Verlander wins 22nd game with Tigers

Justin Verlander won his 10th straight start and earned his 22nd victory overall, helped when Victor Martinez hit a late grand slam that sent the Detroit Tigers over the Cleveland Indians 8-6.

Verlander (22-5) gave up a pair of two-run homers to Shelley Duncan and trailed 4-2 before Detroit rallied against Justin Masterson (11-9) and the Indians' bullpen.

The slam by Martinez highlighted a five-run comeback in the seventh inning.

Verlander leads the majors in wins and is 20-2 since May 1. He gave up four runs and three hits in six innings, striking out eight.

Verlander became the first Detroit pitcher to win 10 consecutive decisions since Jack Morris in 1983, and the first to win 10 straight starts since Hall of Famer Hal Newhouser in 1946. His 22 wins are the most for a Detroit pitcher since Joe Coleman went 23-15 in 1973.

Jose Valverde pitched a perfect ninth for his 42nd save, tying the team record sent by Todd Jones in 2000. Valverde has not blown a save this year.

Martinez went 5 for 13 with two homers and 10 RBIs in a three-game sweep against his former team as Detroit dropped Cleveland 9 1/2 games back in the AL Central. The Tigers are 16-4 since Aug. 19, going 6-0 against the Indians and sweeping three straight from the Chicago White Sox to take command of the division.

Masterson left after Detroit loaded the bases on two singles around an error in the seventh. Joe Smith came on and gave up an RBI single to Miguel Cabrera that got the Tigers within 4-3.

Lefty Tony Sipp replaced Smith and the switch-hitting Martinez turned around to the right side and hit the first pitch into the left-field seats for his second career slam, both against the Indians. The first was Oct. 3, 2009, for Boston, a couple of months after Cleveland traded him to the Red Sox.

Martinez, Cabrera and Alex Avila each had two of Detroit's 13 hits. The Tigers have had 10 or more hits in 11 of their last 13 games and 31 of 51 games since the All-Star break.

Duncan had his second two-homer game of the week and fourth of his career. He also did it Sunday in Kansas City.

He came in just 2 for 11 (.182) with four strikeouts in his career against Verlander before connecting in the second for a 2-0 lead. The two runs were more than the Indians scored in seven of Masterson's starts this year.

Detroit tied it at 2 in the fourth. Cabrera singled with one out for the Tigers' first hit and went to third on Martinez's double off the left-field wall. Cabrera scored on a sacrifice fly by Avila and Wilson Betemit doubled home Martinez.

Jim Thome lined a two-out double high off the wall in left-center in the Indians' fourth. Duncan followed with his eighth homer of the year, a towering shot to left for a 4-2 lead.

Lonnie Chisenhall's two-run homer off Tigers reliever Phil Coke got Cleveland within 7-6 in the bottom of the seventh. Don Kelly's RBI triple made it 8-6 in the ninth.

NOTES: Verlander has thrown at least six innings and 100 pitches in all 31 starts this season. ... Fans sitting in a dreary drizzle throughout the game got a few laughs in the middle innings as a squirrel darted around the outfield. ... Indians DH Travis Hafner, out since Aug. 22 with a strained tendon in his right foot, ran in the outfield before the game. ''Just straight ahead, nothing lateral, but I'm feeling better,'' he said. ... Detroit is 21-10 on the road since July 6, best in the AL. ... The Tigers are off Thursday before playing host to Minnesota for three games. ... The Indians start a four-game set in Chicago on Thursday in a chase for second place. LHP David Huff (2-3) will oppose White Sox RHP Gavin Floyd (12-10).