Tomlin writes next chapter in comeback story Right-hander steps in for Kluber with four-hitter to beat Tigers By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | + 1 COMMENTS DETROIT -- Being stuck in rehab can be akin to being in solitary confinement for a ballplayer. When the monotonous daily exercises are complete, there is little to do, except to wait for the arrival of the next box on the schedule's checklist. For Josh Tomlin, his comeback from preseason shoulder surgery kept him in Arizona for much of this season. For months, long before Friday's complete-game gem in an 8-1 win over the Tigers, the Indians starter tried to stay connected to his team by monitoring as many innings as possible from the desert. "I would watch every single game that we played while I was in Arizona," Tomlin said. "Even rehabbing in Cleveland, I'd watch every game." What Tomlin has accomplished through five outings since rejoining the Major League rotation has been, at least in part, a byproduct of watching from afar. If he could not be on the mound competing, the veteran right-hander wanted to do what he could to study the game, watching opposing batters and focusing on how certain pitchers attacked with specific pitches. Back in Cleveland, while Tomlin worked on strengthening his arm for the season's first four-plus months, Indians manager Terry Francona and pitching coach Mickey Callaway held out hope that the righty would help the team down the stretch. After his win over Detroit, Tomlin improved to 4-1 with a 2.55 ERA, 32 strikeouts and only three walks since his return. On Friday, while filling in for ace Corey Kluber (scratched due to a right hamstring strain), Tomlin limited the Tigers to one run on four hits. The crafty right-hander kept Detroit's offense off-balance, ending with six strikeouts and only one walk. "Oh, man. He was so good," Francona said. "He changed speeds, pounded the strike zone with all his pitches, had a good curveball. He used his fastball really effectively. That was fun to watch." This, Francona said, is what the team had in mind all along. "That's kind of what we were hoping," Francona said. "I think we wanted to try to give him enough time -- because knowing J.T., he was going to try to come back as quick as he can -- to come back so he could help us. Mickey and I were talking about it the whole year, because you know you're going to need pitching." Tomlin said watching the games helped with his preparation for his comeback. "You kind of see what those guys are trying to do against certain guys," Tomlin said. "And you kind of take it from there and see like, 'OK, that heater worked in there. I wondered what I would do if I could sneak it in there, or if I elevate it just a tad bit,' if they'd get to it, seeing if they start cheating to that pitch. Then, I can go back away. It's knowing guys' strengths and teasing them a little bit, and then trying to go back to your strength and get outs as quick as you can." Tomlin certainly found a rhythm on Friday, when Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera managed the only breakthrough with an RBI single in the sixth inning. Beyond that, Tomlin continued on his impressive comeback trail and turned in his fifth straight outing of at least six innings. All five starts have also included at least five strikeouts. Prior to this year, Tomlin had not hit those marks in consecutive outings. The only previous year he had a five-start streak of at least six innings came in 2011, when he did it three times en route to a 12-win season. Then came Tommy John surgery near the end of 2012, and then the shoulder injury this year. Like the Indians, Tomlin kept the faith that he could comeback strong. "I don't think there was any doubt that I would be able to return to [my old form]," Tomlin said. "My game is not to go out there and strike guys out. So, once I figured out the strike zone again and both sides of the plate and being able to mix it up, it was just a matter of executing it in a game." Indians gain ground behind Tomlin's 4-hitter By Jordan Bastian and Jason Beck / MLB.com | + 33 COMMENTS DETROIT -- Corey Kluber's scratch from his scheduled start did nothing to slow down the resurgent Indians, who used a four-hitter from Josh Tomlin and two big hits from Jerry Sands to roll past the Tigers for an 8-1 win Friday night at Comerica Park. "Oh, man. He was so good," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "He changed speeds, pounded the strike zone with all his pitches, had a good curveball. He used his fastball really effectively. That was fun to watch." • Tomlin writes next chapter in comeback story Kluber, who tweaked his right hamstring earlier this week during a mound session in Toronto, is expected to miss a start or two. The move did not catch the Tigers by surprise, but Tomlin -- whom the Tigers roughed up twice in as many starts last year -- did. He retired 15 out of 16 batters between base hits, surrendering his lone run on a Miguel Cabrera single in the sixth. Tigers starter Kyle Lobstein tried to keep pace, but fell behind for good when Sands homered to left-center in the third inning. Sands' triple his next time up set off a four-run fifth inning that put the game out of reach. "Not very good," Lobstein said. "I fell behind too many hitters and gave them too many pitches to hit behind in the count." With the win and Texas' 5-2 loss to the Angels, the Indians moved within five games of the American League's second Wild Card. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Sands storm: Through his first two at-bats, Sands checked off the hardest elements of a cycle. The outfielder launched a two-run homer to give Cleveland a 2-0 lead in the third inning and then led off the fifth with a triple. Sands finished 2-for-4. Travis Hafner (Aug. 14, 2003 against Minnesota) remains the last Indians batter to accomplish the rare feat. "You get the home run and a triple in the first two at-bats," Sands said. "And the triple is harder for me than the home run most of the time, so you're always thinking about [a cycle]. I just tried to take my last two at-bats as normal ones. I haven't been swinging the bat great lately. So, I'd rather get something out of them than to try and hit a double or a single right there. I want to try and get back into a groove." Sands triples to right-center Sands triples to right-center 9/4/15: Jerry Sands drives a ball into the right-center-field gap and legs out a triple in the top of the 5th inning Locked when loaded: The Indians rank last in the Majors with a .177 average (17-for-96) with the bases loaded this season, but amazingly rank first in baseball in runs scored (31) with the bags full via walks, sacrifice flies and hit batsmen. That trend continued in the fifth, when Yan Gomes was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Abraham Almonte later added a bases-loaded walk, accounting for two of the Tribe's four runs in the inning. "We'll take anything," Francona said. "But, I thought our guys did a good job. Gomer got hit in the wrist. Almonte laid off some tough pitches. We've done a better job. I think when you're starting to get walks, one, it means you're commanding the strike zone -- you're not going out of the zone. That'll lead to getting hits, if you do that." September is the Month of Machado: With Jose Iglesias sidelined for at least the next two weeks with a non-displaced fracture in his right middle finger, Dixon Machado began his late-season look at shortstop with a splash. His diving catch up the middle robbed Jason Kipnis of a hit in the top of the sixth inning. Of course, he had to lead off the bottom half of the inning, doubling down the left-field line to set up Detroit's lone run on a Cabrera single. "Machy looked good," manager Brad Ausmus said. "He had a real solid year in Toledo. We always had known he's a solid defender. He started hitting the last couple years. Nice double tonight, for sure, and he'll probably get quite a bit more playing time now with Iglesias being out with a broken finger." More > Another milestone for Cabrera: Cabrera's single was his 1,471st as a Tiger, tying him with Dick McAuliffe for 14th in franchise history. Cabrera went 1-for-4, dropping his average to .360, but he leads Michael Brantley by 38 points for the AL lead and Bryce Harper by 29 points for best in the Majors. QUOTABLE "We had a good game plan going forward and we executed when we needed to. The guys played great defense behind me. There were some pretty hard hit balls in the outfield that those guys ran down and did a great job on.