clinched their first American League Central Division since 2007.
Detroit, which lost to the Indians 7-4 on Monday, is now one game behind the Baltimore Orioles for the last playoff spot with five games left.
The Tigers were led by Miguel Cabrera with three hits, which included a double, home run and five RBIs. Justin Upton added a home run and three RBIs and Andrew Romine had a homer and two runs knocked in.
Detroit third baseman Nick Castellanos returned from an injury with a pinch hit double in the eighth inning.
Justin Verlander picked up the win for the Tigers, tossing 7 2/3 scoreless innings and allowing four hits while striking out 12 batters.
Cleveland was led in a losing effort by Erik Gonzalez with three hits.
The Tigers will host Cleveland on Wednesday night looking to stay alive in their postseason run.
Record: 84-73
2nd Place in AL Central Division (7 games behind first-place Cleveland)
1 game behind Baltimore for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff spot: 7
Misery # to AL Central Division elimination: Eliminated
Misery # to playoff elimination: 5
Next Game: 09/28/2016 vs. Cleveland Indians 7:10 p.m. @ Comerica Park
Hitting stats: Miguel Cabrera 2B (31) HR (35) 5 RBI (102), Justin Upton HR (29) 3 RBI (85), Andrew Romine HR (2) 2 RBI (16), Tyler Collins 3B (3) RBI (15), Ian Kinsler RBI (79), Cameron Maybin 2B (14), Nick Castellanos 2B (24).
Pitching stats: Justin Verlander W (16-8) 7.2 IP 4 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 12 K.
