Detroit Tigers Beat Cleveland Behind “Mr. Fister’s” 13 K’s.

Doug Fister pitched one of the best games of his young career this afternoon when the Tigers really needed it. Mr. Fister struck out 13 Indians batters in 8 innings of work today to notch his 4th win since coming to Detroit in a trade from Seattle. Fister was 3-12 as a Mariner, but is 4-1 as a Tiger. Today's win puts Cleveland 7.5 games behind the first place Tigers with 21 games left to play.
After bashing 24 hits and 18 runs last night, the Tigers could only muster 5 hits today. Cleveland starter Ubaldo Jimenez was pretty good, striking out 8 in 7 innings. He made one big mistake when he tried to sneak a fastball past Victor Martinez with two on in the 4th inning. Victor got all of that one, and just missed reaching the second deck at Progressive Field with a 420-foot 3-run homer that put the Tigers ahead for good. Jose Valverde worked a 1-2-3 9th inning to earn his 41st save and the Tigers beat the Tribe 4-2. The Tigers and Indians will play two more in this series, and Cleveland really can't afford to lose another game to Detroit if they hope to stay in the race. Rick Porcello (12-8) will start tomorrow night against Cleveland's Fausto Carmona (6-13). Justin Verlander is scheduled to start in Wednesday's game. A win in either game will make life a lot more comfortable for the Tigers the rest of the way. Two wins and the Central Division title is pretty much settled. This Tiger team is too loaded with talent to blow this large of a lead.