Detroit Tigers Maul Cleveland Indians in 14-0 Thrashing

For Ubaldo Jimenez, the end couldn’t come soon enough.

The 27-year-old right-hander went five innings Monday and allowed six runs on nine hits, while struggling with his command for most of the evening. Jimenez saw his overall record drop to 10-12 on the year.

With Cleveland (80-80), Jimenez posted a 4-4 record with a 5.10 ERA in 11 starts. Those are not the numbers Indians fans were looking for from the former Colorado Rockies ace, but for a team who is looking to compete in 2012, those numbers can (hopefully) only get better.

Jimenez was opposed on the mound tonight by another pitcher who was a trade deadline acquisition in Detroit (93-67) starter Doug Fister. Fister (10-13) continued his dominance over the Indians, going eight strong innings, where he allowed only three hits, struck out nine and earned the shutout.

The Tigers jumped out early on Jimenez when Ryan Raburn’s triple to deep right scored Alex Avila and gave the division leaders the 1-0 lead in the second inning.

With Fister on the mound, that was the only run Detroit would need, but it didn’t matter as they continued to score runs en route to a 14-0 onslaught of the Cleveland Indians pitching staff.

Detroit scored three more runs off of Jimenez in the third inning.

Miguel Cabrera singled to center, scoring Will Rhymes, giving Cabrera his 129th RBI of the season and Detroit a 2-0 lead with runners on the corner and two out. Jimenez walked the next Tigers hitter—former Indian Victor Martinez, who continued his dominance over his former team—loading the bases for Alex Avila, who promptly took a Jimenez pitch and drove it to left for a two-run double.

Detroit got their last two runs off of Jimenez in the fifth when Martinez and Avila struck again with RBI hits, giving the Tigers a huge six-run lead and ending Jimenez’s disappointing year.

Unfortunately for the Indians, the Tigers were only getting started.

The domination would continue as Detroit took advantage of young Indians relievers Cory Kluber and Josh Judy in an eight-run eighth inning that clearly put this one away. Kluber and Judy combined to allow eight earned runs on nine hits.

On the night, Detroit scored 14 runs on 16 hits and had one error, while Cleveland was shutout and managed only four hits.

For Detroit, it was one of those nights where the ball was the size of the moon. For the Indians, it was a night to forget and move on.

The Indians get their chance for revenge tomorrow night at 7:05 in Game 2 of the series. Jeanmar Gomez (5-2, 3.52) will look to cement his spot in the Indians' 2012 rotation as he takes on Detroit righty Max Scherzer (14-9, 4.37).