Indians get back to .500 with 7-2 win against Tigers in Game 1 of doubleheader

CLEVELAND The Indians started off their doubleheader with the Detroit Tigers on Sunday with a positive note, coming away with a 7-2 win to get back to .500 for the season.

Facing Tigers (64-77) starting pitcher Justin Verlander, the Indians loaded the bases with nobody out in the fifth inning while trailing 1-0. Chris Johnson tied the game with an RBI single to right field, allowing every runner to move up a base.

Verlander then got Jose Ramirez and Jason Kipnis to harmlessly pop out, putting him one out away from escaping the inning with only one run allowed and the score still tied. Francisco Lindor, though, rifled a single back up the middle to score two and extend the Indians’ lead to 3-1.

In the sixth, a J.D. Martinez double and Nick Castellanos sacrifice fly to left field made it 3-2 and ended Cody Anderson’s day. The Indians (70-70) then worked themselves into a tough situation.

Zach McAllister entered the game and responded by walking three straight batters to load the bases with two outs. Jeff Manship came in to put out the fire and struck out Anthony Gose with a high fastball to end the threat and keep the Indians’ lead in tact.

From there, the Indians added onto their lead. In the sixth, Chris Johnson added another RBI single to right field to give the Indians a 4-2 advantage.

With two runners in scoring position an inning later, Jerry Sands hit a ground ball to second baseman Ian Kinsler, who made a diving stop to keep it in the infield but threw it over the head of first baseman Miguel Cabrera as he tried to make the throw from the ground, allowing two more runs to score. Ramirez then added an RBI single in the eighth to cap the Indians’ scoring and give them a 7-2 lead.

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