Jason Kipnis drove in two more runs with a bases-loaded double

DETROIT - Justin Verlander walked off the mound after his seventh inning of work, and manager Jim Leyland was waiting for him at the bottom of the steps, ready to give the Detroit ace the customary handshake that would signify the end of the right-handers night. So Verlander took a detour, cutting across to his right and using a different entrance to the dugout. "I tried to circumvent the system," Verlander said. "I tried to go the other way and sneak around him, but he was too quick for me." Leyland met Verlander at the bottom of that other set of stairs, and that was that. The Tigers went on to a 7-5 win over the Cleveland Indians on Friday night in the opener of this three-game series. Verlander allowed three runs in seven innings, and Jose Valverde held on through a shaky ninth to give Detroit a 3 1/2-game lead over the Indians atop the AL Central. Victor Martinez homered and had three hits for the Tigers, and Torii Hunter added three hits of his own. Detroit led 5-0 before Cleveland scored three runs in the fifth off Verlander. That was all the Indians could manage against the Tigers ace in losing their fifth straight game. Verlander (8-4) allowed seven hits on the night. He walked two and struck out six. As for his little end-around of Leyland? The Detroit manager didnt sound pleased about it. "You might think that was comical, but I dont think that was comical at all," he said. Verlander seemed surprised that Leyland was upset. "I wasnt trying to play a joke on him. I just wanted to stay in the game," Verlander said. "He always stands there and sticks out his hand so I figured maybe if I snuck around him hed let me go back out there." Joaquin Benoit pitched the eighth for Detroit, and Jose Valverde came on with a four-run lead in the ninth. He allowed solo homers to Jason Giambi and Drew Stubbs, but Nick Swisher grounded out with a man on second to end it. "They were two split-fingers, and they just golfed them. That happens," Leyland said. "But the key to that was that he didnt walk anybody. Im happy with that." Ubaldo Jimenez (4-4) allowed five runs — three earned — in three-plus innings. Cleveland lost its ninth straight road game. Detroit is trying for its third straight division title, and the Indians have emerged as the top early threat from the rest of the AL Central. Jimenez beat Verlander in Detroit on May 11, and Cleveland took two of three in that series. But the Tigers swept a two-game series in Cleveland later that month, the start of a stretch in which the Indians have lost 13 of 17. Martinez opened the scoring in the second with a solo homer to right, his fifth of the year. Detroit then managed two more runs without hitting the ball out of the infield. Jhonny Peralta walked and Brayan Pena grounded into a force play. Then Ramon Santiago hit a groundball to first, and Swisher tried to make a tough throw to second to get the lead runner. The ball got away for an error on Swisher, and Avisail Garcia walked to load the bases. After Andy Dirks struck out, Hunter hit an RBI single, and Miguel Cabrera walked to force in another run. "I felt great in the first inning, but it was gone in the second inning and I started trying to do too much to get someone out," Jimenez said. "It went the other way in a hurry." Garcia doubled to lead off the fourth and scored on a single by Dirks. Hunter singled to chase Jimenez, and Cabrera bounced into a double play, bringing another run home to make it 5-0. Verlander hasnt allowed fewer than three runs in any of his last six starts, but the damage was limited to the fifth inning Friday. Michael Bourn hit an RBI single, and Jason Kipnis drove in two more runs with a bases-loaded double that Hunter was unable to catch against the wall in right. Cleveland, which is without shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera (right quad strain), could get no closer. Swisher made another error in the fifth, which put men on first and third with nobody out. A double play grounder by Pena made it 6-3. Pena added an RBI single in the seventh. NOTES: Detroits Prince Fielder had his hitting streak snapped at 11 games. ... Hunter was hitless in his last 14 at-bats before starting Fridays game with a double and two singles. ... Detroits Rick Porcello (2-3) takes on Clevelands Justin Masterson (8-4) on Saturday. Custom Warriors Jersey China . Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999. Warriors Jerseys China . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. http://www.customwarriorsjersey.com/ . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. Cheap Warriors Jerseys . -- If Henry Burris has his way, he will be the starting quarterback to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats back to the Grey Cup next year. Tim Hardaway Jersey Large . Capitals head coach Adam Oates said Ovechkin was injured in the first period against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday and clarified it was not a head injury. The demolition job that R Ashwin did on New Zealand during the third Test, in Indore, shows that the Australian distaste for offspin bowling has now spread to become an Antipodean curse.Ashwin has already caused Australia huge problems in India - not quite as devastating as his Indore performance, but troublesome nevertheless. Coincidentally, it was in Australia that Ashwin learned a very good lesson about bowling. His first attempt was peppered with multiple variations, resulting in his line and length suffering, which, in turn, provided easy pickings for the batsmen.His second attempt was only marginally more successful in the scorebook but the execution was a big improvement. He concentrated on spinning his offbreak and relied more on subtle variations of pace rather than trying to turn the ball both ways. This provided more control and the batsmen were made to work harder for their runs.That led to a much better performance against Australia when they toured India in 2012-13. Ashwin became a more confident bowler, exuding an aura that all good spinners possess. And as a solid middle-order run getter, he was on course to becoming a regular match-winner for India.The trouble that Ashwin caused Australia in India was reminiscent of the mayhem that a number of other talented offspinners achieved.My first memory of Australian ineptitude against offspin was a vivid one: Jim Laker taking 19 wickets in the 1956 Old Trafford Test. I was verging on teenager status and was devastated to see a picture of my idol, Keith Miller, tumbling head first out of his crease as he was beaten in flight by Laker.Before collecting all ten wickets in the second innings of the match, Laker had already achieved that rare distinction in Australias tour match against Surrey. Such was the turmoil in the Australian camp that when skipper and offspinner Ian Johnson attempted to rally his troops with an anything he can do, I can do speech, his vice-captain, Miller, is reported to hhave raised his gaze from a form guide and responded: Six to four you cant.ddddddddddddAnother offspinner to weave a spell over Australian batsmen was the Indian magician Erapalli Prasanna. In 1967-68 he took 25 wickets in only four Tests in Australia, and then bettered it by one (in five Tests) in the return series, in 1969-70. His performance in Australia has to be one of the outstanding achievements by a fingerspinner in a country renowned for pitches that are much more responsive to wristspinners.Then there was Harbhajan Singhs tornado-like destruction in the 2000-01 series in India. Just when it appeared that Australia would win their first series in India since the 1969-70 tour and complete their 17th successive Test victory, Harbhajan struck. With six second-innings wickets in Kolkata, he turned what looked to be an Australian cruise to victory into a head-on crash. He turned in a similarly destructive performance in Chennai, and finished the three Test series with an incredible 32 wickets. No wonder the crowds began chanting Singh is king.Ashwin has already inflicted much pain on Australia, as did Laker, Prasanna and Harbhajan before him. Ashwins dominant performance in the series against New Zealand will send chills through Steven Smiths squad.Ashwins 27 wickets at 17.77 and Man-of-the-Series award against New Zealand could be viewed as a prelude to the main performance. In a few months time he will face an Australian line-up traumatised by the portly left-arm Sri Lankan fingerspinner Rangana Herath.Ashwins spin bowling partner, left-armer Ravindra Jadeja, will be buoyed by Heraths success. Not only does this not augur well for Australias batsmen, with their distaste for spin bowling, it will also revive memories of 1956 and the destruction caused by Laker and his partner - the left-arm orthodox spinner Tony Lock. ' ' '