Major League Baseball
Cleveland 1, Detroit 0
When: 4:10 PM ET, Saturday, September 17, 2016
Where: Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio
Temperature: 79°
Umpires: Home - Mike Everitt, 1B - Jordan Baker, 2B - Pat Hoberg, 3B - Tim Timmons
Attendance: 26654

CLEVELAND -- What kind of game was it?

"Whoever makes a mistake is probably going to lose," said Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona, who watched nine of his pitchers combine on a four-hit shutout in a 1-0 10-inning victory over the Detroit Tigers Saturday at Progressive Field.

It was a bittersweet win for the Indians. Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco suffered a season-ending broken hand when he was hit by a line drive in the first inning.

It is major blow to Cleveland's rotation because another starter, Danny Salazar, is already done for the year due to a strained right forearm.

"We might have to piece it together, but the good news is we think we can," said Francona of the team's injury-riddled rotation.

Saturday's victory took some of the sting out of losing another pitcher. Jose Ramirez's bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 10th drove in the only run.

The American League Central-leading Indians won the first two games of this series to increase their lead over the second-place Tigers to eight games. Cleveland's magic number for clinching their first division title in nine years is seven.

The Indians are 13-1 versus Detroit this year, outscoring the Tigers 91-40.

"We have to find a way to score, obviously," Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said. "We only got one guy past second base in the whole game. I felt like we could have been a little better, but it wasn't from a lack of effort."

Andrew Miller (8-1), the last of the Indians' eight relievers, pitched two scoreless innings to get the win.

"In this kind of game, at this point in the season, that's my job," said Miller, who normally only pitches one inning. "I felt I could go out there and get three more outs. There weren't a whole lot of guys left. This is a big win for us."

Carlos Santana led off the bottom of the 10th by drawing a four-pitch walk from Justin Wilson (4-5). Jason Kipnis attempted a sacrifice bunt, but catcher James McCann fielded it and threw to second to get the forceout on Santana. A wild pitch by Wilson moved Kipnis to second and he stole third.

Francisco Lindor drew a walk and Mike Napoli was intentionally walked to load the bases. Ramirez, on his 24th birthday, hit a bouncer through the middle of the infield and into center field for a single, scoring Kipnis.

"(Wilson) got a groundball, it just was in a spot where no one was," Ausmus said.

"That was fun," Francona said. "There was so much good baseball going on, and so much good pitching."

The nine pitchers used by the Indians are the most by any major league team in a shutout of nine or more innings since at least 1913.

Tigers starter Justin Verlander pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and four walks while striking out seven.

"Justin pitched outstanding," Ausmus said. "He was a tick off with the fastball a couple of times, but he got that corrected pretty early."

Cleveland had great opportunities to score in the eighth and ninth.

Reliever Alex Wilson came on to start the eighth. A walk and a ground-rule double by Kipnis put runners at second and third with one out before Wilson struck out Lindor and Napoli to end the inning.

In the ninth, the Indians had runners at second and third with two outs, but pinch hitter Brandon Guyer grounded out.

The game did not start well for Cleveland. In the first inning, Tigers leadoff hitter Ian Kinsler lined the second pitch of the game back to the mound. The ball hit Carrasco on the back of the right hand and he had to be removed from the game.

X-rays revealed a non-displaced fracture of the fifth metacarpal of his right hand, ending his season.

Carrasco's quick exit started a parade of relievers to the mound for the Indians.

"I told (bullpen coach Jason Bere), to tell them to put on their seat belts because they were all going to pitch," Francona said.

Jeff Manship, Kyle Crockett, Cody Anderson, Zach McAllister, Perci Garner, Bryan Shaw, Cody Allen and Miller came on to pitch the rest of the way.

"Top to bottom it was an awesome job by everyone," Miller said.

NOTES: Indians manager Terry Francona, on C Yan Gomes, who has been diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture of his right wrist: "Chances are his season is over." Gomes suffered the injury when hit by a pitch in a rehab game at Double-A Akron on Sept. 14. Gomes has been on the disabled list since July 18 with a separated right shoulder. ... Indians 1B Mike Napoli has 34 home runs. That's the second-most by a player in his first year with the Indians. OF Juan Gonzalez hit 35 in 2001. ... Tigers OF Justin Upton hit 11 home runs since Aug. 21, second in the American League in that span to Minnesota 2B Brian Dozier (13). ... Tigers DH Victor Martinez is hitting .331 on the road this year. That's the second-highest road batting average in the American League.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Detroit   Cleveland
Justin Verlander Player Carlos Carrasco
No Decision W/L No Decision
7.0 IP 0.0
7 Strikeouts 0
1 Hits 1
0.00 ERA 0.00
Hitting
Detroit   Cleveland
Miguel Cabrera Player Jason Kipnis
2 Hits 2
0 RBI 0
0 HR 0
3 TB 3
.667 Avg .400
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Detroit 4 0 5 .125 12 10 0 3 1 0
Cleveland 4 0 5 .129 17 10 1 9 4 0