DETROIT — Rarely, if ever, is Jose Ramirez booed, no matter if the Guardians are on the road or at home in Progressive Field. When he came to the plate in the seventh inning Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park, over 34,000 Tiger fans let him know how they felt in a chorus of boo-flat.

Perhaps they sensed what was coming.

Ramirez, who entered the game hitting .211 since Aug. 15, hammered a Troy Melton pitch into the right field seats to break a 1-1 tie and lead the Guardians to a 3-2 victory and an improbable three-game sweep of the AL Central-leading Tigers.

The win cut Detroit’s lead over the Guards to 3 1/2 games with 10 games to play in the regular season. They were 15 1/2 games back on July 7 when they ended a 10-game losing streak.

The two teams meet next week in Cleveland in another three-game series. Who knows what will be at stake by then?

The Guardians have won a season-high seven straight games and 13 of their last 15. The win pushed them to 81-71, a season-high 10 games above .500.

Detroit started ace left-hander Tarik Skubal against Tanner Bibee. The Guardians didn’t beat Skubal, but they outlasted him. He left after six innings, 102 pitches and eight strikeouts with the score tied, 1-1.

Bibee (11-11, 4.34) matched Skubal pitch for pitch and came away with the win. He allowed one run and struck out eight in six innings.

Melton started the seventh for Skubal. He issued a one-out walk to Angel Martinez to bring Ramirez to the plate. He hit a 1-0 pitch over the right field wall for his 29th homer of the season.

The Tigers took their first lead of the series at 1-0 when Colt Keith doubled home Spencer Torkelson in the second inning against Bibee.

Torkelson started the inning with a double to left. Wenceel Perez moved him to third with a bloop single behind third base and Keith delivered him with the third straight hit of the inning. It looked like the start of a big inning for the Tigers, but Bibee stopped the rally right there.

Dillon Dingler, with the infield playing in after Perez went to third on Keith’s double, hit a hard grounder to Gabriel Arias at short. Arias threw home to catcher Austin Hedges to erase Perez, who was running on contact. Bibee retired the next two batters to end the inning.

The Guardians put some pressure on Skubal, the AL’s reigning Cy Young winner. Martinez walked and Ramirez beat out an infield single, withstanding a collision with Torkelson at first base in the process, in the first. Skubal, however, retired the next two batters to end the inning.

Jhonkensy Noel and Brayan Rocchio opened second with singles, but Skubal retired the next three batters.

Finally, with one out in the fourth, Noel homered to left to tie the score at 1-1. It waa the first run the Guardians scored against Skubal this season after 19 scoreless innings. Skubal had 27 strikeouts in those 19 innings.

Austin Hedges and Nolan Jones kept the inning going with two-out singles, but Skubal retired Steven Kwan on a liner to left after a 10-pitch at-bat.

The homer was Noel’s fifth of the season and third since being recalled from Triple-A Columbus on Sept. 1. Noel was 0 for 10 vs. Detroit this season entering the game.

Skubal left his previous start after 3 1/3 innings with soreness in his left side. Tests showed the injury was not serious and Skubal took the mound for his regular turn on Thursday.

The Guardians had another shot at Skubal in the sixth when Rocchio hit a two-out triple into the right field corner. He may have had a chance for an inside-the-park home run, but he got out of the box slowly and had to find a higher gears when the ball skipped past Perez in right field.

The Guardians’ taxed bullpen covered the final three innings. Tim Herrin, making his third appearance in as many days, pitched the seventh. Kolby Allard, making his first appearance since Sept. 4, pitched the eighth. Hunter Gaddis, giving closer Cade Smith a break, earned his third save of the season in the ninth. It was Gaddis’ first save since Aug. 6.

Next

The Guardians open a four-game series against the Twins on Friday night at Target Field. Rookie lefty Parker Messick (3-0, 1.84) will start for Cleveland against Minnesota right-hander Pablo Lopez (5-4, 2.64) at 8:10 p.m. CLEGuardians.TV, WKYC Ch. 3, WTAM 1100, WMMS 100.7 FM and the Guardians radio network will carry the game.

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