Tigers Snap Indians Win Streak

Rookie Jeff Weaver hopes the Detroit Tigers at least showed a flash Sunday of being a club that eventually can compete against the Cleveland Indians.

Weaver held Cleveland's powerful lineup to two runs in six-plus innings and Bobby Higginson homered twice as the Tigers snapped the Indians' six-game winning streak with a 9-3 win.

Tony Clark also homered for the Tigers, who ended a five-game losing streak with just their second win in their last nine home games against Cleveland.

Jim Thome homered for the Indians, still a major league-best 26-10. The loss was only their second in 11 games against AL Central Division rivals.

They'd also scored at least five runs in 14 of their last 15 games until Weaver and Masao Kida, who pitched the last three innings for his first career save, shut them down Sunday.

Weaver (4-3) gave up four hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

"I was mixing it up pretty good and I think that's what kept 'em off-balance," Weaver said. "It wasn't any one pitch. Their offense is unbelievable, and you have to be on your game. I was staying down in the zone pretty good, so that gave me confidence to go right at 'em."

Weaver's telling moment came in the fourth when the Indians, trailing 3-1, loaded the bases with two out. David Justice, whose grand slam highlighted the Indians' 12-7 win Saturday, took a called third strike on a 1-2 pitch.

"That was a backdoor slider," Weaver said. "I had to bear down remembering what he did yesterday with the bases loaded."

Cleveland's Omar Vizquel said Weaver's tough because he throws from many arm angles.

"He throws one over the top, then down, then three-quarters," Vizquel said. "And he threw almost all of them for strikes. He was around the zone all the time and mixed his pitches well. "

After seven major league starts, Weaver has stopped Tigers losing streaks of six, two and five game.

"We said all year starting in spring training this kid's got a chance to be a special kid," Tigers manager Larry Parrish said.

Jared Wright (4-1) was hit hard in his first start after a five-game suspension for his part in a bench-clearing melee April 23 in Boston. He gave up eight runs and nine hits with four strikeouts and three walks.

"I was just out of rhythm. I was trying to overthrow and wasn't throwing strikes," Wright said. "I felt fine; my arm felt good. I just didn't throw strikes. Sometimes you feel too strong, but it's still all about command."

Both Higginson and Clark ended the longest homerless drought of their careers.

Higginson hadn't homered in 98 at-bats over 28 games since April 14 before his two-run blast into the right-field upper deck gave the Tigers a 3-1 lead in the first. He added a three-run blast off Mark Langston, putting Detroit up 9-1 in the sixth.

"I've always been a streaky home run hitter," Higginson said. "I can hit five in a week or go like I did three or four weeks without hitting anything. I'm a streaky guy. By the end of the year it will all even out."

In between Higginson's shots, Clark hit a two-run homer in the fifth. It was his first in 75 at-bats over 23 games since April 21.

"The more I get caught up in longball the less I hit it," Clark said. "All I was thinking was this one pushed the lead to 5-1, and you can never get enough runs against Cleveland."

The Indians had taken a 1-0 lead in the first when Kenny Lofton led off with a single, took third on Vizquel's single and came home on a double-play grounder by Roberto Alomar.

Detroit came back with three in its half when Juan Encarnacion doubled and scored on Easley's double before Higginson's first homer.

Easley also had an RBI single in the sixth before Higginson's second homer.

Wil Cordero was hit by a pitch from Weaver and scored on Lofton's RBI double off Kida in the seventh. Einar Diaz tried to score from first on the two-out hit but was thrown out on a relay from Encarnacion in left to shortstop Deivi Cruz to catcher Brad Ausmus.

Thome led off the ninth with his fifth homer.

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