Shane Bieber dazzles, Indians beat Tigers: Recap and MVP

Indians ace Shane Bieber dominated once again as the Tribe clinched a series victory over the Detroit Tigers Saturday.

The Cleveland Indians picked up a second straight victory over the Detroit Tigers Saturday behind another dominant start from Shane Bieber.

Bieber pitched seven stellar innings striking out 11 Tigers to improve his record to 4-0 on the season and lower his ERA from an already outstanding 1.63 to 1.30.

At the plate, the Indians opened the scoring in the top of the third when Jose Ramirez laced a two-run double off Detroit starter Spencer Turnbull.

The Tribe would add onto their lead and knock Turnbull out of the game in the top of the fifth as Carlos Santana came up clutch with a two-out double to score Ramirez to push the Cleveland lead to 3-0.

From there, Bieber continued to mo-down the Tigers while Nick Wittgren pitched a scoreless 8th inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Tigers rallied off Indians closer Brad Hand as Jacoby Jones hit a pinch-hit double to score Willi Castro.

With runners on second and third, Hand was able to work his way out of trouble by getting Cameron Maybin to ground out to end the game and clinch a 3-1 Indians win.

With the win, Indians are now 12-9 on the season and  just one game behind the Minnesota Twins for first place in the AL Central. The Tigers fell to 9-9 with the loss and are 2.5 games behind Minnesota.

MVP, Shane Bieber: With 11 strikeouts, Bieber posted his third outing of the season with at least 10 strikeouts and has struck out at least eight in all five of his starts. By racking strikeouts and lowering his ERA to 1.30, the Indians ace remains the front-runner for the AL Cy Young Award.

On Deck: The Indians will look for a series sweep over the Tigers Sunday in Motown. Adam Plutko will take the mound for Cleveland in his second start since taking over for Mike Clevinger in the starting rotation. Detroit will counter by sending former All-Star and AL Rookie of the Year Michael Fulmer to the mound. First pitch is slated for 1:10 p.m. EST.