Jason Kipnis and Ubaldo Jimenez Lead the Way in Indians' Rout of Detroit

On the night of Ubaldo Jimenez's Progressive Field debut, Jason Kipnis quickly made sure he wouldn't be overlooked.

After giving the Indians their first hit of the game on a single, Kipnis' night was far from over. Just an inning later, Kipnis hit a two-run shot over the right field wall, giving the Tribe a 4-0 lead. Asdrubal Cabrera joined the hit parade with an RBI single of his own in the fourth inning, followed by another RBI single by none other than Kipnis.

The Indians offense knocked out Tigers starter Rick Porcello early after he gave up 11 hits and eight earned runs in only 3.2 innings pitched. Last night's loser, David Pauley, replaced Porcello and allowed two runs in the next three innings, the last of which was scored by Carlos Santana on a single from Shelley Duncan. 

Kipnis raised his average nearly 70 points after ending the night 5-for-5 with two singles, two doubles and his sixth home run of the season.

As for Jimenez, his night started off strong, striking out his first two batters and retiring the first six batters he faced. After getting out of the third inning and giving up singles to the first two batters, the fourth inning was anything but pretty. Former Indian fan favorite, Victor Martinez, started a two-out rally with an infield single and Ryan Raburn followed with an RBI triple over the head of left fielder Shelley Duncan.

Immediately, Tribe fans surely began to feel that the Ubaldo trade was a bad idea. After letting in two more runs in the inning, Jimenez tightened up for the next four innings, giving the fans a collective sigh of relief.

He left with eight innings pitched, six hits, three earned runs and his first win as a member of the Cleveland Indians organization. Frank Hermann closed the game after the recent struggles of Chris Perez, giving the Tribe a 10-3 victory.   

This series against the Tigers is possibly the biggest test thus far in the season for the Indians, and they have answered the call. A blowout tonight, following a roller coaster ride last night, give the Indians a chance to sweep the Tigers tomorrow as they face the dominant Justin Verlander, who almost no-hit the Tribe twice this season. 

Now only two games out of the lead in the AL Central, the Indians seem inspired by the acquisition of Jimenez as well the play of Kipnis.

Indians manager Manny Acta has been extremely impressed by Kipnis, calling him a "dirt dog" (apparently a term of endearment in baseball) and tweeting simply that "Kipnis ROCKED." These two men have been the spark that hopefully will light the Indians' fire and lead them to a Central Division title and beyond.

If you're not following Jason Kipnis on Twitter, you can follow him @TheJK_Kid.

As they're beginning to say in Cleveland: "We Are All Kipnises."