Cabrera, Francona bid farewell

DETROIT — Miguel Cabrera and Terry Francona said goodbye on Sunday at Comerica Park. Before the game Francona, stepping aside as the Guardians manager after 11 years, was asked if he felt he was sharing this day with Cabrera, Detroit's future Hall of Famer. "I wouldn't remotely want to do that," said Francona. "This is Miggy's home. I'm just happy to be with our guys. That's enough. That's plenty." Cabrera took a quiet 0-for-3 in the Tigers' 5-2 victory over the Guardians, but the sellout crowd of over 40,000 cheered every move he made. The cheers were especially loud when Cabrera took first base to start the eighth inning for his first appearance at his old position this season. Steven Kwan followed the script to perfection by sending a hard grounder that Cabrera, 40, fielded flawlessly and barely beat Kwan to the bag. The game was stopped as Cabrera's family came onto the field, followed by the entire Detroit team. "I was part of the script," joked Kwan. "Take the first pitch and hit the second one right to him." As for almost colliding with the 260-pound Cabrera, Kwan said, "I figured that would be probably not be a good thing. But it was cool to be part of." Cabrera made his way slowly to the dugout, hugging family and teammates, while saluting the crowd and holding back tears. It was several minutes before play resumed with Cabrera being replaced in the lineup. "Of all the the things you see in the game, they put Miggy out there for a curtain call and the second ball is hit right to him," said Francona. "Sometimes things work out for the best. "I thought it was cool." Francona said that the Tigers had told him before the game that they had planned to play Cabrera at first base in the eighth inning. Cabrera ends his career with 513 homers and 3,174 hits. He ends his career against Cleveland as a .308 (287 for 932) hitter with 50 homers and 177 RBI. It is the most homers and RBI he's hit against any team. Asked how he felt after managing his last game with the Guardians, Francona said, "I'm mad we lost. I don't like it when we lose. But the grandkids are here. I'll take them to dinner, play with them and let them tire me out. "I should start practicing that because I'll probably get to do that more. Which is great." The Tigers scored first and the Guardians could never pull even. Parker Meadows opened the first with a walk, took second on Spencer Torkelson's single and scored on Kerry Carpenter's one-out single for a 1-0 lead. Detroit would go on to score single runs against Guardians starter Lucas Giolito in the first three innings for a 3-0 advantage. They call that building a picket fence, and Rodriguez didn't need much more help against the G's. Akil Baddoo hit a leadoff double in the second and scored when Javy Baez, hitting eighth, doubled into the right field corner for a 2-0 lead. Giolito struck out the first two batters he faced in the third, and seemed to be settling into the game, but Matt Vierling doubled and scored on a single by Ibanez for a 3-0 lead. Detroit left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez held Cleveland to one run in three previous starts this year. When Ramon Laureano started the fifth by reaching on a error by Rodriguez, stealing second and scoring on a fly ball and groundout, it seemed like a moral victory at the very least. But when Tyler Freeman hit a leadoff homer to start the fifth, the Guards were back in the game, 3-2. It was Freeman's fourth homer of the season and his second in the series. It did not stay that way long. Giolito (8-15, 4.88) walked Carpenter to start the fifth, and Vierling followed with a long two-run homer to left field for a 5-2 lead. Vierling went 3 for 4 with a homer and two doubles. It was the 41st homer Giolito has allowed in 184 1/3 innings this year. Giolito, in six starts since the Guardians claimed him on waivers in August, is 1-4 with a 7.04 ERA. In five innings Sunday he allowed five runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and four walks. Rodriguez (13-9, 3.30) worked seven innings, allowing two runs, one earned. He struck out five, walked one and allowed four hits. The left-hander finished the season at 4-0 with a 0.63 ERA (two runs in 28 2/3 innings) in four starts against Cleveland. Francona ends 11 years as Cleveland's manager with a 921-756 record. In 23 years of managing, he owns a record of 1,950-1,672. The last time the Cleveland finished in third place was 2015. Cleveland was 81-80 that year. Cleveland finished this season at 76-86. After the game, Francona hugged each player as they walked through the dugout and into the locker room. "I just needed to tell them thank you," said Francona. "We didn't accomplish what we set out to do this year. But they didn't shortchange anybody in effort. They're such good kids. "I've really enjoyed these guys and I wanted them to know that. When you don't win, sometimes you're not able to convey that. You shouldn't have to win to care about guys."