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(Sports Network) - Reigning American League Cy Young Award winner C.C. Sabathia gets his fourth crack at win No. 1 of 2008 this evening, when the Cleveland Indians open a two-game set with the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field.

Sabathia, who won 19 games with a career-best 3.21 earned run average a year ago, has struggled in his first three starts this season, going 0-2 while surrendering 18 runs in 14 frames.

The 27-year-old left-hander, who can become a free agent at season's end, lost his second straight start on Friday to the Oakland Athletics, who battered him for nine runs and 12 hits in 3 1/3 innings.

Sabathia has faced the Tigers 25 times in his career and is 13-8 against them with a 4.30 ERA.

Like Sabathia, the Indians enter this series reeling after getting swept in a brief two-game affair by the Boston Red Sox, including a 5-3 loss on Tuesday. Victor Martinez went 3-for-5 with two RBI while Ryan Garko also drove in a run for the Indians, who have dropped five of their last six games.

Jensen Lewis (0-1) served up Jason Varitek's game-winning homer in the ninth and got the loss, giving up two runs on five hits in 1 2/3 innings of work. Paul Byrd got the start and was charged with just an unearned run on six hits with six strikeouts in six innings of work.

Detroit, meanwhile, comes into tonight's opener on a rare winning note after Miguel Cabrera's two-run homer in the eighth inning rallied the Tigers past the Minnesota Twins, 6-5, to complete a two-game sweep at Comerica Park.

Nate Robertson started for the Tigers, but left in the seventh inning due to left lat tightness. He allowed four runs on six hits with a walk and five strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. He was relieved by Aquilino Lopez, who tossed a scoreless inning. The comeback made a winner of out reliever Clay Rapada (1-0), who retired the last two batters in the eighth.

Todd Jones yielded a run in the ninth, but managed to nail down his third save of the season.

Magglio Ordonez, Gary Sheffield and Carlos Guillen each hit solo home runs for the Tigers, who recorded back-to-back wins for the first time this season.

Heading to the hill tonight for the Tigers will be right-hander Armando Galarraga, who will be making just the second start of his career. Galarraga, starting in place of the injured Dontrelle Willis, appeared in three games (one start) for the Texas Rangers a year ago and did not record a decision, but surrendered six runs and eight hits in 8 2/3 innings.

Willis was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday with a hyperextended knee.

Cleveland won 12 of its 18 matchups with the Tigers a year ago and is 30-25 in the series since the start of the 2005 campaign. However, the Tribe is just 13-14 as the host against them in that time. Last year, though, they were 6-3 at home against them.