While Plesac was keeping the Detroit bats quiet, Cleveland struggled to back him up. José Ramírez was caught attempting a straight steal of home for the third out of the fourth. That got Tigers reliever Tyler Alexander (2-2) out of a bases-loaded jam.

“My first reaction was thank you,” Alexander said. “I don’t want to say it was dumb, but it just didn’t seem like the right time to do it. … I definitely needed a little bit of help there, I think. I wish I could have carried that energy into my next inning.”

With one out in the fifth, Delino DeShields tripled to center — outfielder Victor Reyes was unable to cut the ball off and it went for three bases. Lindor lifted a flyball to center, and DeShields scored.

Cleveland has won two in a row after an eight-game losing streak. The Indians are still in solid shape to make the postseason, and Plesac matched his career high for strikeouts Friday. This also matched his longest outing of the season.

“If I get to pitch in a playoff game, I’ll be fired up,” he said. “I’ll be ready to go.”

Detroit starter Michael Fulmer pitched three scoreless innings in the type of sharp performance he’s had a hard time providing this year after returning from Tommy John surgery.

“Fulmer did great,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “That’s the best three innings that he’s had.”