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DETROIT -- Corey Kluber finally enjoyed the luxury of pitching with a lead. That cushion had Kluber flashing his old Cy Young Award form. Kluber collected his first victory of the season and Yan Gomes tied his career high by driving in five runs as the Cleveland Indians overwhelmed the Detroit Tigers, 10-1, on Saturday at Comerica Park.
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Kluber lost his first three starts, when the Indians only scored a combined three runs. He got plenty of run support on Saturday as Cleveland reached double digits for the first time this season.
"It was awesome," said Kluber, who allowed one run on two hits with no walks in eight innings. "To go out and score three runs in the first, that's a huge boost.
"But then we didn't stop. We poured it on, got five more in the third and kept scoring the whole game."
All of his pitches were working as he easily dispatched one of the majors' most potent lineups.
Kluber struck out 10, with Justin Upton fanning in all three of his at-bats against the 2014 American League Cy Young Award winner. He has 22 career double-digit strikeout outings.
"My fastball command was better," Kluber said. "I was a little bit more down in the zone that I had been the last few times out. That's probably the difference."
Pitching with a big lead didn't hurt, either. Gomes, his catcher, feels that opposing pitchers often raise their game against him.
"When Corey's on the mound, the guys facing him have it in the back of their mind that they're going to try to pitch their best game," Gomes said.
"You know what, sometimes it works. They end up pitching a great game. Kluber has done a tremendous job of keeping us in games."
Gomes had three hits, including a three-run homer. He also had five RBIs against the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 29 last season. Former Tiger Rajai Davis supplied two hits and knocked in two runs for the Indians, who have won the first two games of the three-game series.
Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez (2-2) lasted only 2 1/3 innings, as he allowed nine hits and seven runs (six earned). Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a solo homer for Detroit, which has lost five of its last six.
"Nobody gets more frustrated than we do," Detroit designated hitter Victor Martinez said. "We know what kind of team we have and we're just not playing very good baseball right now."
The Tigers have dropped to .500 after a 7-3 start and the offense has managed only two runs in the last three games.
Already, fans are grumbling.
"It's no different from 2014 or 2015," manager Brad Ausmus said. "Quick start, we're the best team on the planet. You struggle a little bit, you'll never win again. There's got to be some middle ground."
The Indians' offense got rolling early, scoring three two-out runs in the first. Gomes and Jose Ramirez had RBI singles, and Gomes scored from third when Ramirez stole second and catcher Saltalamacchia's throw sailed into center field.
Sanchez gave up five hits to the first six batters in the third inning before being pulled by manager Brad Ausmus. Gomes blasted his second home run of the season following singles by Francisco Lindor and Mike Napoli.
Lonnie Chisenhall's one-out triple and Davis' RBI single finished off Sanchez. Carlos Santana's run-scoring double off reliever Kyle Ryan made it 8-0.
The Tigers got one back in the fifth on Saltalamacchia's sixth home run.
Run-scoring doubles by Gomes and Davis in the seventh gave the Indians a 10-1 lead.
NOTES: Indians DH Carlos Santana batted leadoff for the second straight game. He hit fifth in 12 of the team's first 13 games. "I don't think Carlos is going to be a leadoff hitter the rest of his career but I also think he can do some things that are pretty special as a leadoff hitter," Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. ... Indians LF Michael Brantley went 0-for-3 with a walk while starting for Triple-A Columbus on Friday night. Brantley, who is in the final stages of his rehab stint after recovering from shoulder surgery, could be activated as early as Monday. ... Tigers SS Andrew Romine made his second start of the season and first since April 14 in place of Jose Iglesias. ... Detroit CF Cameron Maybin (left wrist fracture) began another rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo on Saturday. His first assignment there was sidetracked when he was hit on the same wrist by another pitch.
