CLEVELAND — It was a Mother’s Day celebration at Progressive Field on Sunday, but the Indians threw a surprise party instead.

Getting production from a number of unlikely sources and in a number of out-of-the-ordinary ways, Cleveland snapped a five-game losing streak with a 7-4 victory.

The win not only ended a season-high skid for the Indians, it ended their futility against Detroit, which entered the day with 10 straight wins over Cleveland and an 18-4 record against its Central Division rival since the start of last season.

“It feels good to snap out of it,” said Indians manager Manny Acta, whose club won for just the second time in nine games.

Among the many surprises was the vast production from the bottom of the Indians order, namely seventh and eighth hitters Mark Grudzielanek and Andy Marte.

More photos below.

The two bench players combined to go 4-for-6 with two runs and five RBIs.

Grudzielanek, who turns 40 in June and did not play in the majors last season, went
3-for-4 and drove in two of Cleveland’s last three runs, including the go-ahead run in the fifth.

Staying with the surprising theme, the Indians had slugger Russell Branyan drop down a sacrifice bunt to move Austin Kearns to second before Grudzielanek’s base hit drove him in to put Cleveland in front for good at 5-4.

“Mark has been swinging the bat real good the last week or so,” Acta said. “He’s proven that he can still swing the bat.

“He’s been playing more. The way he’s playing right now, he gives us a good chance to win.”

Grudzielanek had seen more playing time in the absence of injured shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, and with second baseman Luis Valbuena struggling at the plate and in the field, he’s expected to see more.

“That’s not my decision,” said Grudzielanek, who is hitting .281 with seven RBIs in 15 games, .326 with seven RBIs over his last 12 games. “It’s nice to be out there but I have to continue to go out there and make them want to keep playing me.”

Marte took advantage of some rare playing time to drive in three runs, two of them with a triple in the second that put the Indians in front after Detroit scored once in the first off Mitch Talbot.

The Indians scored four times in the inning, the other two runs coming in strange fashion on a pair of infield singles from Lou Marson and Shin-Soo Choo. It was Marson’s first RBI of the season.

What came as no surprise was another positive outing from Talbot, the unheralded No. 5 starter. He only lasted five innings, but got the win after allowing four runs on six hits and striking out four.

Talbot (4-2, 3.43) got a lift from relievers Aaron Laffey, Kerry Wood, Tony Sipp and Chris Perez, with the foursome shutting out Detroit’s vaunted lineup on just two hits over the final four innings.

“It really wasn’t me,” Talbot said. “You’ve got to hand that to the hitters and the bullpen. They did a great job.”

The victory put a positive ending on an otherwise negative homestand that saw the Indians win just two of eight games against Minnesota, Toronto and Detroit.

Next up for Cleveland is an eight-game road trip that will take it through Kansas City, Baltimore and Tampa Bay.

“It was not a very good homestand,” Acta said. “We’re just going to have to go out and be road warriors.”

Now, that would be a surprise.

Next up

• Who: Cleveland at Kansas City
• When: Tuesday, 8:10 p.m.
• Where: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Mo.
• Pitchers: Westbrook (0-2, 5.74 ERA) vs. Bannister (1-2, 5.03)
• TV/radio: STO; WMMS 100.7-FM

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

CLEVELAND – Kerry Wood made his long-awaited return to the mound, but it was far from a triumphant one.

Wood, who was activated from the disabled list Friday, laid the groundwork for another Indians defeat a day later, allowing the game-winning runs in a 6-4 loss to Detroit on a cold and wet Saturday afternoon at Progressive Field.

Wood did not appear in a save situation, making his season debut in the seventh inning, but his performance was just as costly as a ninth-inning implosion for the Indians, who lost their fifth straight to fall a season-high eight games under .500 (10-18).

“He retired the first two guys real easy,” said Cleveland manager Manny Acta, whose club has lost seven of its last eight games and nine of its last 11. “After that, he lost his command and a big-time hitter got him.

“He was going to pitch in the middle of the game once or twice, just to see if he was ready to close.”

Wood proved he wasn’t yet prepared for the ninth-inning job with a shaky outing that started in promising fashion, but ended with Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera breaking a 3-all tie with a two-out, two-run single.

The right-hander’s effort mirrored an overall disappointing performance from the Indians, who walked eight batters and struggled to come up with a game-changing hit for much of the day.

“We just didn’t do enough good things to win the ballgame,” Acta said. “You can’t walk eight guys and leave runners on third base with less than two outs and expect good things to happen.”

Though it was windy and chilly on the field, Indians hitters felt the heat against Detroit pitching, with a trio of hard-throwing right-handers – Justin Verlander, Joel Zumaya and closer Jose Valverde — combining to register 15 strikeouts.

Verlander took a perfect game one out into the fourth inning, allowing three runs on four hits, while striking out nine over six innings. Detroit’s ace allowed just a run on one hit over the first five innings, striking out six of the first nine batters he faced.

He got his third win of the season when the Tigers rallied against Wood in the seventh.

“You’ve got to give that to Verlander,” Acta said. “On any given day, he can do that to a baseball team, regardless of how we’re swinging the bat right now.”

A little more offense could have given a long-awaited win to Indians starter Justin Masterson, who did not get a decision despite offering up a positive performance.

Masterson allowed three runs on five hits over six innings, nearly matching Verlander with eight strikeouts, but remained winless in six starts (0-3, 5.23 ERA). The right-hander has just one win in 16 starts since joining the Indians’ rotation last year after arriving in a trade with Boston.

“I’m just happy I’m continuing to get better,” said Masterson, who has struck out 15 over his last two starts and 39 for the year, which ranks sixth in the American League. “That’s really all I can control and all I can worry about. The win will come when it comes. It’s more about getting a victory for our team morale.”

That morale took another hit when Wood entered the game.

He retired the bottom two batters in the order before allowing Austin Jackson to slice a double down the right-field line that breathed life into the Detroit rally. Wood then walked the next two batters – Johnny Damon and Magglio Ordonez – to load the bases for Cabrera, who handled a 1-0 inside pitch and slapped it into right-center.

“Obviously, walking Damon killed me, right there,” Wood said. I didn’t think I made that bad of a pitch to Cabrera. That’s why he’s hitting .340 (actually, .371). The key to that is not getting to him.

“It was one of those days. It’s baseball.”

Though throwing strikes was a focal point of Acta’s first spring training with the Indians, his pitchers have struggled to adopt the approach. Cleveland has walked 109 batters in 248 1/3 innings, entering the day with the fourth-highest total in the league.

“It continues to be a concern,” Acta said. “When you’re swinging the bat like we are, you can’t afford to put that many people on base. Sooner or later, it’s going to cost you.”

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

Kerry Wood allowed two runs in the seventh inning of his season debut Saturday, helping to send the Indians to a 6-4 loss to Detroit at Progressive Field.

It was the Tribe’s fifth straight defeat and its ninth loss in 11 games.

CLEVELAND – Friday night wasn’t a total waste of time for the fans that came out to Progressive Field.

While the baseball game between Cleveland and Detroit was postponed – with the Tigers leading 7-6 after four innings – those in attendance got to watch most of the second half of the Cavaliers’ playoff victory over the Boston Celtics on the stadium’s Jumbotron.

The baseball game was not official and there was no announcement on when it would be rescheduled, although Indians manager Manny Acta said he believes it will be played in July.

“What are you guys doing in here?” Jake Westbrook said with a smile to the handful of media members as they walked into the clubhouse after the postponement. “There was no game. There’s nothing to write about.”

Things looked pretty miserable for the Indians in the game that didn’t count even before the torrential downpour.

Detroit jumped on Cleveland quickly in the first. Designated hitter Johnny Damon hit a one-out double before Miguel Cabrera made it 2-0 with his fifth home run of the season. Back-to-back doubles by Magglio Ordonez and Brandon Inge added a run to the Tigers’ lead.

Grady Sizemore got the Indians on the scoreboard with his first home run of the season in the bottom of the first, but another offensive barrage by Detroit in the third chased starting pitcher David Huff off the mound.

The 22/3 innings Huff pitched would have been the shortest outing by an Indians starter this season, and the shortest of Huff’s major league career.

“There’s still some things I need to work on,” Huff said. “When I went inside on them in the second inning, they weren’t very successful. I need to stick to my game plan. It’s just a matter of going out there and executing pitches.”

The runs that sent Huff packing all came with two outs in the inning. Damon walked before Ordonez singled to start the inning. Consecutive flyouts to Sizemore by Cabrera and Inge set up the clutch hitting by Ryan Raburn, who hit an RBI double, and Scott Sizemore, who hit a two-run double.

“These guys are the best in the league in hitting and (Huff) didn’t make his pitches,” Acta said. “They made him pay for it.”

Things looked bleak for the Indians, but they managed to explode for a big inning of their own.

Luis Valbuena led off the third with a groundout before the Indians reeled off six straight hits – a Mark Grudzielanek single, a Sizemore single, a Shin-Soo Choo single, an Austin Kearns single, a Travis Hafner three-run homer and a Jhonny Peralta double.

Russell Branyon walked to put men on first and second with one out, but Lou Marson – the ninth batter in the inning – hit into a double play to end the rally.

The Indians had another great opportunity to tie or take the lead in the fourth. Valbuena led off with a single and Sizemore and Choo walked after Grudzielanek’s long flyout to center field. That loaded the bases with just one out.

But the Indians fell short again when back-to-back strikeouts by Kearns and Hafner ended the inning.

Then the rain came and the game was held up for just over two hours before it was officially postponed.

Huff and Detroit starting pitcher Jeremy Bonderman, who was yanked after giving up six earned runs in 21/3 innings, are probably happy the weather wiped out the game.

Since the game didn’t get through the fifth inning, it will be replayed in its entirety and all the stats from the postponed game will be erased.

“That’s probably the only positive thing that happened,” Huff said with a smile.

While the two starters probably had their fingers crossed hoping for the postponement, several Indians hitters – such as Sizemore and Hafner – saw their breakout games disappear.

“I feel bad for those guys,” Acta said. “They lose their stats. It’s not about the stats of course, but that can build their confidence.”

Contact Shaun Bennett at 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com.

TODAY

• WHO: Cleveland vs. Detroit
• TIME: 1:05 p.m.
• WHERE: Progressive Field
• PITCHERS:  Masterson (0-3, 5.40 ERA) vs. Verlander (2-2, 4.50)
• TV/RADIO: SportsTime Ohio; WEOL 930-AM, WTAM 1100-AM