For the 494th time in his career, Miguel Cabrera trotted around the bases.
And for the 50th time in his career, the 19-year MLB veteran did so against Cleveland. His home run simply served as a cushion for the Detroit Tigers in the fifth inning, but it put Cabrera six home runs away from the esteemed No. 500.
Riding a strong start from Wily Peralta, the Tigers (36-45) cruised to a 7-1 win over Cleveland in Game 2 of Wednesday’s seven-inning doubleheader at Progressive Field. Detroit swept the doubleheader after picking up a 9-4 win in Game 1.
Wednesday marked the first time since Aug. 7, 1986, that the Tigers swept a doubleheader against Cleveland. Likewise, it was the Tigers’ first doubleheader sweep in Cleveland since Sept. 14, 1977.
“It was good intensity today, and the guys were into it,” manager AJ Hinch said. “If we’re going to play, you want to win. … I think it was big that we came out in Game 1 and set the tone for day. That always puts everybody in a good place. Only having 40 minutes between games, we carried that right into Game 2.”
Game 2 started at 10:16 p.m. because Game 1 was delayed by two hours, 29 minutes due to rain. It marked the second-latest first pitch for a Tigers game in the past 20 years, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. (The latest first pitch occurred at 11:06 p.m. Aug. 27, 2007, against the New York Yankees at Comerica Park.)
“Obviously a long day,” Hinch said, “but a productive one.”
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With Cabrera’s solo shot for a 4-1 lead, he moved into sole possession of 28th place on MLB’s all-time leaderboard, passing Fred McGriff and Lou Gehrig.
“Miguel, he’s a Hall of Famer,” Peralta said. “I’m really excited to be playing with him.”
Following the home run, the Tigers went ahead 6-1 in the sixth inning behind a two-RBI single from Derek Hill off of Cleveland reliever Emmanuel Clase. Jonathan Schoop extended the lead to 7-1 with a single to right field. The Tigers forced Clase, who entered with a 0.85 ERA in 31⅔ innings, to use 21 pitches to complete the sixth. He allowed three runs (one earned) on three hits.
The bullpen — Jose Cisnero and Joe Jimenez — backed Peralta with scoreless sixth and seventh innings. Despite an error by Hill in center field, Cisnero struck out two batters in the sixth and dropped his ERA to 2.83 across 35 innings in 2021.
Peralta’s performance
Cleveland made hard contact against Peralta, averaging a 97.4 mph exit velocity on balls in play, but the veteran right-hander limited its batters to one run on three hits, with zero walks and five strikeouts, over five innings.
The only run he allowed was unearned.
“We had plenty of guys in the ‘pen,” Hinch said. “He kept punching guys out at the right time and finishing his innings stronger than he started, so we squeezed one last inning. I was going to get him if the fifth inning got out of control. Going into the game, you’re hoping four, maybe five (innings) on three days rest, albeit only 40 pitches the other day. But he deserved to win and earned it.”
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Peralta should have pitched a perfect second inning, after retiring Bobby Bradley for the first out. Shortstop Zack Short (throwing error) spiked a routine ground ball off the bat of Harold Ramirez into the dirt, and Schoop was unable to pick the ball cleanly at first base.
While Ramirez got cut down on a force out, Ernie Clement scored. He was driven in by a two-out triple from Bradley Zimmer. The ball drilled a corner on the center-field wall and ricocheted into right field, making for an easy triple for Zimmer.
Cleveland’s only threat of Peralta came in the fourth inning. He put runners on first and second base with two outs but responded by generating his fourth strikeout, a fastball on a 3-2 count.
“I feel really good,” Peralta said. “I had really good command of all my pitches and got ahead in the counts. In my first two outings, I was falling behind too much. That’s when I get in trouble. Tonight I was able to work ahead and make pitches when I had to.”
Peralta pitched a perfect first inning, allowed just a single in the third and tossed a perfect fifth. He earned his first MLB win as a starter since April 26, 2017, as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. The 32-year-old has an 3.21 ERA across four games (three starts) in 2021.
Scoring first
The Tigers scored twice in the second inning, which started with Cabrera’s single to right field. An Eric Haase walk applied pressure to Cleveland starter Logan Allen, and Short lined out to left field. But Short’s hard contact was enough for Cabrera — who advanced to third base on a wild pitch — to trot home for a 1-0 lead.
A passed ball by catcher Rene Rivera allowed Haase to take second base, and Willi Castro pushed the Tigers’ advantage to two runs with a two-out ground-rule double down the right-field line. A chance at further damage was squandered by Hill’s strikeout.
Hammerin’ Haase
In the fourth, Haase pummeled a 442-foot solo home run left-center field for a 3-1 lead and his first hit against his old team. He took three pitches for balls — two curveballs and one slider — before crushing a 91 mph fastball on a 3-0 count. (The ball traveled 113.2 mph off the bat.)
“The biggest difference was I knew I had to earn some more fastballs than the last time around,” Haase said. “Just being a little more patient. 3-0, it’s like, ‘I’m going to take a shot. If I get a heater, I’m going to take a good hack at it.’ That’s what I did.”
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Along with giving the Tigers a boost, Haase chased Allen from the game. Allen allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits and two walks over 3⅔ innings. He struck out three batters and threw 71 pitches (40 strikes).
It was Haase’s ninth homer of the season, and his first since June 8 against the Seattle Mariners.
“Just the last couple weeks, I was forced to make an adjustment,” Haase said. “Came out and had a strong month, and I can’t really make adjustments until I know how they’re going to pitch me. I got a really good feel for how they were going to pitch me from last series.”
“Earned some better pitches to swing at. Overall, just better ABs tonight.”
The Tigers loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth, thanks to Short’s single and back-to-back walks from Castro and Hill. But Robbie Grossman popped out to second base, ending the inning without adding more runs.
Evan Petzold is a sports reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.