DETROIT -- Drew Smyly acknowledged thinking about the possibility of throwing a no-hitter. When Yan Gomes broke up his bid with a two-out double in the fifth, Smyly shifted his focus to simply winning the game to help his team end a skid. Smyly allowed four hits and matched his career high by pitching seven innings, and the Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians 5-1 Sunday to avoid avoided a four-game sweep. Smyly (6-8) noticed after two innings that he had held the Indians hitless. "If any pitcher says they dont notice it, theyre lying," he said. "You think about it." The left-hander ended up allowing only one run -- on Gomes seventh-inning homer -- walked two and struck out six. "They didnt see a lot of the same pitches back to back," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. Joba Chamberlain walked two in the eighth, and Joe Nathan pitched a perfect ninth in a non-save situation. The AL Central-leading Tigers (54-41) stopped a four-game losing streak and increased their lead over Cleveland to 5 1-2 games. "Its huge to come and get the win to end that little streak," Smyly said. "But thats baseball, youre going to go on a lot of hot streaks, youre going to go on some cold streaks and you just try to weather the storm." Josh Tomlin (5-7) allowed four runs, six hits and a walk over 4 1-3 innings. Cleveland (50-48) had reached a season-high three games over .500 by winning four in a row. "It was a great series for us," Tomlin said. "Took three games from them, but I came up short." Detroit gave Smyly some support offensively, scoring two runs in the first and two more on Torii Hunters drive deep into the left-field seats in fourth. Austin Jackson led off the first with a double and scored on Ian Kinslers single. Kinsler came home on Victor Martinezs sacrifice fly. Indians relievers C.C. Lee and Kyle Crockett stranded a total of five runners by combining to strike out the last two batters in the fifth and the sixth. Cleveland manager Terry Francona was pleased with his pitchers performances against Miguel Cabrera, who went 0 for 4, and Victor Martinez, who was 3 of 15 over the four-game series. "Those guys in the middle are pretty special," Francona said. "And, I thought we did a good job against them." Nick Castellanos hit an RBI double for a four-run lead in the eighth inning, taking some pressure off Nathan, who was greeted by the fans with a mix of cheers and boos after giving up a game-losing hit in Saturday nights loss. "I dont think it hurt that he got back out there," Ausmus said. NOTES: Tigers RHP Justin Verlander (8-8, 4.88) is to face Arizona LHP Vidal Nuno (0-1, 3.00) when Detroit begins a seven-game trip that continues against the Los Angeles Angels. ... Martinez played first base, giving Cabrera a day of relative rest as a designated hitter, and may play there while Cabrera moves to third for a game or two against the Diamondbacks. ... The Indians will stay on the road, expecting to put called-up LHP T.J. House (1-2, 4.40) on the mound against LHP Kris Johnson (0-1, 5.40) Monday night and called-up RHP Danny Salazar on Tuesday night at Minnesota. ... Detroit and Cleveland optioned the 26th players they had for Saturdays doubleheader, sending RHP Drew VerHagen to Triple-A Toledo and RHP Zach McAllister to Triple-A Columbus. ... Tigers owner Mike Ilitch attended the game on his 85th birthday. ... The Indians had won a season-best five straight on the road. ... Cleveland had won a season-best five straight on the road. Air Max Outlet Online . The Asheville, N.C. native, who signed as a free agent with the CFL club last May, didnt see any action with Edmonton this season after opening the year on the injured list. Cheap Air Max Online . Tortorella told The Vancouver Province hell be cheering for Team Sweden to win gold when they take on the defending Olympic champions on Sunday morning. "I hope Sweden wins, cause I dont think Hammer (Dan Hamhuis) is going to play, judging by whats happened. http://www.airmaxoutletsale.us/. Rookie Marek Mazanec made 39 saves for his first NHL victory and the Predators beat the Chicago Blackhawks 7-2 Saturday night. Air max Outlet .Those stars, most notably the top line of James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel, struggled against the Montreal Canadiens and must be better as the Leafs look ahead to facing the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers this weekend. Cheap Air Max Sale .200. His solution to his hitting woes was business in the front and a party in the back."That would be a mullet," Norris says.NEW YORK, N.Y. - Former U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones has been appointed to hear Ray Rices appeal of the indefinite suspension handed down by the NFL.Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the appointment Thursday after consulting with DeMaurice Smith, the players union executive director.Rice was suspended indefinitely Sept. 8 for violating the NFLs personal conduct policy after a video of Rice hitting his then-fiancee in an elevator was released publicly. Goodell originally had suspended Rice for two games.Jones served in the Southern District of New York from 1996-2013. She also has been an attorney in the Department of Justice and currently is a partner in the law firm of Zuckerman Spaeder.We are grateful to Judge Jones for taking on this role, Goodell said in a release. She will have our full co-operation as she hears and decides this appeal.A month after Rice was initially suspended for two games, Goodell admitted he didnt get it right and announced tougher penalties for future domestic violence incidents. First-time domestic violence offfenders would face a six-game suspension, and repeat offenders would be suspended indefinitely.ddddddddddddThe policy didnt apply to Rice, who had already received his penalty.But once the video became public, the Baltimore Ravens cut the star running back, and the league banned him indefinitely. The league considered the video to be new evidence, giving Goodell the authority to further suspend Rice.The union appealed Sept. 16, saying Rice should not be punished twice.The NFLPA appeal is based on supporting facts that reveal a lack of a fair and impartial process, including the role of the office of the commissioner of the NFL, the NFL Players Association said in a statement when it filed the appeal. We have asked that a neutral and jointly selected arbitrator hear this case as the commissioner and his staff will be essential witnesses in the proceeding and thus cannot serve as impartial arbitrators.Now that Jones is in place, a hearing is expected to take place shortly.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '