CLEVELAND — A little less than 12 hours after completing a 13-inning game that lasted five hours and 33 minutes, the Indians and Tigers took the field for the finale of a four-game series Thursday at Progressive Field.
Red Bull, anyone?
Looking understandably lethargic in front of a surprisingly large crowd (34,186), the pair of Central Division rivals stumbled their way through nine innings, with the Indians prevailing 9-4 to salvage a split.
The clubs put an exasperating exclamation on the four-game series, committing five errors, while botching plenty of other plays — Cleveland emerging with its third win in nine games, while Detroit dropped its third in seven to fall six games behind the first-place White Sox in the division standings.
“I think both teams were a little fatigued from (a 14-12 Tigers’ win Wednesday night),” said Cleveland’s Grady Sizemore, one of the few seemingly fresh players (1-for-3, HR and four RBIs), but with the benefit of serving as the designated hitter. “You try to bounce back and put it behind you and get ready for (Thursday’s game).”
In addition to the victory, Cleveland could draw a positive from the performance of starting pitcher Fausto Carmona, who bounced back from a dismal outing in his first start back from the disabled list to produce a quality one — two earned runs on five hits over 6 1/3 innings.
The right-hander, who spent two-plus months on the injured list with a hip strain, won for the first time since May 12, allowing just a run on two hits through the first five innings. He allowed a career-high nine runs in just 2 1/3 innings in his previous start against the Minnesota Twins.
“It seems like a long time,” Carmona said through interpreter and first base coach Luis Rivera of the decision. “I know I spent a lot of time on the disabled list.
“I was less excited, more relaxed. I was aggressive in the strike zone, changing speeds and keeping the ball down.”
“I thought he was real good today,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said. “He had a much better feel for his sinker and made adjustments. He had a lot of things going on (during his first start). He was much more under control (Thursday).
“We didn’t play well defensively, but he didn’t let that get to him. You just control what you can control.”
Cleveland’s shoddy defense contributed to a pair of unearned runs on Carmona’s line, with fielding blunders also assisting on the two “earned” runs in the seventh inning.
Right fielder Shin-Soo Choo lost a ball in the sun — as did second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera in the sixth — on a fly ball that fell for a double from Edgar Renteria to lead off the inning, with first baseman Ryan Garko also misplaying a ground ball.
In all, the Indians committed three errors for a two-game total of seven.
“The last two games have been really bad,” Wedge said of his defense, which entered the day ranked first in the majors. “They had a pretty good idea (I wasn’t happy) in the middle of the game. There’s no excuse for that. But I’ll give these guys credit for overcoming that and fighting on.”
Easing some of Wedge’s tension was the performance of his offense, which did its usual number on Tigers ace Justin Verlander.
Despite starting strong, Verlander was on the losing end against the Indians once again, allowing six runs on five hits over 5 2/3 innings.
In his career against Cleveland, the right-hander is 4-8 with a 6.51 ERA in 13 starts (1-3, 5.84 ERA in four starts this year), with the lifetime ERA and loss total the highest Verlander has compiled against any team.
Verlander matched Carmona’s effectiveness through the first four innings before Sizemore changed the game with one out in the fifth.
Verlander had retired 11 of 12 batters (six on strikeouts) before he hit Sal Fasano and walked Cabrera to bring Sizemore to the plate, with Cleveland’s leadoff hitter depositing the first pitch he saw into the right-field seats for his 27th home run and a 4-1 lead.
The Indians added two more in the sixth to chase Verlander and three in the eighth against a depleted Detroit bullpen.
Sizemore’s homer extended an 11-game hitting streak and he added a stolen base (27th) to draw him closer to the coveted 30-homer, 30-stolen base plateau, something just one other Indian — Joe Carter in 1987 — has accomplished.
“I try not to think about it,” Sizemore said. “I’m just trying to have as good a season as possible. Wherever the numbers lie, that’s fine with me. I just want to help my team win.”
Sizemore is actually on pace to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases, which would make him the fifth player in major league history to achieve as much, joining Barry Bonds, Alfonso Soriano, Alex Rodriguez and Jose Canseco.
Now, that’s something he could sleep on.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

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