DETROIT — DETROIT (AP) — Carlos Carrasco allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings and Jose Ramirez homered twice to lift the Cleveland Indians to a 7-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
Cleveland took three of four in this series after entering on an eight-game losing streak, and now the Tribe is closing in on a postseason berth. Ramirez had two multihomer games in the series — he also hit two Thursday night.
Matthew Boyd was perfect through four innings for the Tigers, but the Indians scored three runs in the fifth. Later, Ramirez added two-run homers in the sixth and seventh to make it 7-0.
Carrasco was nearly flawless with 11 strikeouts and just one hit allowed over seven frames as he picked up his first victory since Aug. 6. Cam Hill gave up three runs in the eighth and Brad Hand surrendered one in the ninth, but the early cushion was more than enough to handle the blow.
The Indians' magic number to clinch a trip to the playoffs is down to two, as the Seattle Mariners lost to the San Diego Padres on Sunday. With seven games left, Cleveland currently clings to the American League's seventh seed, and could clinch as early as Monday with a win and a Seattle loss.
The Tribe will begin a crucial four-game series against the first place White Sox Monday evening at Progressive Field. Aaron Civale (3-5, 3.80 ERA) will get the start against Chicago's Dane Dunning (2-0, 2.33).
