Tigers boost WC hunt, slow Tribe’s Central pursuit

CLEVELAND — Tempers ran high on Sunday within a rivalry that has been decisively one-sided in the Indians’ favor this season. This time around, the Tigers got the best of the Tribe in a 9-5 victory at Progressive Field, where a series of errant pitches had Detroit’s blood boiling.

“I have no problem pitching in, but three guys, that’s gonna wake somebody up,” said Tigers catcher James McCann.

The Tigers moved to two games outside the second American League Wild Card spot, tied with Seattle, after the Blue Jays lost in Anaheim, while Cleveland’s magic number held at seven for clinching its first AL Central title in nine years.

Baltimore is one game ahead of Toronto in the AL Wild Card standings.

“It was necessary for us. We had to win,” Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. “Pretty much every game against Cleveland is a must-win.”

• Standings

Justin Upton’s two-run home run helped power a six-run showing by the Tigers against an erratic Trevor Bauer, who tied a club record by hitting three batters in a game. Miguel Cabrera, Ian Kinsler and Victor Martinez were each hit by the right-hander. Warnings were later issued by home-plate umpire Jordan Baker after Tigers lefty Daniel Norris fired a pitch behind the back of Rajai Davis at the outset of the third inning.

“There were balls down, up, in, out,” Indians manager Terry Francona said of Bauer’s outing. “We never want to see somebody get hit in the head. You can see by Trevor’s reaction how he felt. And then the [timing] of it, certainly, you could tell there’s no intent. I also understand why they were aggravated. Guys were getting drilled pretty good. I get it.”

J.D. Martinez, who finished a triple shy of a cycle, opened up the game for Detroit with a three-run homer off Indians rookie Joe Colon in the ninth.

Norris was charged with four runs (one earned) on five hits in his five innings, in which he struck out six and walked one. A pair of errors by Detroit’s defense led to the trio of unearned runs. Two of those runs came in the fifth, after Kinsler misplayed a grounder up the middle from Cleveland’s Jason Kipnis.

“You want to end that little streak they were on,” Norris said. “We want to compete and show them that we mean business. It was a huge team win today.”

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDLosing control: Bauer worked around a few baserunners in the first two innings, but his command went missing in a 33-pitch third. The first four batters of the inning each reached via a pair of hit batsmen, one walk and a single by Cabrera. The fourth hitter in that sequence, Victor Martinez, was hit hard on the …

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