CLEVELAND — Triston McKenzie struck out 10 in his major league debut and Domingo Santana delivered a bases-clearing double in the sixth, lifting the Cleveland Indians to a 6-1 win over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday night.
McKenzie (1-0) went six innings, allowing two hits on a Willi Castro homer and a Jeimer Candelario double. The 23-year-old right-hander notched his first strikeout on three pitches to future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera in the first.
Santana's two-out double came off reliever John Schreiber and gave Cleveland a 3-1 lead and Roberto Perez followed with an RBI single. Carlos Santana added a sacrifice fly in the seventh and Cesar Hernandez singled in the Indians' final run in the eighth.
Matthew Boyd surrendered two runs in 5 1/3 innings for Detroit but remained winless in seven starts dating to last September.
McKenzie held the Tigers hitless until Castro blasted a 445-foot homer in the fourth. The 6-foot-5, 165-pounder had not pitched in an actual game since Aug. 30, 2018 and missed all of last season with a strained right rotator cuff and right pectoral strain.
Francisco Lindor and Hernandez each had three hits for Cleveland, which has won 21 of its last 22 games against Detroit.
McKenzie filled a hole in the rotation created when Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac were demoted to the alternate training site after violating league rules by leaving the team hotel in Chicago, risking exposure to COVID-19.
Clevinger and Plesac are eligible to be recalled next week, but the Indians have been noncommittal on the subject.
