Fans of the Detroit Tigers know nothing good ever comes of a trip to Cleveland. Since the Tiger reign as AL Central overlords ended in 2015, Cleveland has feasted on the Tigers. However, Monday’s contest in Progressive Field has already provided one big highlight.
In the second inning, with Cabrera leading off the frame, starter Eli Morgan started him off with a fastball on the inner edge for a strike. Then he came back with a breaking ball away and left it up just a bit too much. Cabrera, in classic fashion, launched it the opposite way for his sixth home run of the year, and the 493rd of his Hall of Fame career.
The solo shot made it 2-1 Cleveland at the time. It also tied Cabrera with Lou Gehrig and Fred McGriff for 28th place on the all-time career home run list.
Cabrera missed a few games last week with a minor calf issue, so it’s good to see him able to reach out and still drive the ball with authority. While the consistent power isn’t there anymore, the big fella is still hitting .303 for the month of June. He missed a little time early in the season as well. If he can just stay reasonably healthy the rest of the way through the hot summer months, there’s a pretty good chance he reaches that big milestone on the horizon by season’s end.