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 tk 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 sn. 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 lking 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/noahtristerClearance Superstar Ireland . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. Cheap Adidas Ireland From China . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. http://www.wholesalesuperstarireland.com/ . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. Discount Superstar Ireland Online . The team said Saturday that Lopez was hurt during its 121-120 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday. The Nets said they would issue another update next week after consultation with their doctors. Cheap Superstar Shoes Ireland . And when it opened, every player was at his stall. Thats a sure sign that a team is in a slump and is searching for answers. "Its embarrassing to be at home and play the way we did," said defenceman Josh Gorges.FCS Playoffs First RoundThe Matchup -- San Diego (9-1) at Cal Poly (7-4)Kickoff -- 7 p.m. ET Saturday at Alex G. Spanos Stadium in San Luis Obispo, CaliforniaCoverage -- ESPN3Series -- Cal Poly leads 5-0Players to Watch -- San Diego: QB Anthony Lawrence (197 of 286, 2,515 yards, 22 TDs, 5 INTs); RB/KR Jonah Hodges (1,603 yards from scrimmage, 17 TDs), Jon Peterson (19 TFL, 11.5 sacks, 13 QB hurries); Cal Poly: QB Dano Graves (2,129 yards of total offense, 26 total TDs), FB Joe Protheroe (1,212 yards, 11 TDs), ILB Chris Santini (93 tackles, 10.5 TFL)The Skinny -- Its never easy for teams to make their way to San Luis Obispo, but the Toreros know the way. These two teams have met four times in the last five years and played each other on Sept. 10, with Cal Poly winning 38-16. USD, making its second FCS playoff appearance in the last three seasons under coach Dale Lindsey, has won eight straight games since falling to Cal Poly. The non-scholarship Pioneer Ftball League program is surrendering the FCS lows with 12.1 points and 249.6 yards per game, and lead in average time of possession (35 minutes, 13 seconds). CB/PR Jamal Agnew is second among active FCS players with 58 career passes defended, including 11 interceptions.dddddddddddd Hodges averaged over 158 rushing yards over the final three regular-season games and the Toreros offense does a terrific job of protecting Lawrence, whose favorite target is tight end Ross Dwelley (59 receptions, 9 TDs). No matter the opponent, Cal Polys triple option offense always gets plenty of rushing yards, and the Mustangs have a slight lead in the FCS in rushing yards per game (360.6) as they try to be No. 1 in that statistic for a fourth straight year. Graves, who accounted for three TDs in the win over San Diego, makes the offense go as the Big Skys second-team quarterback, and Protheroe and Kori Garcia have combined for over 2,000 rushing yards. The defense gives up points -- 32.6 per game -- but the Mustangs have won three times when allowing more than 40 points.Up Next -- The winner plays at No. 1 seed North Dakota State (10-1) in the second round Dec. 3.Prediction -- Although San Diego has broken into the national rankings, none of the first three PFL automatic qualifiers have won in the playoffs. Cal Poly 42-31. ' ' '