Indians Complete Sweep of Tigers, Head to Minnesota Next

The Cleveland Indians did something Sunday that they have not done since Memorial Day weekend of 1991. They completed a four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers and did so in a convincing 7-2 win behind the arm of young Jeanmar Gomez. Gomez made his major-league debut on Sunday and in seven innings of work managed to strike out four batters and walk only one. Handed a plane ticket to North Carolina before the game to re-join Triple-A Columbus for their four game series there, Gomez knew that this was going to be his one shot to impress the Tribe’s coaching staff and attempt to secure himself a spot with the team next season. After giving up no earned runs and scattering just five hits over those seven innings, Gomez may very well get the chance to audition for the club again this season.

Of course, Gomez’s pitching wasn’t the only thing that won the game on Sunday. The Tribe’s offense was on fire against Detroit starter Andrew Oliver. They got things rolling early in an almost impossible fashion. With two on and two out, Jhonny Peralta stepped up to the plate and sent a ball deep into center field where the Tigers’ Ryan Rayburn seemed poised to track it down for a spectacular catch. Unfortunately for Rayburn, he was right in front of the Indians’ bullpen, and went crashing through the bullpen gate as he dropped back to make the catch. The ball careened off into shallow center, and Peralta never looked back. After missing three games with the flu, Jhonny put his head down and trucked around all four bases for one of the most improbable inside the park home runs in history. The Tribe grabbed a 3-0 lead, and never looked back.

> Fans can find a great selection of Cleveland Indians apparel & hats online through MLB Center and Pro Baseball Fans!

Also of note in the game, Matt LaPorta hit the first triple of his career, Jayson Nix and Michael Brantley both had doubles in the game, and Andy Marte committed yet another error, allowing a ball to go between his legs in the sixth which lead to Detroit’s only runs of the game.

The Indians head to Minnesota Monday for a quick three-game road trip to take on the Twins. Having dismantled one of the three teams competing for the top spot in the division, the Tribe will be looking to continue their wrecking ball as Aaron Laffey takes the mound at Target Field. When the Tribe returns home on Friday, expect to see both Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera in the starting line-up as the club announced today that both are likely to be activated from the disabled list that morning.

By Robert Gonzalez
Cleveland Indians Correspondent

> View all of the MLB baseball news articles from MLB Center.