Miguel Cabrera owns some eye-popping numbers against the Cleveland Indians this year and is enjoying a lengthy streak at Progressive Field.
Jason Kipnis is quite comfortable at home for Cleveland.
These stars are in a tight race for the AL batting race as they meet in Monday night's three-game series opener between the Indians and Detroit Tigers.
Detroit (35-34) has taken seven of nine meetings this season, with Cabrera going 22 for 34 (.647) with five homers, 15 RBIs and a 1.147 slugging percentage. He has reached base in 26 straight games at Progressive Field, batting .463 with 12 homers, 10 doubles and 35 RBIs.
Cabrera has a .346 average to lead Kipnis, who is at .345. Kipnis is batting .495 during a 25-game hitting streak at home, the longest by an Indians hitter since Miguel Dilone hit safely in 27 straight at Cleveland Stadium from July 6-Aug. 31, 1980.
Kipnis leads the majors with a .409 average at home and is batting .386 during a 16-game overall hitting streak that has matched his career best from June 18-July 5, 2013.
Cabrera was passed by J.D. Martinez for the team lead in homers thanks to the outfielder's spectacular performance in Sunday's 12-4 rout of the New York Yankees. Martinez had career highs of three homers and six RBIs and has gone deep 16 times - one more than Cabrera.
"It was just one of those days where you take swings and you're actually hitting the ball how you want to hit it," Martinez said. "There's not too many of those days, so you've just got to take advantage of them."
Martinez is hitting .394 with six homers and 14 RBIs in his last eight games.
Victor Martinez went 3 for 6 with a homer and four RBIs as he completed his first series after missing a month due to left knee inflammation.
Cabrera is 4 for 14 versus Indians starter Trevor Bauer (6-3, 3.22 ERA), who went 2-0 with a 4.34 ERA in five starts against Detroit in 2014. Ian Kinsler is 5 for 15 against him and J.D. Martinez is 5 for 11, with each hitting a homer.
Bauer cruised with seven innings of four-hit ball with seven strikeouts to earn a 6-0 road victory Tuesday over the Chicago Cubs.
The right-hander has a 5.40 ERA at home compared to his major league-best 1.10 road mark.
Cleveland (32-36) scored a single run in every game this weekend in losing two of three to Tampa Bay, avoiding a three-game sweep with Sunday's 1-0 victory.
"(It's) a day where we did nothing offensively, but when you get good pitching all of a sudden runs are meaningful," manager Terry Francona said.
Michael Brantley was 1 for 11 in the series, Carlos Santana was 1 for 10 and Brandon Moss is hitless in 19 at-bats after going 0 for 10 in the three games.
Indians catcher Yan Gomes will be back behind the plate after he got Sunday off.
Detroit's Kyle Ryan (1-1, 3.26) will make his fourth career start and third of the year. He was charged with four runs - three on solo homers - in 6 1-3 innings in Tuesday's 5-2 defeat to Cincinnati.
The left-hander has never faced the Indians, who are 11-15 in games in which opponents start southpaws.
