Infante slams two homers as Tigers thump Indians
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Without Miguel Cabrera, someone else had to step up and provide the power.
The Detroit Tigers got that pop from an unlikely source.
Omar Infante smacked a pair of homers and Austin Jackson's two-run triple in the eighth vaulted the Detroit Tigers to a 10-5 win over the Cleveland Indians in the middle test of a three-game set.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Infante smashed a three-run shot in the second and added a two-run blast in the sixth for Detroit, which has won three straight and upped its lead in the AL Central to 8 1/2 games. Infante has nine homers this season.
"Omar hitting those two home runs, that definitely set the tone for us tonight," Jackson said.
Cabrera was forced from a second straight game on Friday because of irritation in his abdominal area.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Anibal Sanchez (12-7) surrendered three runs on six hits and a walk over 6 2/3 innings to pick up the win.
Scott Kazmir (7-7) allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks over five frames for Cleveland, which has dropped five consecutive contests. Carlos Santana had a two-run, inside-the-park homer in defeat.
"We fought back, which was good to see, but they just kept scoring," Indians manager Terry Francona said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Indians plated a run in the seventh and two more in the eighth to trim a four-run deficit to 6-5, but the Tigers pushed across four in the home eighth to regain control.
With runners on the corners and one away in the eighth, Jackson drilled his triple into left-center. Jose Iglesias' squeeze bunt allowed Jackson to come across and Prince Fielder's double two batters later scored Iglesias for a 10-5 spread.
Earlier, Santana's two-out, first-inning single got the Tribe on the board, but Detroit countered with a four-run second.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Infante cracked his three-run shot into the seats in left and Torii Hunter added a two-out RBI single for a 4-1 Detroit margin.
Michael Bourn's two-out RBI single in the fifth cut the lead in half, but Infante's two-run shot to left in the sixth pushed the spread to 6-2.
Yan Gomes belted a two-out solo blast to left in the seventh and Santana's inside-the-park homer came in the eighth.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Santana smashed a shot to the wall in center, which glanced off the glove of Jackson, who injured himself running into the wall. This allowed Santana to hustle around the bases for a two-run homer and dwindle the margin to a run.
Game Notes
The Tigers were 4-for-11 with runners in scoring position, while Cleveland finished 3-for-7 with RISP ... Detroit hit into three double plays.