Lindor's 9th-inning single helps Indians win eighth straight

DETROIT -- Carlos Carrasco wasn't going to let a minor illness slow down the Cleveland Indians.

Pitching with a cold, Carrasco held Detroit to one run in seven innings and the Indians beat the Tigers 3-2 on Friday in the first game of a day-night doubleheader for their eighth straight victory.

"I just had to go out there and do my job," Carrasco said. "We won, and that's the important part."

Detroit was playing for the first time since sending Justin Verlander to the Houston Astros and Justin Upton to the Los Angeles Angels at the waiver trade deadline.

With the score tied at 2, Jay Bruce hit a pinch-hit triple off Shane Greene (3-3) with one out in the ninth. Francisco Lindor hit an RBI single through the drawn-in infield, but Greene retired the next two batters.

"I had six triples in the first half of last season, then went dry," Bruce said. "They didn't pick the ball up pretty quickly, and I just kept going."

Bruce wasn't surprised that Lindor followed with a clutch hit.

"He can change a game in so many ways, offensively and defensively," he said.

Indians manager Terry Francona used 19 players in the game, including 15 hitters.

"It is always a little adjustment on the first day of September, because you are used to having three or four guys on the bench," he said. "I looked down the dugout in the ninth and had some pretty good hitters."

Cody Allen (2-6) allowed the tying run in the eighth, and the Tigers loaded the bases with two out in the ninth. Joe Smith came out of the bullpen and got Miguel Cabrera to line out to short for his first save of the year.

"Miggy hit that right on the screws, but right at Lindor," Ausmus said.

Tigers starter Matt Boyd allowed one run on five hits in five innings.

"I felt good, but I got away with a few pitches," he said. "I didn't throw enough strikes, so I didn't get us deep enough into the game."

Cleveland took the lead with three straight one-out singles in the fifth. Brandon Guyer was ruled safe on an infield hit after a replay review, moved to second on Yan Gomes' base hit and scored on a hit by Giovanny Urshela. Boyd walked Lindor to load the bases, but struck out Austin Jackson and retired Jose Ramirez to end the inning.

Detroit, though, came back in the bottom of the inning. With two out, James McCann and JaCoby Jones singled before Jose Iglesias tied the score with an RBI double.

Edwin Encarnacion led off the sixth with a homer off Drew VerHagen, his 32nd of the season, to give the Indians a 2-1 lead.

The Tigers put runners on the corners with two out in the eighth. Allen replaced Bryan Shaw and fooled Mikie Mahtook on a 1-2 curve, but his slow roller to short turned into a game-tying infield single.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Indians: Cleveland activated four players as part of their Sept. 1 roster moves: RHP Josh Tomlin (hamstring), OF Lonnie Chisenhall (calf) and OF Abraham Almonte (hamstring) came off the 10-day disabled list, while RHP Dan Otero was taken off the paternity list.

Tigers: Detroit activated LHP Daniel Norris (groin) and RHP Anibal Sanchez (hamstring) from the disabled list before the game. Both struggled in rehab starts on Thursday, and Brad Ausmus doesn't know when they will return to Detroit's rotation. . RHP Michael Fulmer will miss at least two starts due to recurring numbness in his pitching hand. He won't start again until after a visit with Dr. James Andrews.

COMING FULL CIRCLE

Verlander's major league debut came in a Tigers-Indians doubleheader on July 4, 2005. Twelve years later, Detroit started the post-Verlander era with another doubleheader against Cleveland.

The long-time Tigers ace wasn't quite ready to end his days in Detroit, though. Ausmus said Verlander visited the clubhouse during the game.

UP NEXT

Mike Clevinger (7-5, 3.72) will start the second of the game for the doubleheader for Cleveland, facing Detroit's Buck Farmer (3-1, 6.17). Farmer will be facing the Indians for the fifth time in his career, including three starts. He's 0-2 with a 7.20 ERA, while Clevinger has gone 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA in starts against the Tigers this season.