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Byrd, Indians too strong for Tigers

Jun 7, 2008 - 3:14 AM DETROIT (Ticker) -- Paul Byrd tossed seven strong innings to pick up his 100th career victory and the Cleveland Indians benefited from a three-run fourth inning to record a 4-2 triumph over the Detroit Tigers on Friday.

Ryan Garko belted a solo home run and Casey Blake added a two-run double in the fourth for Cleveland, which won for just the sixth time in its last 20 games.

Byrd (3-5), who allowed two runs and four hits while striking out two, improved to 9-2 in his career against the Tigers.

The only number, however, the 37-year-old was interested in was No. 100.

"This was my fourth try at 100, so it was on my mind all night," Byrd said. "It is a very big deal to me, because I love baseball, and I'm happy to have won so many games."

"He threw the ball great," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "He had good command, was under control and went deep into the game. He was able to move the ball around and had super movement with his secondary pitches."

After Masa Kobayashi retired the side in order in the eighth, Joe Borowski allowed one hit before recording the final three outs to pick up his fifth save of the season.

Brandon Inge and rookie Jeff Larish belted solo home runs for Detroit (24-36), which has lost three in a row and fell a season-high 12 games under .500.

After Blake opened the scoring with a two-run single to left field in the fourth, Franklin Gutierrez followed with a run-scoring single to give the Indians a 3-0 advantage.

Inge belted his fifth home run of the season in the sixth inning, and Larish halved the deficit at 3-2 with his first career homer in the seventh.

"I believe it was a changeup, just left it up in the zone," Larish said. "Obviously, results are a big part of this game, so when you have something like that to take the pressure off a little bit, it helps to do that. But it helps to do that anytime."

Blake then regained the two-run cushion with a solo home run in the eighth inning.

"Verlander was tough, but in that inning he got a little wild and walked a couple of batters," Blake said. "He threw me a breaking ball and I was able to get some wood on it."

Justin Verlander (2-9) allowed three runs and five hits in seven innings. He struck out a season-high eight batters but walked four.

"It's tough right now," Verlander said in regard to his record. "I try not to look at it, but this is tough."

"Verlander pitched well enough for us to win the ballgame, he just lost his rhythm for a short while in one inning," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "He's had some very, very good ballgames this year. He hasn't been himself in every start, but he's pitched pretty well."