Indians beat reeling Tigers I Home comfort: The Indians have not lost a series at Cleveland Stadium since June 18-20 against Baltimore. Associated Press CLEVELAND - Sparky Anderson, who should know, has pronounced the Detroit Tigers all but dead. "Nothing is impossi- Indians 8 ble. It's not impossible. But it's not reasonable," Tigers 4 Anderson said Thursday after the Tigers lost 84 to the Cleveland Indians. The Tigers are 8½ games behind Toronto in the AL East. Detroit climbed as many as 18 games above .500 in June and seemed to be positioning itself for a pennant race despite a pitching staff riddled with holes. But since June 20, the Tigers have gone 11-30, falling deep enough in the standings - fifth place - to wreck any realistic hope of contending. By losing two of three games in Cleveland this week, the Tigers dipped below .500 for the first time since April 13. They are 6-15 since the All-Star break. "You throw this in the computer, and you'd be shocked at the percentage you'd have to play to get all four teams," Anderson said. "It's over .700." Wayne Kirby batting in injured Kenny Lofton's leadoff slot - hit a basesloaded triple and Paul Sorrento homered for the Indians. The Indians, chasing Detroit for fifth place, have won four of their last five games. Rookie Tom Kramer (5-2) won his fourth consecutive decision, yielding two runs and seven hits in 5⅔ innings. Lofton sat out because of strained cartilage in his right rib cage, an injury sustained Wednesday as he rounded first on a double. He was listed as -to-day. Thomas Howard replaced Lofton in center, but Kirby moved into his leadoff spot and went 2-for-3, highlighting the Indians' six-run second inning with the hit that finished John Doherty (9-7). Sorrento hit a two-run homer Bolton in the fifth, his 15th of the year and first since July 11. Kramer had six strikeouts and four walks. He has not lost since May 30, a span of 11 appearances during which he has gone 4-0 with a 3.86 ERA. Jerry DiPoto and Jeremy Hernandez each struck out four, giving the Indians a season-high 14 in the game. Detroit scored twice in the first on Mickey Tettleton's bases-loaded walk and an RBI single by Kirk Gibson. But Kramer avoided disaster by striking out Rob Deer and Scott Livingstone with the bases loaded. Cleveland manager Mike Hargrove visited the mound for an animated discussion with Kramer after he had walked Cecil Fielder and Tettleton in succession. "He told me, 'You're better than that. You're giving them too much credit. Stop messing around,' " Kramer said. "I was trying to be too fine. They're a good hitting team, and they can intimidate you at times. Anybody on that team can take you deep." Doherty, who had allowed eight runs in 2⅓ innings his previous game, couldn't get past the second inning this time. All six hitters he faced in the inning scored - on an RBI single by Felix Fermin, a bases-loaded walk to Jesse Levis, Kirby's triple and Howard's sacrifice fly. "I wish I could blame it on something," Doherty said. "I haven't changed anything up." The Tigers made it 84 in the ninth on Tettleton's two-run double.