CLEVELAND — Francisco Rodriguez thought the Detroit Tigers proved a point to their biggest rival.
Matthew Boyd allowed one run in six innings, Alex Avila hit a two-run homer and Detroit defeated the Cleveland Indians 4-1 on Sunday to take two of three from the AL champions.
Cleveland went 14-4 against Detroit last year as it won the AL Central.
"It was great," said Rodriguez, who pitched the ninth for his fifth save. "We don't have to dig too much to remember what happened last year. These three games were totally different."
The Indians have lost seven of nine after an opening three-game sweep of Texas.