CLEVELAND -- Manager Manny Acta didn't care that it took 11 hours. He was plenty proud of the Cleveland Indians' doubleheader sweep of the Detroit Tigers.
Austin Kearns lined a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning to give Cleveland a 2-1 win in the second game after Fausto Carmona (9-7) outlasted Justin Verlander in a matchup of All-Star right-handers to win the opener 4-3.
 Cleveland Indians |
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Game 1: Indians 4, Tigers 3 |
Rafael Perez (2-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in the second game for the win, which came early Sunday morning after rain halted play for 1 hour, 53 minutes in the top of the ninth.
"It was the culmination of a long, long, but productive day," Acta said. "It was all worth it."
Jayson Nix singled off Robbie Weinhardt (0-1) to start Cleveland's two-out rally. Weinhardt then walked Carlos Santana and Kearns, with the runners in motion on a 3-2 pitch, lined a single to left, easily scoring Nix.
Trevor Crowe's RBI single off Phil Coke (5-1) broke a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning of the opener and Chris Perez worked a scoreless ninth for his eighth save in 11 chances. He closed in place of Kerry Wood, put on the disabled list before the game with a blister on his right index finger.
"The bullpen did a fantastic job in both games," Acta said.
Rick Porcello, recalled from Triple-A Toledo by the Tigers between games, pitched eight solid innings. The right-hander struck out six without a walk and allowed six hits, including a sixth-inning homer by Santana.
Cleveland starter Mitch Talbot yielded a two-out RBI single to Ryan Raburn in the second. The right-hander worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the first and went five innings. Jensen Lewis, called up to take Wood's roster spot, then worked two scoreless.
"We didn't execute," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said after Detroit was swept in a doubleheader in Cleveland for the first time since July 4, 2005. "We let them off the hook in the first inning. We didn't do enough to win the game. We didn't execute. We stunk the joint up, plain and simple."
Notes
- The Tigers optioned LHP Daniel Schlereth to Toledo when Porcello was recalled between games.
- Wood's trip to the DL is the 14th of his career and second this year.
- It was a very long day for Lewis. "I left Norfolk [Va.] at 5:30 this morning and got the ballpark around nine," he said.
- Verlander, 9-10 in his career against the Indians, went 4-0 with a 0.90 ERA against them in 2009.
- Acta said the Indians will call up RHP Jeanmar Gomez on Sunday to make his major league debut. Win or lose, it will only be a spot start. Gomez pitched a perfect game for Double-A Akron last year.
