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CLEVELAND -- For eight innings, the Tigers couldnt connect in the clutch. They were exasperated, annoyed and seemingly on their way to a tough loss. One swing by J.D. Martinez changed their mood. Martinez hit a three-run homer off closer Cody Allen with one out in the ninth inning, rallying the Tigers to a 4-2 win over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night. "He hit it so hard, it sounded like thunder," teammate Torii Hunter said. Martinezs shot into the shrubs beyond the centre-field wall bailed out the Tigers, who stranded 12 runners through eight. But in the ninth, Hunter drew a leadoff walk from Allen (5-4), Miguel Cabrera singled, and after Victor Martinez flied out, J.D. Martinez ripped his 19th homer, a crushing blow to the Indians. "It was one of those swings where you hit it and it just feels perfect," Martinez said, "like you couldnt do anything else or any better. When I reached home, I was like, Did I touch every bag? You get caught up in the situation. Its September, this is the month you win or go home." Phil Coke (3-2) pitched 1 1-3 innings and Joe Nathan worked the ninth for his 29th save. Detroits comeback kept the Tigers on the heels of first-place Kansas City in the AL Central. The Royals have a half-game lead in the division. The Indians wasted a strong performance by Carlos Carrasco, who side-stepped danger for 5 1-3 innings and struck out a career-high 10. Carlos Santana hit a two-run homer for Cleveland, which has dropped the first two in this critical four-game series and fell 5 1/2 games out of first. J.D. Martinez has hit two homers in three career at-bats off Allen, who was trying to protect a 2-1 lead against the middle of Detroits vaunted lineup. "I was just overthrowing it," Allen said. "I just didnt make pitches when I had to. One pitch -- J.D. Martinez got extended on a fastball and hit it very hard." Until Detroits uprising, Carrasco was in line for his fourth straight win. The right-hander managed to work out of jams in four straight innings, making big pitches and keeping the Tigers power hitters in the ballpark one night after Detroit slugged five homers and collected 20 hits. Tigers rookie starter Kyle Lobstein was superb in his first career road start, allowing five hits in 5 1-3 innings and striking out 10. Every time the Tigers threatened, Carrasco found a way out of trouble. Clinging to a one-run lead in the fifth, he gave up a leadoff double to Cabrera, who went to third on Victor Martinezs single. Carrasco then struck out J.D. Martinez looking, fanned Nick Castellanos and locked up catcher Alex Avila with an 84 mph off-speed pitch to end the inning, celebrating his 10th whiff with a demonstrative fist pump. Even Cabrera patted Carrasco on the rear as the right-hander passed him while leaving the field. "He really dug deep," Indians manager Terry Francona said of Carrasco. "That was really something. He pitched out of so many binds and executed some unbelievable pitches." Santana got the Indians out of the gate fast, hitting his 23rd homer in the first. Michael Brantley singled with two outs before Santana connected for a shot into Detroits bullpen in right. BATTERED BACKSTOP Avila was removed in the sixth after taking a foul ball of his mask. He felt dizzy and struggled to answer the trainers questions. He was feeling better after the game, but will have further tests Wednesday. The veteran catcher missed two weeks last season with delayed concussive symptoms. HOT IN CLEVELAND Even before his homer, J.D. Martinez liked Progressive Field. Hes batting .464 (13 of 28) with five homers, 13 RBIs and six runs in seven games at the ballpark this season. TRAINERS ROOM Tigers: RHP Joakim Soria (strained left oblique) played catch from 140 feet before the game. Soria, acquired at the trade deadline from Texas to shore up Detroits shaky bullpen, has been on the disabled list since Aug. 10. Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said Soria was pain-free for the first time, and will likely throw batting practice instead of pitching in the minors. UP NEXT Detroit RHP Justin Verlander (12-11) hasnt pitched like himself most of this season. Hes dealt with shoulder issues and the 2011 AL MVP hasnt been nearly as dominant as in previous years. But its September, theres important games ahead and hes still a handful for the Indians, who will counter with Danny Salazar (5-6). Toni Kukoc Jersey . Altidore strained his left hamstring in the Americans opener against Ghana on June 16 and didnt play in their next two games. "We dont know how much because we need to see how hes going, but hes available," U. Antonio Blakeney Jersey . Fielder has been out with a herniated disk in his neck, and surgery was recommended after a follow-up exam and another scan Thursday with Dr. http://www.officialbullsfanstore.com/kid...s-bulls-jersey/. Now he has a complete game. Scherzer tossed a three-hitter in his 179th career start for his first complete game and Victor Martinez hit his 16th homer to lead the Detroit Tigers a 4-0 win over the Chicago White Sox. Chicago Bulls Jersey . Helwani said that Weidman has been dealing with recurring swelling and pain in his knees related to torn meniscus he suffered as a teenager and the problems came to a head last week when he suffered prolonged swelling and pain in his left knee, resulting in the decision to undergo an arthroscopic scope procedure to clean up the tear in both knees. Michael Jordan Jersey . Goodell said in an ESPN Radio interview Monday (http://es.pn/1gkbauy ) that participants played harder and made the game very competitive. Goodell says he had fun watching the game Sunday and thinks fans did, too.AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The Detroit Pistons are still one of the worst fourth-quarter teams in the NBA. Friday, they found a solution to the problem. Detroit dominated Brooklyn for two-and-a-half quarters, building a 29-point lead, then held on for dear life as the Nets cut the lead to single digits in the waning moments. Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks said after the game that he thinks his team has developed a mental block when it comes to holding leads down the stretch. "You can get one of those," he said. "Fortunately, we had a huge lead tonight, but that is still something we really need to work on. I think we need to win a couple games in the fourth quarter and find some confidence." Brooklyn trailed 96-63 heading into the fourth, but Detroits offence stalled yet again. Jason Kidd didnt play his starters at all in the final period, but Jason Terry hit a pair of 3-pointers and Mason Plumlee got open for three dunks to get the Nets within 102-92 with 1:57 to go. "We could not get a rebound or a stop, so I was trying to find guys who can play," Kidd said. "The guys who were out there playing continued to execute and we finally got some stops." Rodney Stuckey hit a 17-foot baseline jumper on Detroits next possession, then hit a pair of free throws to stave off a complete collapse. "We were bleeding at that point, so we really needed those points," Cheeks said. "We stopped pushing the ball in the fourth, and they started making shots, so that made it even harder to run." Brandon Jennings made a run at a rare quadruple double, and could have had a regular triple-double if he had managed a single second-half assist. He finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and eight turnovers. Andre Drummond added 16 points and 22 rebounds, even hitting two free throws with 36.5 seconds to go after missing his first six attempts. Josh Smith had with 23 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four blocks before leaving the game with 4:39 to play. Cheeks said Smith twisted his ankle, but the team wasnt sure of the severity. The Nets were resting Kevin Garnett, and the starting lineup struggled badly, combining for just 442 points.dddddddddddd Terry led the team with 18, all in the second half, while Plumlee also got his 10 points after halftime. Joe Johnson added 16 as the one bright spot among Brooklyns starters. "We knew what we had to do against them -- rebound and get back in transition defence," Nets point guard Deron Williams said. "We just werent ready to play tonight. Our energy wasnt there, our effort wasnt there and they seemed to have another gear than we did." With Garnett on the bench, the Nets had no answer for Detroit inside. When the Pistons werent feeding Drummond, Smith and Greg Monroe in the post, Stuckey and Jennings were driving to the basket with ease. Brooklyns struggles peaked early in the second quarter when Smith was swooping in for a fast-break dunk and Mirza Teletovic swiped at the ball, but caught Smith in the face. Teletovic was given a flagrant foul, giving Smith two chances to make one free throw to complete the three-point play. He made it on the second try and Detroit kept the ball because of the flagrant foul. Chauncey Billups, playing for the first time since Jan. 10, sent a behind-the-back pass to set up Drummond for an easy dunk and a five-point possession. That put the Pistons up by 20, and they were ahead 67-44 at the intermission. The Nets, who were outshot 62 per cent to 31 per cent in the half, didnt get much better in the third quarter, with a series of turnovers leading to Detroit fast breaks. At that point, the Pistons seemed in complete control, but that just isnt the way they play. "Once a team cuts it to 20, that should get your attention," Billups said. "Thats when you should kick back into a more focused gear." NOTES: The Pistons announced before the game that reserve forward Josh Harrellson will be sidelined until after the All-Star break with a slight tear of his left meniscus. ... Kidd was the last NBA player to reach double figures in points, assists, rebounds and turnovers in the same game, doing it for Phoenix in 2000. ... Will Bynum did not play after getting into an argument with Cheeks during Detroits last game. Cheeks said he simply wanted to get Billups back into the rotation. 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