Five years ago Sunday, the Indians agreed to a trade with Milwaukee that shipped out ace CC Sabathia and brought in four players, one of whom was to be named later.
That player turned out to be Michael Brantley.
Thanks in large part to Brantley, the Indians snapped a four-game losing streak in a 9-6 win against the Tigers on Sunday. Brantley hit two home runs, making the most of a quality start from Corey Kluber.
The victory snapped a seven-game skid against Detroit, the club that leads Cleveland in the American League Central by 2 1/2 games.
“It was a big win for the team,” Brantley said. “I was just glad to be a part of it.”
Typical Brantley, always saying the right thing.
Brantley went 3-for-4 with a double, five RBIs and three runs scored. His first homer was a solo shot off Tigers starter Doug Fister in the sixth inning. His second homer came with a man on in the eighth, and it regained the lead for a Tribe club that initially jumped out to a 6-1 advantage.
Detroit chipped away with two runs on three hits in the seventh, when Joe Smith replaced Kluber after a one-out double. Then, with Vinnie Pestano in for the eighth, the Tigers tied it on a three-run bomb off the bat of Torii Hunter.
“I think we’re mad. But you’re at home, and you’re not losing,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “We just had to play.
“That would have been a tough one to go home today with a loss. But we didn’t.”
No small measure of credit goes to Kluber, who allowed five hits and two runs over 6 1/3 innings. He also had three walks and tied a career-high with 10 strikeouts. Kluber threw 109 pitches, 68 for strikes.
“He stayed ahead in the count,” Francona said. “He was aggressive. He was really good. When you start throwing in with your best velocity, that’s very impressive.”
Just as Kluber helped Cleveland snap an eight-game losing streak with a stellar outing in Texas last month, he stepped up to stop this skid.
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