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Tigers take down Tribe again, increase lead in AL Central

Aug 21, 2011 - 6:18 AM Detroit, MI (Sports Network) - Brandon Inge marked his return from the minors with a home run and a pair of RBI in the Detroit Tigers' 10-1 shellacking of the Cleveland Indians.

Ramon Santiago went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI, while Alex Avila and Victor Martinez each scored twice for the Tigers, who have won the first two games of this pivotal, three-game series.

Despite being handed the large cushion, Doug Fister (5-13) remained focused, allowing just one run on six hits while fanning seven in as many innings.

"Its a fun ball club to be a part of, especially when they are known for putting up big runs like this," said Fister, who was acquired from the Mariners on July 30. "It makes our job as pitchers a lot easier."

In contrast, David Huff (1-2) lasted just 2 1/3 frames to suffer the loss. He surrendered five runs on four hits and four walks.

Shin-Soo Choo had a solo homer for the Indians, who fell 3 1/2 games behind the first-place Tigers in the AL Central.

The Tigers pushed two across in the bottom of the first. Austin Jackson drew a leadoff walk and Magglio Ordonez followed with a single to place runners at first and second. Miguel Cabrera extended his hit streak to 17 games with a single, which plated Jackson and Ordonez came home on Martinez's sac fly to right.

Inge, who was called up following the Tigers' 4-1 series-opening win, began the home second with a bang, turning on a high changeup and belting it into the seats in left. Santiago then doubled, advanced to third on a flyout and scored on Ordonez's sac fly to give the Tigers a 4-0 advantage.

"It was great to see him come back like that," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said of Inge. "He actually swung the bat pretty well all night."

Choo put the Indians on the board with a solo shot in the third, but Huff was pulled a half-inning later after issuing walks to Cabrera and Avila. Chad Durbin entered and allowed a ground-rule double to Inge, which scored Cabrera, making it a 5-1 game.

The Tigers loaded the bases with one down in the fifth. Inge lifted a soft fly to shallow left and Michael Brantley failed to see the ball into his glove, allowing Martinez to score. Santiago followed with a sac fly to center and the Tigers led 7-1.

In the seventh, Detroit again loaded the bases and consecutive RBI singles by Santiago, Jackson and Don Kelly sealed the final margin.

"We were never in it. We're going to have to come out tomorrow and try to salvage this series," Indians manager Manny Acta said.

Game Notes

Inge hit just his second home run of the season. He was recalled from Triple-A Toledo on Friday...Fister was acquired from the Mariners on July 30 as part of a six-player deal...Entering the game, Fister had received 2.18 runs of support per nine innings over 24 starts this season, marking the lowest run support average amongst all AL pitchers.