CLEVELAND (Interstat) — The Cleveland Guardians erupted for five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, turning a tense pitchers’ duel into a 6-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers in Game 2 of their playoff series Wednesday evening at Progressive Field.

The win, secured in front of 26,669 fans, evens the best-of-five series at one game apiece. The Tigers had taken the opener 2-1 on Tuesday.

For seven innings, the game was a deadlock. Cleveland’s George Valera opened the scoring in the first inning with a solo home run off Detroit starter Casey Mize. The Tigers answered in the fourth when Riley Greene doubled and later scored on a single by Javier Báez. The play required a successful Cleveland challenge, as Zach McKinstry was thrown out at third base to end the inning.

The stalemate was broken decisively in the eighth. With one out, Brayan Rocchio homered off Detroit reliever Brant Hurter to break the 1-1 tie. Steven Kwan followed with a double, and Daniel Schneemann drove him in with another double, chasing Hurter from the game.

After an intentional walk to José Ramírez and a groundout that advanced the runners, Bo Naylor provided the final blow, a three-run home off Troy Melton to left field to put the game out of reach.

Melton, who recorded only one out in the eighth, was charged with the loss, falling to 3-3 on the season. He was responsible for the final four Cleveland runs. Cade Smith earned the win for Cleveland, improving to 9-5 after pitching a scoreless top of the eighth inning.

The Tigers out-hit the Guardians 7 to 6 but went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Kerry Carpenter led Detroit with two hits, while Báez also had two hits and the team’s lone RBI.

Mize was effective in a no-decision, allowing one run on one hit over three innings of work. Cleveland’ pitching staff, meanwhile, navigated constant traffic on the basepaths, stranding Tigers in scoring position in the fourth, fifth, seventh and ninth innings.

The game lasted 3 hours and 12 minutes.

With the series tied, the Tigers, now 88-76, and the Guardians, now 89-75, will play Game 3 in Cleveland on Thursday.