Indians earn record 18th straight W vs. Tigers

The regular season couldn’t have started fast enough for Franmil Reyes when he was in Arizona back in March. The Tribe slugger was squaring up nearly every pitch in the zone, but because the start of the season was postponed, he lost his timing at the dish and his mechanics

The regular season couldn’t have started fast enough for Franmil Reyes when he was in Arizona back in March. The Tribe slugger was squaring up nearly every pitch in the zone, but because the start of the season was postponed, he lost his timing at the dish and his mechanics weren’t quite in sync. But after struggling through the first two weeks of the 2020 season, he’s confident his swing is back in Spring Training form.

Backed by a two-run monster shot and an RBI single by Reyes, the Indians’ bats exploded for a 10-5 victory over the Tigers on Friday night at Comerica Park. Dating back to last season, Cleveland has taken 18 straight games from Detroit, setting a franchise record for the longest winning streak versus a single opponent.

• Box score

In his last 26 at-bats, Reyes has recorded 14 hits (a .538 average), with two doubles, two homers and nine RBIs, including a 2-for-4 night in the series opener against the Tigers. He got the Indians on the board first in the second inning by launching the third-longest homer of his career — an estimated 462-foot bomb over the center-field wall. But when Detroit took a one-run lead in the third, Reyes knotted the score at 3 with a 111.0 mph RBI single up the middle.

From there, the rest of the bats followed his lead. The Tribe’s offense entered the game in last place in the Majors in batting average (.195), OPS (.596) and runs per game (3.3). Reyes provided the much-needed spark, while Domingo Santana also blasted a three-run homer amid a six-run fourth inning and Tyler Naquin logged a two-run triple in the seventh.

The Indians’ 18-game winning streak against the Tigers is tied for the second-longest streak against a single opponent in the Majors since 1969. The Yankees also have an active 18-game winning streak against the Orioles. The Tribe has outscored Detroit 117-37 during this stretch.