CLEVELAND _ The offense hasn't been aplenty, but it's been enough.
The Indians mustered only two runs in continued, frigid conditions, but they again topped the Detroit Tigers 2-1 Tuesday night at Progressive Field.
Two solo home runs in the Indians' first and final at-bats provided all the scoring they needed. Jose Ramirez blasted a solo home run _ a much-needed hit for last year's MVP finalist who came into the game hitting .086 _ off Tigers starter Matthew Boyd in the first inning.
In the eighth, with the score deadlocked at 1-1, Roberto Perez drove a solo home run to right-center field off Tigers reliever Alex Wilson to again put the Indians on top.
Two swings, and the Indians (6-5) notched their second consecutive win over the Tigers this series. It also marked the Indians' ninth consecutive win against the Tigers dating back to last season.
Josh Tomlin turned in an outing that was a complete 180-degree-turn from his first start of the season, a disastrous outing in Anaheim in which he was rocked for eight runs in three innings while dealing with a back issue, according to Indians manager Terry Francona. On Tuesday night, it was a different story. Tomlin had to work out of trouble on multiple occasions but escaped unscathed each time, tossing five scoreless innings and allowing four hits to go with three strikeouts.
Zach McAllister worked a scoreless sixth inning to get to Tyler Olson. Victor Reyes singled to right field and then advanced to third while trying to steal second base. Perez's throw beat Reyes to the bag by several steps, but Jason Kipnis couldn't corral the throw and it bounced into center field.
After the Indians brought in Dan Otero, Jeimer Candelario doubled to left field to tie it at 1. Otero bounced back by inducing a ground ball by Miguel Cabrera to keep it tied and set up Perez's game-winner.
Closer Cody Allen worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his third save.
