The Cleveland Indians are closing in on the AL Central title for one big reason.When theyve faced the Detroit Tigers head to head this year, its been no contest.Cleveland has won 13 of 15 against the second-place Tigers this season, and although Detroit prevailed Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep in the teams most recent series, the Indians lead the division by seven games. Clevelands head-to-head supremacy accounts for that entire margin and then some.This race is the reverse of what happened in 2013, when the Tigers went 15-4 against Cleveland and edged the Indians by one game atop the AL Central. In fact, during Detroits four-year run of division titles from 2011-14, the Tigers took advantage of their head-to-head opportunities against whichever team finished second.Detroit went 12-6 against Cleveland in 2011, 12-6 against the Chicago White Sox in 2012 and 13-6 against Kansas City in 2014. Throw in the dominant mark against Cleveland in 2013, and thats a winning percentage of .703 (52-22) for the Tigers over four years against the second-place finishers those seasons.Its come full circle this year. Detroit hasnt been able to solve Cleveland, which is why the Tigers are essentially playing for a wild card.Here are a few other developments from around baseball:ODD TEAM OUT?Forget all that talk about even-year magic. Right now, San Francisco has to worry about making the playoffs at all. The Giants are 22-37 since July 12 and are struggling to hold on to a wild card. Theyll send Madison Bumgarner to the mound against Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers on Monday night.San Francisco leads St. Louis by one game for the second wild card.MAGIC NUMBERSThe Cubs could be joined by a couple more division champions soon. The Texas Rangers magic numbers are five to eliminate Seattle and four to eliminate Houston from the AL West title chase.Washingtons magic number is six to take back the NL East crown from the New York Mets. Clevelands is seven to put away Detroit in the AL Central.HOME RUN RACEOn the morning of June 19, Baltimores Mark Trumbo led the American League in home runs with 20. Minnesotas Brian Dozier had seven and hadnt hit any in nearly two weeks.Trumbo has kept on slugging and now leads the league with 43 homers, but Dozier has 41 thanks to an extended tear. The home run race is coming down to the wire -- Oaklands Khris Davis and Torontos Edwin Encarnacion have 40 each.FANTASY FOCUSIf youre looking to play matchups down the stretch with starting pitchers, the teams ranked lowest in OPS since the All-Star break are the Phillies, Padres, Royals and Marlins. Atlanta, which is all but assured of a last-place finish in the NL East, has actually hit decently in the second half and has scored 5.5 runs per game this month.LINE OF THE WEEKFrom the where-did-THAT-come-from file: Colorados Jon Gray struck out a franchise-record 16 in a four-hit shutout of San Diego on Saturday night. The Rockies won 8-0.Gray hadnt pitched more than 7 1/3 innings in a game all season.---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister Lawrence Taylor Womens Jersey . The move comes after the Canadiens were approached by the Buffalo Sabres for permission to speak to Dudley - a former Sabres player and head coach. "The Sabres called for permission and I appreciate that, Im flattered, Dudley told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. Odell Beckham Jr Womens Jersey . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position. http://www.nygiantsfanaticshop.com/Black-Carl-Banks-Giants-Jersey.html?cat=864 . Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and took the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. The match was similar to Isners quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber which went to three sets, all tiebreaks and contained no breaks of serve. Mark Bavaro Jersey .S. hockey team after paying his dues as an NHL general manager for more than three decades and giving up a lot of his free time to help USA Hockey. Harry Carson Giants Jersey . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St.GRANBY, Que. -- Frank Dancevic defeated Slovakias Lukas Lacko to win the Granby National Bank Challenger for the third time in his career. The 28-year-old from Niagara Falls, Ont., beat Lacko, ranked 100th in the world, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-3 on Sunday. Its the first singles title Dancevic has won since the Dallas Challenger in April. He previously won Granby in 2003 and 2006. Dancevic was dominant on serve, hitting 24 aces and winning 84 per ccent of his first serve points in the match, which lasted just under two hours.dddddddddddd He also saved all eight break points he faced and broke Lackos serve once in the first set and twice in the final set to secure the victory. Risa Ozaki of Japan captured the womens title over Samantha Murray of Britian. Ozaki overcame a 0-6, 3-5 deficit to post a 0-6, 7-5, 6-2 win to collect her second Challenger title of the season. ' ' '