Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Justin Masterson led a strong performance on the mound as his team beat the Detroit Tigers, 3-2 for the second consecutive night at Comerica Park.
Masterson (11-12) scattered four hits in six innings with his one big mistake coming in the sixth inning when Detroit third baseman Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run homer to tighten up the game. Masterson was able to finish the sixth by striking out Prince Fielder but then he gave way to his bullpen to finish the game.
Scott Barnes, Joe Smith and Vinnie Pestano came on to hold the Tigers without another hit through the eighth inning before handing the ball to closer Chris Perez for a perfect ninth inning to earn his 34th save of the season.
The Indians were able to score on Detroit starter Rick Porcello (9-11) early with two runs in the second and one in the third as Michael Brantley and Asdrubal Cabrera both delivered run-scoring doubles.
The two teams will finish their three-game series on Wednesday night as the Indians continue trying to play the spoiler role in the AL Central race.
For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Cleveland. For more in-depth coverage of this series, visitIndians blog Let's Go Tribe and Detroit Tigers blog Bless You Boys. For more news, notes and analysis from around Major League Baseball, check out Baseball Nation.