CLEVELAND -- Miguel Cabrera hit one home run in August. He hit two on the first day of September.
Cabrera hit two of five Detroit Tigers home runs and David Price pitched well Monday afternoon as the Tigers cruised to an easy 12-1 win over the Cleveland Indians.
Victor Martinez, J.D. Martinez and Tyler Collins each hit a home run for the Tigers.
Cabrera hit a two-run home run just over the wall in left field with one out in the first inning. Back-to-back home runs by the Martinezes gave the Tigers a 5-1 lead in the third. Cabrera added a solo home run with two outs in the eighth inning to give the Tigers an 8-1 lead before Collins homered in the ninth.
The home run in the first inning was the first for Cabrera since Aug. 2 and just his fourth since June 30. Cabrera hit .252 with a .691 OPS in the month of August. The streak of 27 games without a home run was the longest of his career.
Cabrera had four hits in the game.
Price allowed one run on eight hits and two walks in seven innings of work. He struck out eight.
The win pulls the Tigers into a first-place tie with the Kansas City Royals in the Central Division race pending the outcome of the game tonight between the Royals and the Texas Rangers. If the Rangers win, the Tigers will be alone in first place.
The Tigers sent three September call-ups from the minor leagues to bat in the ninth inning. All three of them got hits. Hernan Perez singled, then went to second when Steven Moya singled in his first career at-bat. Collins then followed with a three-run home run -- his first career home run -- to make it 12-1.
Tigers' highlights
-- It didn't take long for the Tigers to take the lead. Ian Kinsler appeared to be bound for a single or possibly a double on a ball he hit to right field, but Mike Aviles misplayed it into a triple. Two batters later, Cabrera hit a line drive down the line in left field to make it 2-0. Cabrera entered the game 15 for 28 with two doubles, three home runs and a 1.495 OPS vs. Kluber.
-- Aviles misplayed a fly ball to right field into a single for Cabrera with two outs in the third inning. That helped the Tigers, who then got back-to-back home runs by Victor Martinez and J.D. Martinez to take a 5-1 lead. Victor Martinez hit an 0-2 pitch from Kluber over the wall in right field for a two-run home run that was estimated at 394 feet. J.D. Martinez then followed suit with a home run to right to make it 5-1.
-- The Indians put two on with nobody out in the fifth inning, but Price retired the next three batters -- two on strikeouts -- to escape the jam unscathed.
-- The Tigers loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh inning and capitalized on the threat. Alex Avila and Eugenio Suarez had back-to-back one-out singles as the Tigers increased their lead to 7-1.
-- The Tigers loaded the bases and then scored another run in the eighth inning after the second home run by Cabrera made it 8-1.
Tigers' lowlights
-- The Indians got a run back in the first thanks to a weird misplay by center fielder Ezequiel Carrera. After Michael Brantley reached base on a two-out single, Carlos Santana hit a towering fly ball to deep center field. Carrera raced back before stopping a few feet short of the wall and leaping into the air. The ball bounced off Carrera's glove and fell on to the warning track as Brantley raced around to score to cut his team's deficit to 2-1.
-- The Tigers had the bases loaded and a chance to blow the game wide open with two outs in the sixth inning, but Torii Hunter grounded out to shortstop to end the threat.
Game notes
-- It was the shortest start of the season for Kluber. His line: 2.2IP, 7H, 5R, 5ER, 2BB, 2SO. He threw 57 pitches, 38 for strikes. The three home runs he allowed were a career high.
-- Aviles was removed from the game at the start of the fourth inning due to dizziness and lightheadedness.
-- Catcher James McCann made his major-league debut in the bottom of the ninth inning when he replaced Alex Avila behind the plate.
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