CLEVELAND (AP) - Travis Hafner is starting to hit again, and that makes the Cleveland Indians' offence even more dangerous.
Hafner homered and drove in four runs, Victor Martinez finished with three RBIs and the Indians beat the Detroit Tigers 11-5 Thursday night to improve baseball's best home record to 18-4.
''When Haf gets locked in, it's like I say - you play with fire, you're going to get burned,'' Martinez said. ''It's a big difference when he's hot.''
Cleveland also improved to 14-4 in the AL Central, including 4-0 against Detroit, despite a rough outing by C.C. Sabathia (8-1). The ace left-hander, 5-0 at Jacobs Field, allowed five runs and 10 hits in 7 1-3 innings and moved into a tie for the major league lead in wins.
''Our offence definitely helps a pitcher,'' Sabathia said. ''You feel that if you keep it close, they'll do what they did tonight.''
Hafner, hitting only .230 over his previous 21 games, put Cleveland ahead with a two-run drive in the first inning and Martinez's two-run homer capped a four-run fifth off Justin Verlander (5-2).
''I hit that one pretty good,'' said Hafner, who is 5-for-8 with six RBIs in his last two games. ''My swing has been coming around. It's nice to see some results.
''The big thing for us is playing this well inside the division. That's very encouraging.''
Verlander gave up seven runs and eight hits over five-plus innings for Detroit, which lost for the sixth time in seven games and dropped 3½ games behind Cleveland in the AL Central. The right-hander hit three batters with pitches, walked three, uncorked two wild pitches and struck out six.
''I'm supposed to give us a chance to win, but I didn't do that,'' Verlander said. ''It was not a very good night.''
Tigers designated hitter Gary Sheffield was ejected in the top of the fifth by plate umpire Greg Gibson after arguing a called strike, then breaking his bat on a groundout and angrily throwing the piece of wood still in his hands.
After running halfway to first, Sheffield whirled and came back at Gibson. Tigers manager Jim Leyland and catcher Ivan Rodriguez ran out of the dugout to restrain Sheffield, who repeatedly poked his finger toward Gibson's face.
Sheffield, through a team spokesman, refused comment.
''I don't talk about that stuff,'' Leyland said. ''That's a dead end. Obviously, he and the umpire had a disagreement.
''We're not playing very good. We're in a real bad flow right now.''
Casey Blake singled with one out in the first inning and Hafner followed with a 430-foot drive into the trees beyond the center-field wall for his 10th homer and 2-0 lead.
''Haf really got us going,'' manager Eric Wedge said. ''It's a good sign to see him driving in runs. He's really the guy we work (the offence) around.''
Craig Monroe's 100th career homer and eighth of the season got Detroit within 2-1 in the second.
The Tigers went ahead with a three-run third. Sheffield had an RBI double, Magglio Ordonez a run-scoring groundout and Marcus Thames an RBI single.
Grady Sizemore and Blake singled to start the Indians' fifth. Hafner tied it with a two-run single to centre and Martinez hit a 2-1 pitch over the wall in right-centre for his ninth homer to make it 6-4.
Martinez added a sacrifice fly in the sixth, giving him 10 RBIs in his last seven games, and Sizemore's two-run triple capped Cleveland's four-run eighth off Jose Mesa.
Notes: The Tigers, with seven players on the disabled list, also were without starting infielders Brandon Inge (chip fracture in toe) and Carlos Guillen (strained left groin). .. Sabathia went 5-1 in May for the second straight year. .. Ordonez has 43 RBIs in his last 39 games and an AL-leading 49 overall. .. Hafner walked twice and leads the AL with 47. .. Sizemore got a standing ovation after making a leaping catch near the warning track of a drive hit by Neifi Perez in the second.