Indians tie AL record with 20th consecutive win

Move over Moneyball.

The Cleveland Indians won Tuesday's game against the Detroit Tigers on the back of a complete-game shutout from their ace Corey Kluber. It was the club's 20th straight victory, tying the American League record for most consecutive wins and sharing history with the Oakland Athletics.

It's the second straight shutout the Indians have authored against the Tigers in as many games since their series against the AL Central rival began on Monday.

The Athletics set the AL record with 20 straight victories during their storied 2002 season - a pivotal plot line in the Michael Lewis book "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game."

The Indians opened the scoring early with a leadoff home run from star shortstop Francisco Lindor, for his 30th of the season.

Focus now turns toward the all-time record, which is the source of some contention. The 1935 Chicago Cubs and 1880 Chicago White Stockings both won 21 consecutive games, although the 1916 New York Giants played 26 games without losing. The record held by the Giants consists of a dozen straight wins, then a tie, followed by another 13 wins.

Cleveland has now outscored their opponents 134-32 over the historic stretch, a whopping plus-102 run differential. Even further, it's the team's seventh shutout in the past 20 games.