DETROIT -- Detroit Tigers manager Alan Trammell felt as though he was sitting through a repeat of the previous night's game.
Jhonny Peralta's two-run double keyed Cleveland's five-run seventh inning, and the Indians rallied to defeat the Detroit Tigers 7-6 on Wednesday night -- just 24 hours after the Tigers blew a five-run lead and lost.
"We're just having trouble holding teams down right now, especially out of the pen," Trammell said. "I don't like to see that."
Jake Westbrook (13-9) won for the first time in four September starts, allowing three runs and seven hits in seven innings.
"I felt pretty good out there, but I wasn't locked in like I have been," Westbrook said. "I was elevating some fastballs early, but I settled down and got into a good rhythm."
Indians manager Eric Wedge thought Westbrook gave his team a chance to come back.
"Jake was real good," Wedge said. "Even when he did get behind, he was able to get out of it. He's been our most consistent starter, and he's still going strong."
The Tigers trailed by as many as four runs, but made it close in the ninth, scoring three times against Bob Wickman. Bobby Higginson hit a solo homer with one out, and Carlos Pena had a two-run shot with two outs. Wickman, who had only allowed two homers all season, finally got Eric Munson to ground out to end the game.
"We've got a lot of confidence in Wicky," Wedge said. "He's always able to get the ball on the ground when he needs it, and that's what he did to get the last out."
Wil Ledezma (4-3) replaced Tigers starter Nate Robertson to start the seventh, but allowed five runs while only getting two outs.
Casey Blake led off with a walk and took third when Ledezma threw away a pickoff attempt. After Josh Phelps walked with one out, Peralta lined a two-run double into the right-center field gap.
Pinch-hitter Ernie Young walked, Coco Crisp made it 5-3 with an RBI single and Matt Lawton followed with a two-run double.
"That was big," Wedge said. "It was a good inning, and Jhonny got the big hit we needed to put us on top."
After stranding runners on the corners in the second, the Tigers took their three-run lead in the third.
With one out, Craig Monroe singled and scored on Dmitri Young's double. One out later, Westbrook walked Munson and Brandon Inge followed with a two-run double.
Cleveland had only one hit in the first four innings, but Robertson hit Ben Broussard with a pitch in the fifth and Phelps hit his 15th homer into the right-field bullpen.
"I was able to drive a ball and get us back into the game," Phelps said.
Robertson was hit on the pitching hand by Lawton's bouncer in the sixth. He retired the next batter, but left after the inning. X-rays were negative.
"You react and try to grab the ball," he said. "It only hit my ring finger, and it went numb, so I couldn't throw my changeup. I can't imagine I'll miss a start, but that could have been a brutal way to end the season."
Notes
Indians 2B Ronnie Belliard, whose hitless streak extended to 19 at-bats, left in the seventh with dizziness. ... Robertson had been trying to become the first Tigers lefty to win 13 in a season since Justin Thompson in 1997. ... Cleveland DH Travis Hafner got the day off with a sore elbow, while Tigers C Ivan Rodriguez took a scheduled rest. ... Higginson's ninth-inning homer was the 186th of his career, moving him past Trammell for 12th place in team history.
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