DETROIT -- They're not perfect players but they performed perfectly for the Tigers Saturday night.
Alex Avila has taken plenty of criticism for his low batting average (.222) and strikeouts (team-leading 141).
Torii Hunter has taken plenty of criticism for his diminished defensive skills at age 39.
Yet without those two, the Tigers (82-66) don't get a 5-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians to stay a half-game ahead of the Kansas City Royals (81-66) in the Central Division.
The Tigers trailed 4-3 in the top of the eighth inning and the Indians had runners at second and third with two out.
Yan Gomes hit a ball that looked like it would drop until Hunter made a diving catch.
"Just a little bleeder off the end of the bat, just tried to do everything I could right there to get under that ball," Hunter said. "It was sinking pretty fast but I just said, 'Feet don't fail me now.'"
Instead of a 6-3 lead, the Indians held just the one-run lead.
"Torii Hunter catches that ball, saves two runs," Indians manager Terry Francona said.
Reliever Joba Chamberlain remained on the field after Hunter's catch to congratulate and thank him for his efforts.
"Obviously he's made plays for us all year," Chamberlain said. "He knows what he's doing out there and obviously just a huge play. Made a good pitch and Yan put a good swing on it, broke his bat. You see the jump that Torii got and he made a good play."
Victor Martinez has seen Hunter make those kind of plays more than once.
"He hasn't won nine Gold Gloves for (nothing)," Martinez said. "The man can field his position. It just shows once again that he's a Gold Glover."
In the bottom of the eighth, the Indians brought in Bryan Shaw, who had not given up a run to the Tigers in 10 appearances this season.
The Tigers were aware by this point that the Royals had beaten the Boston Red Sox, 7-1.
Shaw walked Miguel Cabrera, then retired Victor Martinez and J.D. Martinez.
Avila worked a full count before slamming his 11th home run to right field.
"After the first pitch, he gave me a steady diet of curveballs," Avila said. "Made me look silly on that 1-1. That one, I thought maybe in the back of my mind, he’d throw it again. If he threw that many to me, I figure I might see another one. It was up enough to get a good swing on it."
Avila had a walk-off RBI single against the New York Yankees on Aug. 28.
"That's the second time in a couple home stands that Alex has come up with a really big hit, a very timely, big hit and you know it was an excellent at-bat by Alex, got a hold of one right in the sweet spot," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said.
Avila had struck out in his first two at-bats against hard-throwing starter Danny Salazar but he came through when his team needed him.
"I think if the game of baseball were easy, more people would play baseball," Victor Martinez said. "The man is behind the plate and giving his best. It's tough being a catcher. I've been there and in my whole career I've never seen somebody get hit as much as he does."
A sold-out crowd of 41,190 watched the Tigers' comeback on a chilly night at Comerica Park, which Hunter described as "a playoff atmosphere."
"We call it Septober," Hunter said. "When you're talking playoff atmosphere in June and May, no, no chance. We've got a lot of time and you try to make adjustments. Right now the adjustments should have been made. You gotta go out there and you gotta play. You know you're going to get out sometimes but you've just got to focus a little more.
"Septober is nothing to play with."
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