Indians Outlast Tigers, 6-5

Blake's 11th-inning homer helps shrink Cleveland's magic number to 7
By Katherine Thompson,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 18, 2007 9:10 AM CDT
Indians Outlast Tigers, 6-5
Cleveland Indians' Casey Blake, right, celebrates with Kenny Lofton after hitting a game-winning solo home run off Detroit Tigers pitcher Zach Minor in the11th inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 17, 2007 in Cleveland. The Indians won 6-5. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)   (Associated Press)

With one swing, Casey Blake secured the Indians an 11th-inning win over the Detroit Tigers, and reduced Cleveland's magic number to seven. Blake's walk-off homer could end up being a key step on the way to the Indian's first playoff berth in six seasons, especially if they can take the rest of this series from the Tigers, reports the AP.

The Indians were trailing 5-1 when Jhonny Peralta homered in the fourth inning, and he did it again off Joel Zumaya to tie the game in the eighth. Zumaya, the beloved but injury-plagued Tigers reliever, notched his fourth blown save. Zach Miner, who gave up Blake's home run, took the loss for Detroit, and Indians reliever Rafael Betancourt nabbed the win. (More MLB stories.)

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