Indians Fall to Tigers 5-4, Magic Number at One After Twins Loss; Three Takeaways

CLEVELAND - The champagne will have to wait at least 24 hours for the Indians, as Friday night the team was unable to put the finishing touches on the AL

CLEVELAND - The champagne will have to wait at least 24 hours for the Indians, as Friday night the team was unable to put the finishing touches on the AL Central title as they fell to the rival Detroit Tigers 5-4 at Progressive Field.

The night did end on a happy note, as the Minnesota Twins, who are in second in the AL Central, lost in the 9th inning on a walk-off grand slam to the Kansas City Royals 8-4, meaning that the magic number is officially at one.

If the Indians can top the Tigers on Saturday, or the Twins lost Saturday night against the Royals in a game slated to start at 7:15pm, the Tribe for the third straight season will get to hoist the AL Central Champs flag.

Friday was interesting on a number of accounts, and while the bubbly will wait at least one more day, here's a couple takeaways from the one-run loss to the Tigers.

1. Tomlin's Night

The Indians gave a start to vet Josh Tomlin Friday night, and while it didn't start pretty, he did better than many probably would have expected in the teams' one-run loss.

Tomlin started the game allowing a homer to Tigers Jeimer Candelario to make it a 1-0 game, and then allowed a couple more baserunners in the first but worked out of it.

He gave up another run in the 4th to makee it 2-0, but that was it, as on the night he went four innings, allowing just two runs on five hits with a walk and two K's.

He had much better command than in starts earlier in the year, and overall it was a positive step for a guy who will get another start before the end of the year for the Tribe.

2. Back to Back Bombs

With the Indians down 2-0 in the 6th, the fans finally had a chance to cheer in a big way, as both Edwin Encarnacion and new addition Josh Donaldson homered to tie the game up.

Edwin's blast sailed 397 feet to the left field bleachers, and Donaldson's shot was hit 378 feet to the home run porch to tie the game.

It's the type of power the Indians hope this pair has for the postseason, and it seemed to ignite the crowd for a short period of time till the Tigers were able to rally in the 7th to take the lead for good.

It was good again though to see Donaldson, who lifetime is hitting .280 with 8 homers at Progressive Field, take another step forward for the club.

3. Tigers Rally on Cimber

Adam Cimber was the pitcher of record for the Indians, taking the loss to drop to 0-2, and his ERA sits with the Tribe at 5.14. He allowed a double and a sac before the team went to Andrew Miller looking to limit the damage, but he allowed a double to give Detroit a 3-2 lead.

The Tigers tacked on two in the 7th and an extra run in the 8th to seal the win, before the Indians made it interesting against Detroit closer Shane Greene in the bottom of the 9th with two runs and the tying run on second.

The bullpen continues to have stretches where they look good, and then a stretch like against the Tigers Friday night when they seem to scuffle which was a shame as the runs came after the Indians tied the game.