Detroit @ Cleveland preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 5, 2011 ) Detroit 4, Cleveland 2

THE STORY: The Detroit Tigers did their best to knock the Chicago White Sox out of the division race over the weekend. Now they’re coming for the Cleveland Indians. The Tigers took the opener of a three-game series with the Indians on Monday, bumping their lead in the American League Central to a commanding 7 ½ games. They have won four straight and, more importantly, have managed to take three of those without Justin Verlander starting. Cleveland is shedding players due to injury on a near-daily basis and appears to be nearing the end of a spirited run that has given the franchise some hope for the near future. The Indians will be looking to keep hope alive when they send Fausto Carmona to the mound against Detroit at Progressive Field on Tuesday.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FSD (Detroit), STO (Cleveland)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Fausto Carmona (6-13, 4.84 ERA) vs. Tigers RH Rick Porcello (12-8, 5.01 ERA).

Carmona has been extremely inconsistent this season, capable of tossing a gem or getting lit up depending on whether his trademark sinker is dancing on that particular day. The Dominican native has earned just one win in his last eight turns and took the loss Thursday against the Oakland Athletics. Carmona allowed three earned runs in seven innings to lose to Detroit on Aug. 11 and owns an 8-5 career record with a 3.50 ERA in 19 games – 16 starts – against the division rivals.

Porcello allowed multiple home runs for just the third time this season last Wednesday at Kansas City, but he limited the damage to four runs in seven innings. He did not factor in the decision. The 22-year-old had two of his worst starts of the season against Cleveland last month, failing to make it out of the fourth inning in either turn while yielding a total of 13 runs and 18 hits. Porcello is 4-1 with a 4.06 ERA in 10 career starts against the Indians.

ABOUT THE INDIANS (70-68): Cleveland finally got Grady Sizemore back, but Shin-Soo Choo is gone again and Michael Brantley is out for the season following surgery last week to remove the hamate bone in his right hand. The Indians finally got a strong start from their big trade-deadline acquisition, Ubaldo Jimenez, on Monday. But the offense could not get anything going. Cleveland had won seven of its previous 10 games entering the series with Detroit but could still not chip away at a division deficit that has grown from 1 ½ games on Aug. 19 to its current 7 ½. Sizemore, who had been out since July 18 due to a knee injury and hernia surgery, returned on Monday and drove in a run with a groundout as the Indians fell 4-2.

ABOUT THE TIGERS (79-62): Detroit did not get into Cleveland until early Monday morning after completing a three-game sweep of the White Sox with an 18-2 demolition Sunday night. The sluggishness showed in an offense that went from 24 hits on Sunday to five on Monday. One of those hits happened to be a three-run homer from Victor Martinez, giving Doug Fister plenty of room with which to work. Fister, who presumably made it to Cleveland early and had plenty of rest, struck out a career-high 13 in eight innings as Detroit won for the 14th time in its last 18 games.

FINAL PITCH: The one piece of bad news the Tigers have had recently surrounds Brennan Boesch, who is waiting to undergo thumb surgery. The procedure will end the season for Boesch, who hit .283 with 16 home runs and 25 doubles in 115 games.