Mike drop: Bouncing ball clears 19-foot wall

CLEVELAND — When Justin Upton stopped running and put his hands up, Mike Napoli assumed that the Tigers outfielder was trying to pull a fast one on Cleveland’s baserunners. The Indians slugger assumed his deep fly to left field would be caught, resulting in a routine sacrifice fly.

Napoli did not anticipate the confusion that followed. With an assist from Progressive Field’s lights, which toyed with Upton’s eyes, Napoli wound up with an improbable ground-rule double that cleared Progressive Field’s 19-foot wall, and got the Tribe’s offense rolling in an 11-4 rout over Detroit in a critical division clash on Friday night.

“I thought he was deking the runners,” Napoli said. “I’ll take it.”

Napoli’s first-inning double, which bounced off the warning track behind Upton, led to two runs and came during a three-hit showing for the Tribe’s first baseman. Napoli ended with four RBIs, including another pair on a home run that cleared the big wall in left in more traditional fashion, sailing to the back of the Home Run Porch and bouncing out of the ballpark.

The slugger helped set the tone for Cleveland’s attack, which capitalized on multiple mistakes by the Tigers. That has happened throughout this season series for the Indians, who improved to 12-1 against a Detroit team that has had the Tribe’s number in recent years. Now, the American League Central-leading Tribe boasts a seven-game lead over the Tigers with 15 games left on the schedule.

Cleveland’s magic number is down to nine for clinching its first division crown since 2007.

“That’s what we’re working towards …

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