CLEVELAND — Cal Quantrill kept Miguel Cabrera in the ballpark as he nears 500 home runs and shut down the rest of Detroit's lineup for seven innings, leading the Cleveland Indians to a 6-1 win over the Tigers.
Quantrill struck out a career-high 10. He retired 15 in a row after allowing a pair of back-to-back hits in the first inning.
Bobby Bradley hit a two-run double off Matt Manning as the Indians (53-54) prevented the Tigers from jumping them into second place in the AL Central. Cabrera went 1 for 3 with a walk and remained at 498 career homers, two shy of becoming the 28th player to reach the hallowed milestone.
Besides the Bradley double, Myles Straw and Amed Rosario each drove in two runs for the Tribe. Ernie Clement added three hits and scored twice, and also Derek Hill out on an incredible backhanded stop in the third.
The Tigers (53-59) were able to make things interesting in the ninth, loading the bases and getting a run off reliever Blake Parker with just one out. Fortunately, Emmanuel Clase struck out the next two to earn his team-leading 15th save.
Bradley was forced to leave the game in the fifth with a knee injury sustained while sliding into home plate, and acting manager DeMarlo Hale says the club should know more Saturday regarding his status. Prior to tonight's game, Cleveland also placed catcher Roberto Pérez on the 10-day injured list and recalled former All-Star Wilson Ramos from Triple-A Columbus.
The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Indians, who will try to keep the momentum going Saturday night behind the pitching of rookie Eli Morgan (1-3, 6.75 ERA). Tyler Alexander (1-1, 4.77) will start for Detroit.