Guillen rips 2 HRs as Porcello limits Indians to help Tigers keep AL Central lead

CLEVELAND -- Carlos Guillen feels right again, which is good news for the pennant-hungry Detroit Tigers.

Guillen hit two of Detroit's three home runs to help Rick Porcello and the Tigers defeat Cleveland 11-3 on Wednesday night, the Indians' season-high 10th straight loss.

Miguel Cabrera added a two-run homer, a 440-foot shot into the bleachers in left-center, as the Tigers won their third straight, maintaining a 2 1/2-game lead over Minnesota in the AL Central. The Twins won at Chicago, 8-6, and will open a four-game series in Detroit on Monday.

"The big boys stepped it up," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "Carlos is one of the big boys, but it's not fair to ask him to do too much because he's missed so much time. It's good to have him back."

Guillen's second homer of the game and 11th of the season was hit right-handed as the switch-hitter batted from that side for only the second game since returning from the disabled list July 24. He missed more than two months with a sore right shoulder that the Tigers originally feared may have needed surgery.

"Any home run feels good," Guillen said, adding he didn't think about whether it came right-handed or left. "I just try to hit the ball, help my team, and don't think too much about anything. I feel strong."

Guillen tied a season high with four RBIs. He hit a two-run homer in the third off right-hander Justin Masterson (4-9) and connected on the second pitch from left-hander Mike Gosling to make it 9-1 in the fifth. It was the fourth time in his career Guillen went deep from both sides and his seventh multihomer game overall.

Porcello (14-9) allowed one run and six hits over five innings.

"He wasn't real sharp, but got through it," Leyland said. "He was fighting himself a bit, eager to see if the next pitch would be a strike or not."

Porcello walked three and struck out one to go to 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in four starts against Cleveland. The 20-year-old is the youngest pitcher to go 3-0 in a season against the Indians since Milt Pappas of Baltimore in 1958, also at age 20.

"I was struggling to throw strikes, but it was big to shut them down and not let them get back into it," Porcello said.

The Indians loaded the bases in the first two innings, but scored only one run, on Travis Hafner's fielder's choice grounder in the first.

"We had opportunities early," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "He made some pitches, but we helped him out a bit, too."

The Tigers got four straight hits and took advantage of a throwing error by first baseman Andy Marte to take a 4-0 lead in the first.

"There were a couple of innings where we gave them extra outs," Wedge said. "They may not be errors, but we're not making plays. That makes it even harder."

Cabrera drove in one run with a single and Aubrey Huff's RBI double made it 2-0 with one out. Guillen then grounded to Marte, who threw wildly trying to get Cabrera scoring from third. Brandon Inge made it 4-0 with a groundout.

Hafner had an RBI groundout in the seventh against Ryan Perry, and Luis Valbuena added an RBI double to make it 11-3.

Masterson dropped to 0-5 in six starts since beating the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 20. The right-hander gave up seven hits and six earned runs over four innings. In his previous appearance against Detroit, he struck out six over 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief on Aug. 1 in his Cleveland debut after being acquired from Boston in the multiplayer trade that sent All-Star catcher Victor Martinez to the Red Sox.

"You want to try to give your team a chance to win, but when you give up four in the first, it's a little deflating," Masterson said. "It was a very disappointing day. It was a little tough luck and some bad pitches in some bad counts."

Game notes
Tigers LHP Jarrod Washburn had his swollen left knee examined by Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles, but a decision was not made on what course of treatment will be taken. Washburn, bothered by the knee all season, left a Sept. 15 start against Kansas City because of it. ... Indians 1B-OF Matt LaPorta is day-to-day with an inflamed left hip. "He wants to play, but he's not going to do much more than test it in batting practice," Wedge said. ... Tigers SS Adam Everett, in an 0-for-10 slide, didn't start, but was a pinch-runner in the seventh and stayed in the game, but did not bat. ... Indians 3B Johnny Peralta, in an 0-for-25 skid, didn't play. ... Cabrera is hitting .358 (24-of-67) with three homers and 11 RBIs against Cleveland this season.