CLEVELAND _ Nick Castellanos had lost like this before. Just not in baseball.
"My brother beats me in 'Super Smash Bros.' every time we play," he said Monday night.
Two days and another loss later, the Detroit Tigers finally beat the Cleveland Indians. They didn't fall to 0-12 on the season against their American League Central division rivals. They smashed them like Castellanos' brother, Ryan, smashes him in the video game.
Keyed by a career-high five RBIs from Castellanos and another strong start by rookie right-hander Michael Fulmer, the Tigers stopped their skid against the Indians with a 12-2 win Wednesday afternoon at Progressive Field.
After falling into another early hole _ the Indians have scored first in 11 of 12 games this season and in the first inning on six occasions _ the Tigers' bats awoke against righty Josh Tomlin in the fourth, when Cameron Maybin hit his second home run of the season, off the left-field foul pole.
Victor Martinez then doubled and scored on a Justin Upton sacrifice fly, and the Tigers had their second lead of the season series _ a lead they would not give up.
In the fifth inning, Miguel Cabrera roped a two-run single off of the left-center field wall before Castellanos hit a three-run home run to dead center field to put the game out of reach. It was his 16th home run, setting a new career high. In 11 games against the Indians this season, Castellanos is 15-for-39 with three home runs and 13 RBIs.
The Tigers' offensive onslaught didn't stop. The very next inning, Castellanos hit a two-run double, and Steven Moya hit a two-run single.
Fulmer finished a fantastic first half of the season in the win, pitching six innings, allowing two runs _ one earned _ on five hits, with two walks and two strikeouts. It marked the ninth consecutive start Fulmer has allowed one earned run or fewer, joining only 10 other pitchers in baseball history, according to baseball-reference.com.
He has a 2.11 ERA in 13 starts this season.
With the win, the Tigers avoid falling to 0-12 against the Indians for the first time since 1996, when they were swept in the season series. They are 45-40 and stand 6{ games back in the AL Central.
