April surge a sign V-Mart back to pre-injury form

CLEVELAND — The buzz had barely begun to hush from Miguel Cabrera’s second home run last Monday night — his statement that his bat was back — when Victor Martinez struck with his latest declaration.

Two pitches separated Cabrera’s three-run homer into the right-field corner with Martinez’s solo shot, an estimated 425-foot drive to some of the toughest seats to find at Comerica Park. It not only cleared the out-of-town scoreboard in right-center, it landed about five rows back.

That came off Martinez’s left-handed swing, the side that powered the switch-hitter two years ago but plagued him last year. It went almost overlooked in Cabrera’s hit display, but not in the Tigers’ dugout.

“He looks much more similar to the 2014 V-Mart than he did in 2015,” manager Brad Ausmus said. “Not even close for me.”

One night later, Martinez drove in Detroit’s only run with a double to the warning track in straightaway center. He hit a three-run homer to right the next night, Each one came off that left-handed swing, the power evident in his legs, the turn putting pressure on that 37-year-old left knee, 15 months separated from a torn …

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