All it took was one swing for the Indians to snap their five-game skid and reenergize their push for the postseason. Mike Aviles drilled a grand slam over the left-field wall in the ninth inning to lift Cleveland to a 4-0 win Sunday at Comerica Park.
The Indians are now 7 1/2 games behind the first-place Tigers in the American League Central and 3 1/2 games back of the AL’s second Wild Card spot after Tampa Bay lost to Wild Card-leading Oakland.
Although Cleveland struggled for the big hit with runners in scoring position this week, it was walks and the team’s speed that ultimately set the scene for Aviles’ heroics in the Indians’ lone win on their six-game road trip through Atlanta and Detroit.
In the ninth, Carlos Santana drew a leadoff walk against Detroit’s Joaquin Benoit and was replaced on the basepaths by Jose Ramirez, making his Major League debut. Ramirez stole 38 bases at Double-A Akron and required extra attention from Benoit. Benoit has struggled holding runners on this season, allowing nine stolen bases in as many attempts.
Next, Michael Brantley drew an eight-pitch walk, and both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Asdrubal Cabrera. The Tigers intentionally walked Jason Kubel to keep their double-play options available, but instead, Aviles drilled a 2-2 cutter into Detroit’s bullpen.
“To get Ramirez in the game where he’s doing something, Cabby gets the bunt down, sometimes the little things add up to big things,” manager Terry Francona said. “We needed to win today.”
It was the ninth home run of the season for Aviles and his first career grand slam.
“I hit a lot of grand slams in my sleep,” Aviles said. “It’s just good to have a real one.”
Snapping the team’s losing streak, however, Aviles hopes his game-winning homer will lead to more than just one victory.
“I’m hoping it was huge for the team,” Aviles said. “We had a rough road trip. Definitely wasn’t the way we wanted it to go. But any time you can squeak out a victory on the last day, hopefully you can take that momentum going forward.”
Danny Salazar set the tone for the Tribe, shutting down a Tigers lineup that was without Miguel Cabrera and Austin Jackson. Salazar struck out five, giving up six hits and no runs or walks in six innings to take a no-decision. Though he threw only 77 pitches, it was his longest start since throwing 103 pitches over 7 2/3 innings on Aug. 7, against Detroit.
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