DETROIT — Franmil Reyes homered and drove in three, and the Cleveland Indians beat Detroit for a club-record 18th consecutive time, topping the Tigers 10-5.
The Indians’ previous longest winning streak against one opponent was a 17-game run against the Baltimore Orioles in 1954.
Aaron Civale improved to 3-0 in four career starts against the Tigers, allowing four runs, eight hits and a walk in six innings. Ivan Nova allowed eight runs, five hits and two walks in 3 1/3 innings for Detroit.
The Indians took a 2-0 lead in the second on Reyes’ drive over the Indians bullpen and onto the second level of shrubs behind the left-center field fence.
The Tribe then took an 8-3 lead with six runs in the fourth. Francisco Lindor singled, Carlos Santana walked and Reyes tied it with a single. After a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, Santana beat the throw to the plate on a ground ball.
Domingo Santana hit Nova's next pitch for a three-run homer to put Cleveland ahead 7-3. Delino DeShields would later score on a groundout.
Tyler Naquin would provide extra insurance for the Indians with a two-run triple in the seventh inning.
Before Friday's game, the Indians announced that they activated pitchers Zach Plesac and Mike Clevinger from the restricted list and optioned them to the team’s alternate training site at Lake County. Clevinger and Plesac were placed on the restricted list for violating Major League Baseball protocols related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Chris Antonetti, Cleveland’s president of baseball operations, said both players drove to Detroit and met with the teammates in an “open forum.” Antonetti, manager Terry Francona and general manager Mike Chernoff then met and decided to option Plesac and Clevinger to the alternate site in Lake County rather than allow them to rejoin the team.