Blake's homer pulls Tribe past Detroit

Casey Blake homered with 1 out in the 11th inning to give the Cleveland Indians a 6-5 come-from-behind win Monday night over the Detroit Tigers, who slid 5½ games back in an AL Central race.

Blake turned on a 1-2 pitch from Zach Miner (3-4) and drove it into the left-field bleachers for his second game-ending homer in four days, a shot that lowered the Indians' magic number to 7 and inched them closer to their first postseason appearance since 2001.

The Indians trailed 5-2 in the eighth before rallying to take the opener of a 3-game series that could decide the division.

As Blake's homer cleared the wall and he began rounding the bases, the Indians, who spent most of the game on the top step of the dugout, poured onto the field as Cleveland fans danced in the aisles.

Blake was greeted at the plate by his teammates, who pounded him in celebration and then hopped in unison as fireworks exploded above Jacobs Field.

Rafael Betancourt (5-1) struck out four in 2 scoreless innings for the win.

Jhonny Peralta homered twice for the Indians, who were in danger of seeing their lead slip further before rallying off Joel Zumaya.

Placido Polanco homered and Ramon Santiago drove in two runs for the Tigers, who had their 5-game winning streak snapped and may have suffered a loss that could haunt them into the offseason. Detroit dropped 3½ games behind the New York Yankees, who lead the wild-card race.