Castellanos' Late Triple Leads Tigers Past Indians
DETROIT (AP) — Nicholas Castellanos tripled to break a seventh-inning tie and the Detroit Tigers went on to beat the Cleveland Indians 7-4 in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday.
J.D. Martinez and Miguel Cabrera homered for Detroit.
With the score tied at 4 in the seventh and Martinez on first, Castellanos hit his fifth triple of the season off the out-of-town scoreboard in right-center.
Bryan Shaw (2-3) intentionally walked Victor Martinez, putting runners on the corners, but Mikie Mahtook flared an RBI single to left to make it 6-4. James McCann's single brought home Victor Martinez to give the Tigers a three-run lead.
Anibal Sanchez was not involved in the decision after allowing three runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings. Sanchez, who was sent to Triple-A Toledo on May 19 with a 9.00 ERA, has allowed seven runs in three starts since rejoining the team on June 19.
Indians starter Josh Tomlin ran into trouble in the second, but centerfielder Bradley Zimmer made a diving catch to rob Mahtook of an RBI hit. Tomlin hit James McCann to load the bases with two outs, but Jose Iglesias bounced into a force at second.
The Indians took a 1-0 lead in the third on a sacrifice fly by Jason Kipnis, but the Tigers took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning on back-to-back homers by J.D. Martinez and Cabrera.
Iglesias made it 4-1 in the fourth with a two-run double just beyond Zimmer's glove.
Sanchez continued to keep the Indians off balance with a wide variety of pitches. In a fifth-inning strikeout of Yan Gomes, he started the at-bat with a 92-mph fastball, then threw curveballs of 64 and 70 mph.
Lonnie Chisenhall's seventh-inning single made it 4-2 and ended Sanchez's game. He received a standing ovation and tipped his hat to the crowd. Carlos Santana, though, hit Daniel Stumpf's 3-2 fastball into the right-field stands for a game-tying homer.
Shane Greene (2-2) finished the inning and picked up the victory after Castellanos' triple. Justin Wilson pitched the ninth for his eighth save.
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