DETROIT — It’s shaping up as a banner year for Indians left-hander Cliff Lee.
Tigers lefty Dontrelle Willis needs his pitching to shape up … period.
The Indians kept Lee on the mound after a 57-minute rain delay in the fifth inning Monday and he became the AL’s first 10-game winner as the Tribe defeated Detroit 8-2.
“If it had been more than about an hour, it would have been tough, but we were able to keep him moving and keep him warm,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said.
Lee (10-1) allowed two runs, six hits and two walks while striking out five over five innings.
Meanwhile, Willis backpedaled quickly to get to the mound after many of his errant pitches, while the Tigers might be wishing they could take back the contract they gave him.
Ryan Garko and Kelly Shoppach both homered in the first two innings off Willis, helping the Indians earn a split in the four-game series and complete their 11-game road trip at 5-6.
“I didn’t do anything right,” Willis said. “Sometimes, it’s good to get it handed to you to make you work a little harder.”
Willis (0-1) gave up eight earned runs — matching a career high — three hits and five walks in 1 1/3 innings. He became just the third pitcher since 1956 to give up eight earned runs on three or fewer hits, according to STATS.
“Dontrelle had a rough night,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland bristled. “He did not throw strikes and he gave up two long balls. End of the conversation.”
Willis made his second start since going on the disabled list with a hyperextended right knee. In his last start, he walked five in four scoreless innings.
Willis was regarded as secondary player in a blockbuster trade last winter that added Miguel Cabrera from the Florida Marlins, but Detroit was confident enough in the pitcher to give him a $29 million, three-year deal.
So far, not so good.
He is struggling with his control — walking 21 batters in 11 1/3 innings — just as he did in his last two seasons with the Marlins. Only 27 of his 64 pitches were strikes against Cleveland.
“The guys did a good job of being patient,” Wedge said. “Obviously, we knew that he’s been struggling a little to throw the ball over the plate.
“But we’ve also seen how good he can be, so you never take anything for granted against him. You never know if the next pitch is going to be the one that gets him locked in again.”
Detroit can only hope that happens soon.
The former NL Rookie of the Year and runner-up for the NL’s Cy Young won 22 games during the previous two seasons combined in Florida after winning 22 in 2005.
Willis got off to a good start, getting Franklin Gutierrez to pop out before unraveling.
He walked the next two batters, then Garko brought them home with a 375-foot shot that sailed over the wall in left.
“I was looking for something down the middle or I wasn’t going to swing because I knew he was just trying to get something over the plate at that point,” Garko said. “It’s never easy against Dontrelle, but he’d already walked two guys and it was 3-1. So, I knew the next pitch was going to be down the middle or another ball.”
Willis walked the leadoff hitter the next inning, then Shoppach followed with a homer.
“They did a good job of making me pay for my mistakes,” he said.
Willis later walked consecutive batters to load the bases to end his night with only one out in the second.
Fans cheered Leyland when he left to dugout to take out Willis, who was booed as he ran off the field.
Denny Bautista entered the game and put three more runs on Willis’ line by hitting a batter and giving up a single and a sacrifice fly.
The Tigers pulled to 8-2 in the fourth on Edgar Renteria’s single and Placido Polanco’s double.
Both teams were held scoreless after the rain delay.
Detroit had a chance to score in the eighth, but Cabrera was robbed of a homer as Gutierrez leaped in stride to snag the shot over the wall in left-center.
“That was an unbelievable catch,” Wedge said.

Notes

The other two pitchers who gave up eight earned runs on three or fewer hits since 1956 were Randy Johnson and Kerry Wood.
• Willis give up eight earned runs for the fourth time in his career.
• Leyland went to watch RHPs Joel Zumaya (shoulder) and Fernando Rodney (shoulder) throw Sunday night at Triple-A Toledo and was encouraged, saying he expects them in the “very near future” to pitch for the Tigers.
• Leyland started Brandon Inge for Ivan Rodriguez behind the plate and plans to alternate them. “I’m going to catch these guys every other day for a while,” Leyland said. “If they do good, I’m going to keep doing it.”
• The Indians gave CF Grady Sizemore the night off.

TONIGHT  

WHO: Minnesota at Cleveland
TIME: 7:05
WHERE: Progressive Field
PITCHERS: Sabathia (3-8, 4.81 ERA) vs. Baker (2-0, 4.03)
TV/RADIO: SportsTime Ohio; WEOL 930-AM, WTAM 1100-AM
 

 

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