CLEVELAND – The Detroit Tigers’ second night in Cleveland ended a lot like the first one.

Another frustrating, walk-off loss.

Orlando Cabrera lined an RBI single in the 13th inning to give the Indians their 12th straight home win, 3-2 over the Tigers on Saturday night, sending Detroit to its fifth straight loss.

A day after Carlos Santana hit a game-winning grand slam in the ninth, the Tigers lost in extra innings. Cabrera singled to deep center with the bases loaded and one out off Brayan Villarreal (1-1), spoiling a strong performance by four Detroit pitchers, who combined to strike out 17.

While he took a philosophical approach to Friday night’s loss, Tigers manager Jim Leyland was unhappy with his offense Saturday. Solo homers by Miguel Cabrera and Ryan Raburn in the fourth accounted for Detroit’s only runs. The Tigers struck out 12 times, stranded 11 baserunners and were 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position.

“We didn’t show any patience at the plate,” Leyland said. “Swinging at some of the pitches we swung at tonight … that’s just not acceptable for a major league team. That’s the way it is. I’m not going to try to sugar coat it. That’s just poor concentration.”

Detroit’s offense has struggled throughout April, which the Tigers finished with a 12-15 record.

“Not hitting is one thing,” Leyland said. “I don’t have a problem with that, but we’re giving them free outs.”

Leyland realizes there’s only one way that will change.

“That’s something the player has to take care of,” he said. “You can talk until you’re blue in the face, but the player has to make up his mind to be patient.”

The Tigers didn’t do much with right-hander Alex White, who was making his major-league debut. Cabrera’s homer, his seventh of the season, cleared the fence in center to lead off the fourth. After Brennan Boesch grounded out, Raburn homered to right-center, his fourth of the season.

Cabrera doubled to lead off the 13th against Tony Sipp (1-0), but advanced no further. After Boesch fouled out, Raburn hit a drive to the deepest part of the park that Michael Brantley caught in front of the wall in center field. Jhonny Peralta flied out to end the inning.

Cabrera homered and doubled, but walked three times, two of which were intentional.

“You can see the way they’re pitching him,” Leyland said. “It doesn’t matter what the situation is. They’re just not giving him anything to hit.”

“Miguel is the best hitter in the American League, hands down,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “I’m talking about hitting. I’m not afraid to say I fear him. I’ve thought about walking him every time up.”

Villarreal struck out the side in the 12th, but Brantley singled sharply to open the Cleveland 13th. He went to second on a wild pickoff throw by Villareal. Asdrubal Cabrera put down a sacrifice bunt that was fielded by catcher Alex Avila — third baseman Brandon Inge had also come in on the play, and nobody was covering the bag.

“Inge was coming in because normally with a man on second, they want the third baseman to field the ball,” Leyland said. “He can’t hang back.”

Leyland chose to intentionally walk Shin-Soo Choo and Carlos Santana to load the bases. Orlando Cabrera drove Villarreal’s first pitch to deep center. Austin Jackson, playing shallow to cut off the run on a fly ball, had no chance to make the play.

Rick Porcello, making his first start since April 20, gave up two runs on solo homers to Santana and Brantley, in seven innings. He allowed seven hits, struck out seven and walked one. Porcello was skipped in the rotation because of two scheduled off days in a five-day stretch. Leyland wanted to keep the other starters on their regular turn.

“I threw the ball pretty well with the exception, obviously of the two pitches that got hit out of the ballpark,” Porcello said.

Porcello waas unhappy with both pitches that left the park.

“I fell behind Santana and left a fastball up,” Porcello said. “Knowing he’s a good fastball hitter, I have to locate that pitch better. The one to Brantley is a tough one to sawllow. I had him 0-2 and I went with a slider I know I have to bounce that pitch. I didn’t get it there. I left it hanging. A lot of guys will hit that one out. It wasn’t a quality pitch.”

NOTES: Tigers RHP Al Alburquerque struck out six over three perfect innings of relief. … Jackson struck out three times and has fanned 22 times in his last 16 games. Raburn fanned twice for 27 in his last 17. … The crowd of 26,433 was Cleveland’s largest since an opening-day sellout of 41,721. The walk-up of 8,059 was third largest since Progressive Field opened in 1994.

• A changeup in the dirt — not his trademark pitch — to A.J. Pierzynski was swung on and missed for strike three over the weekend. This was Justin Verlander’s 1000th strikeout. You may have already known this.

But Bless You Boys’ Mike Rogers went all spreadsheety on this milestone. Not only is Verlander the 15th pitcher in Tigers history to achieve this, but of all the previous pitchers, JV has the highest strikeout rate, fanning over 21 percent of the opposition.

He still has to double-and-a-half his total to catch Mickey Lolich, who had 2,679 in his career (good for 18th all time in MLB history, and most by any player not in the Hall of Fame that has been on the ballot). Not even for a great pitcher like Verlander is this a sure thing; Lolich had about 40 starts a year and played in Detroit for 13 seasons. Verlander is breaking into his sixth full season but has less than one-third of Lolich’s career innings.

Even if he can’t catch Lolich, Verlander does have a great chance to crack the Tigers’ top-ten list; 80 more and he passes Bill Donovan for tenth all time. [BYB]

• The Wichita Wingnuts is the goofiest collection of former Detroit Tigers I’ve ever seen. Today the independent league baseball team just signed former Tigers outfielder Brent Clevlen, who will be managed by former Tigers infielder Kevin Hooper and owned by former Tigers pitcher Nate Robertson. Dane Sardinha belongs on this team somewhere. [KSN]

• I’m sort of in line with Terry Foster’s thinking that first baseman Miguel Cabrera, for as good he is, doesn’t get the respect he deserves from a baseball perspective. Subtract the personal flaws, and do people in the area realize what a rare talent they have on their team? [Detroit News]

• The signs of catcher Alex Avila getting on track have been promising, but not so fast, writes John Parent. Some of the newer-age stats such as BABIP and BB%, which can gauge a batter’s luck and extrapolate a trend, have Avila regressing back to the struggling hitter he was last year. [Motor City Bengals]

• Twenty-five years ago today, Craig Lefferts of the San Diego Padres hit a walkoff home run against the San Francisco Giants. The notability of this? Lefferts was a relief pitcher. It was the last time a pitcher ever hit a walkoff homer, and to paraphrase Dante from the movie “Clerks,” he wasn’t even supposed to pitch on that night, because he had a high temperature. I would like Jim Leyland to read this story, in the hopes that he somehow makes a double-switch that causes Ryan Perry to bat in the bottom of the ninth. [ESPN SweetSpot]

The Detroit Tigers picked just the right time to get hot. Winning five of their last six games (including a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox), combined with three-game losing streaks by both the Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals has closed the gap considerably in the AL Central.

At 12-10, the Tigers are now tied with the Royals for second place in the division, 1 1/2 games behind the surprising Indians (13-8). The Royals and Indians play a three-game series this week in Cleveland, which could sift out the standings even further.

A Kansas City sweep would give the Royals first place to themselves. But if the Indians sweep, the Royals would fall 4 1/2 games behind. And if the Tigers keep pace with a series win over the Mariners, they’d have a chance to take over the top spot in the division when they play a three-game series at Progressive Field this weekend.

The Minnesota Twins (9-12) are in fourth place, four games back. And after being swept by the Tigers, the White Sox (8-14) have lost 10 of their last 11 games, spiraling them down to last place in the division, 5 1/2 games out of first place.

Elsewhere in the AL, the Boston Red Sox are beginning to look like the team most predicted would win the World Series, having won five games in a row. The Red Sox are now 10-11, putting them in third place in the AL East, 3.5 behind the first-place New York Yankees (12-6). The Tampa Bay Rays (11-11) are just a half-game ahead of the Red Sox for second place in the division.

The Texas Rangers (14-7) continue to hold the top spot in the AL West, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels (12-10). The Angels have lost their last four games, pushing them back toward the pack. Following close behind are the Oakland Athletics (11-11) and the Seattle Mariners (8-15). The M’s have the worst record in baseball.

For a full look at the American League standings and a look at what is going on in the National League, check out Yahoo.com.

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As of last Friday, there was a pretty clear separation atop the AL Central with the Indians and the Kansas City Royals riding high and every other team in the early-season dust.

Now all that has changed, the Detroit Tigers have vaulted into a tie for second with the Royals, and the Minnesota Twins — who at one time trailed by seven games — have climbed to within four games of first-place Cleveland.

Welcome to this edition of the MLB Standings Update.

 

American League Central -

Cleveland Indians  13-8  .619  0 Games Behind — The Indians lost an abbreviated two-game set in Minnesota over the weekend yet still lead the Central by a game and-a-half after the Royals dropped three straight in Texas. The Tribe now welcomes Kansas City for a three-game set in Cleveland beginning Tuesday.

Detroit Tigers  12-10  .545  1.5 Games Behind — The Tigers swept three games from the White Sox over the weekend and vaulted into a tie with Kansas City. Before a series next weekend in Cleveland, Detroit will entertain Seattle for three games in a series beginning tomorrow night in Detroit.

Kansas City Royals  12-10  .545  1.5 Games Behind — The Royals came from far behind to make a game of it yesterday in Texas, but the Rangers hung on to sweep the three-game set and drop Kansas City into a tie with Detroit. The Royals now go to Cleveland for three games starting Tuesday night, in a rematch of the four-game set that was split in Kansas City last week.

Minnesota Twins  9-12  .429  4 Games Behind — The Twins, after Friday’s game was rained out, beat the Indians both Saturday and Sunday to creep closer in the Central. Minnesota now takes on Tampa Bay for three games at home starting Tuesday.

Chicago White Sox  8-14  .364  5.5 Games Behind — The White Sox have landed in the cellar hard, losing their last three games to the Tigers and watching the Twins sail right past. Chicago’s reward? A four-game series in the Bronx against the Yankees, beginning tonight.

 

American League East -

New York Yankees  12-6  .667  0 Games Behind — The Yankees opened up some separation over the weekend, winning twice in Baltimore in a rain-shortened series. New York now entertains the White Sox in four straight starting tonight in New York.

Tampa Bay Rays  11-11  .500  3 Games Behind — The Rays have come back from their dreadful start, and after winning two of three in Toronto over the weekend, now move on to Minnesota for three games with the Twins in a series that will start on Tuesday.

Boston Red Sox  10-11  .476  3.5 Games Behind — Boston has rebounded from a 2-10 start, and in a most-impressive fashion. The Sox won four straight from the Angels in Anaheim over the weekend to get within a game of .500, and will now travel to Baltimore for three with the Orioles.

Toronto Blue Jays  9-12  .429  4.5 Games Behind — After losing the last two games of a three-game series with the Rays at home, Toronto now gets the unenviable task of going to Texas to play four straight against the West-leading Rangers.

Baltimore Orioles  8-12  .400  5 Games Behind — The Orioles have finished their plunge to the bottom of the AL East after beginning the season 6-1. Losing two to the Yankees over the weekend gives Baltimore 11 losses in their last 13 games. Baltimore has a day off today, before welcoming the red-hot Red Sox for three starting tomorrow.

 

American League West -

Texas Rangers  14-7  .667  0 Games Behind — Although having the same winning percentage as New York, the Rangers lead the Yankees by a half-game for the best mark in the AL after sweeping three from the Royals at home. Texas will remain in the friendly confines for a four-game series against Toronto, beginning tonight.

Los Angeles Angels  12-10  .545  2.5 Games Behind — The Angels were riding high atop the AL West preparatory to a four-game home set with the (at the time) struggling Red Sox. It looked good for Los Angeles — until they lost all four games to Boston. The Angels will try to regroup in a three-game series against Oakland, beginning tonight in Anaheim.

Oakland Athletics  11-11  .500  3.5 Games Behind — The Athletics just finished a four-game split in Seattle wherein they lost the first two games to the Mariners before bouncing back and winning on Saturday and Sunday. Oakland now travels to visit the Angels for three games starting tonight.

Seattle Mariners  8-15  .348  7 Games Behind — Owners of the worst record in the major leagues, the Mariners lost the last two games of four with Oakland over the weekend to split that series. Seattle now goes on the road to take on red-hot Detroit for three games, beginning on Tuesday night.

 

In the National League East, the Philadelphia Phillies have now claimed the best mark in the majors with a record of 15-6 after winning five in a row. Philadelphia leads the Florida Marlins by a game and-a-half, the Washington Nationals by 4.5, the Atlanta Braves by five full games and the New York Mets by six and-a-half.

In the NL Central the St.Louis Cardinals poked their beaks into first place yesterday, with a record of 12-10. The Milwaukee Brewers sit in second, a half-game back, with the Cincinnati Reds a full game behind and the Cubs 1.5 games back and in fourth place. The Pittsburgh Pirates are next, two and-a-half games behind, and the Houston Astros bring up the rear in the only six-team division in the majors, four games behind the Cardinals.

In the National League West, the Colorado Rockies are still on top at 14-7, and have a three-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The defending World Series’ champion San Francisco Giants are third in the West, four games out, while the Arizona Diamondbacks trail the Rockies by 5.5 games, and the San Diego Padres find themselves last, six and-a-half games behind.

 

And there you have it as we proceed through the last week of April. Be sure to check back on Friday, when the next edition of the standings will be found right here.

DETROIT (WWJ) – The Detroit Tigers continued their dominance of the Chicago White Sox with a 3-0 shutout of the Sox at Comerica Park Sunday afternoon.

The Tigers’ starters have been the story lately, and it was Max Scherzer’s turn today. He shut the White Sox out on 4 hits through eight innings to pick up the win, and improve to 4-0. Scherzer walked three and struck out seven.

John Danks allowed some baserunners – but held Tigers to just one run through five innings….and then the Tigers broke through for two big runs with two outs in the 6th: Avila singled with two outs, then Inge brought him home with a double, and on the next pitch, Jackson doubled home Inge to make it 3-0, and that was more than enough for Scherzer and Jose Valverde, who closed the game out in the ninth.

The Tigers have now beaten the White Sox nine straight times, and 12 of the last 13 meetings. They have out-scored the White Sox 64-20 in the last nine games. Tigers’ starters have been terrific lately – they now have a 3.05ERA in their last 18 games, with 14 quality starts in that time.

The Tigers have won nine of their last 12 games to go from 3-7 to 12-10. Seattle comes to town for three games starting on Tuesday. Phil Coke starts for the Tigers on Tuesday, against Cy Young Award winner, Felix Hernandez.

Listen below to Brandon Inge’s RBI double

Listen below to Austin Jackson’s RBI double

The Chicago White Sox are falling behind in the American League Central — and wasting some nice outings by John Danks.

Max Scherzer allowed four hits in eight outstanding innings, and the Detroit Tigers beat Chicago 3-0 on Sunday to finish a three-game sweep of the struggling White Sox. Danks allowed three runs through six innings and struck out eight, but the White Sox have lost all five of his starts this season.

“I tried to keep us in position to win the game, but Max Scherzer is pretty darn good,” Danks said. “It is way too early to start fretting. We aren’t helping ourselves right now, obviously, but we know this is a good team.”

Manager Ozzie Guillen certainly hopes that’s the case, but he’s running out of patience. The White Sox have lost 10 of 11 and are now 8-14 on the season, in last place in the division.

They now must head to New York for a four-game series against the Yankees.

“Nothing works,” Guillen said. “I’ll keep plugging guys in and hope things come around, but now every day is like rewinding a movie and watching it again.”

Scherzer (4-0) struck out seven and walked three, helping Detroit shut out Chicago for a second straight day. After Brad Penny took a no-hitter into the sixth inning Saturday, Scherzer made it to the fifth with one before allowing A.J. Pierzynski’s leadoff single.

He left after 104 pitches, and Jose Valverde pitched the ninth for his fifth save.

Danks (0-3) allowed nine hits and two walks. His ERA is a solid 3.27, and he’s pitched at least six innings in every start.

“It’s unfortunate, because he’s been pitching great every outing, and we’re not helping him,” Guillen said. “Not at all, and it is a shame.”

Detroit has won nine straight over the White Sox.

The Tigers opened the scoring in the fourth after loading the bases with nobody out. Danks struck out Casper Wells, but Alex Avila hit a broken-bat groundball to drive in a run.

Brandon Inge and Austin Jackson each hit RBI doubles with two outs in the sixth. Detroit has bounced back nicely from a 3-7 start. The Tigers are now 12-10, while Chicago and Minnesota — the other expected contenders in the American League Central — are below .500.

“Getting guys out there and getting in a groove is really what you think about,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. “You want to play good baseball — steady. I think we’re doing that pretty good right now.”

Detroit’s starting pitchers have led the way with 14 quality starts in the last 18 games. The Tigers allowed three solo homers Friday night, but that was all for Chicago, which was outscored 21-3 in the series.

The White Sox finished with five hits Sunday, and two of them didn’t leave the infield. Pierzynski and Juan Pierre had two hits each for Chicago, but the White Sox didn’t get a runner past second base.

Jackson and Brennan Boesch had two hits each for the Tigers.

NOTES: Jake Peavy threw a side session Sunday of at least 40 pitches and reported no issues. The Chicago right-hander has been bothered by muscle tenderness and irritation in his surgically repaired throwing shoulder. “It’s hard to be talking about this when the team is struggling like this,” Peavy said. “I let it go today and everything checked out. I’m excited about the progress.” … Chicago’s Omar Vizquel started at 2B on his 44th birthday. “I don’t think too many people think at the age of 44 they’ll still be playing baseball,” he said before the game. “I’m still having fun. That’s the main thing.” … Detroit DH Magglio Ordonez singled in the fifth and is now 15 for 26 against Danks. … White Sox DH Adam Dunn drew his 1,000th walk in the fourth. … The time of game was 2 hours, 19 minutes.