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Tigers, Indians battle for AL Central supremacy

Aug 15, 2007 - 1:41 PM Detroit (66-53) at Cleveland (65-54) 7:05 pm EDT

CLEVELAND (Ticker) - The Detroit Tigers visit the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday looking to sweep a two-game series and open up a two-game lead in the American League Central.

In Tuesday's series opener, Magglio Ordonez clubbed a three-run homer in the 10th inning, powering the Tigers to a 6-2 victory. He has four homers and 14 RBI in his last five games.

If Detroit hopes to gain a sweep of the abbreviated set, they will have to hand Fausto Carmona (13-7, 3.26 ERA) his fourth straight loss. The 23-year-old righthander has been a victim of poor run support of late, as the Indians have managed a total of two runs in Carmona's past three outings.

Offense has been a problem for Cleveland lately. In their last four games - all losses - the Indians have managed a total of eight runs.

They will look to break out against Detroit starter Jair Jurrjens (NR), who will be making his major league debut. The 21-year-old righthander from Curacao has spent the entire season at Class AA Erie, going 7-5 with a 3.20 ERA.

The Tigers, who opened the month on a 2-7 slide, have won three of their last four games.