Dominant Kluber 1st in AL to win 10

DETROIT — Corey Kluber’s dominance shows no sign of ending as the right-hander became the first AL pitcher to reach 10 wins when the Indians trounced the Tigers 9-2 on Sunday.

Kluber allowed two runs on five hits in eight innings and extended his MLB-leading total to 992⁄3 innings pitched. The two-time AL Cy Young Award winner struck out eight with no walks. He has 46 strikeouts and zero walks in his last six starts.

“He goes out and throws strikes,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “He works ahead, and when teams get contact, it isn’t off the barrel.”

The victory improved Kluber (10-2) to 5-0 with a 0.76 ERA in five starts against AL Central rivals.

“Winning your division is the easiest way to get into the playoffs, so there’s a little more riding on these games,” Kluber said. “I’m pretty sure I had some three-ball counts, but my focus in that situation is to execute a pitch. You don’t want to just throw a ball down the middle, because that’s when you give up damage.”

Melky Cabrera and Erik Gon- zalez drove in three runs each for the Indians, who expanded their division lead to five games over the Tigers.

Leonys Martin drove in two runs for the Tigers, who lost a home series for the first time since April 13. The Tigers were playing their 18th game in 17 days.

“I think it’s safe to say that everyone in this clubhouse is going to enjoy getting away from here for a day, because we’re worn out,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “We went 10-8, which isn’t bad, but we played so many close games that we could have been even better.”