Cleveland's Major League Baseball team defeated the Detroit Tigers by an 8-5 score on Sunday (box score), extending its streak of consecutive victories against the Tigers to 20. Cleveland has not lost to the Tigers since April 10, 2019. That loss came a day after a Cleveland win, meaning the Tigers are 1-20 against Cleveland dating back to the beginning of the 2019 season.
Cleveland will host the Tigers for a three-game set beginning on Friday, Aug. 21. Those three games are significant, because if Cleveland sweeps then it would tie the MLB record for most consecutive wins against a single franchise. That record currently belongs to the Baltimore Orioles, who defeated the Kansas City Royals 23 times in a row back in 1969.
Cleveland can credit Sunday's win to a rare offensive outburst. Francisco Lindor recorded three extra-base hits, including his fourth homer of the season. Franmil Reyes pitched in two dingers of his own, and both Jose Ramirez and Sandy Leon launched a home run in support.
Cleveland entered Sunday with a MLB-worst .196 batting average and with the second-fewest home runs (15) among teams with more than 10 games played. In other words, Cleveland hit a third as many home runs on Sunday as it had in their first 21 games combined.
On the pitching side of things, Cleveland went with a Johnny Wholestaff approach. Adam Plutko started the game, but was removed in the third inning after allowing three runs on six hits. Cleveland's bullpen then did the rest of the work, with Phil Maton, Dominic Leone, Oliver Perez, Cam Hill, James Karinchak, and Nick Wittgren combining to allow two runs in six-plus frames.
Cleveland's win gives the club a 13-9 record on the season. After an off day on Monday, the team will head to Pittsburgh to play three games against the Pirates.
