Jose Ramirez, Edwin Encarnacion, James McCann

Cleveland Indians' Jose Ramirez, right, gets congratulations from Edwin Encarnacion, center, after hitting a three run home run off Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez as catcher James McCann looks on during the eighth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, April 15, 2017, in Cleveland.

(AP photo)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Tigers and Indians have been down this road before.

Justin Verlander and manager Brad Ausmus continue to not-so-subtly push the narrative that the Indians might be stealing signs. The Indians scoff at that accusation, and skipper Terry Francona suggests his group has a tall enough order remembering its own signals.

While he also credited the Indians -- and lamented his own struggles -- after their 13-run explosion on Saturday, Verlander still hinted at the sign-stealing notion.

"I guess when you go to multiple signs with nobody on, you're just saying, 'Hey, it's a little fishy,'" Verlander told reporters after he surrendered a career-high nine runs on Saturday.

Verlander exited after four innings, his shortest outing in nearly two years.

"Usually, if you do what you're supposed to -- like, Verlander left some pitches up -- if he doesn't do that," Francona said, "we're probably not having this conversation."

The Indians have won eight of their last nine encounters with Verlander. The damage hasn't been limited to Progressive Field, either. They roughed him up for four home runs in one inning in a game at Comerica Park in late June 2016.

Man the ball is flying in Cleveland. 👀🤔🤔🤔 @Mlb — Justin Verlander (@JustinVerlander) October 7, 2016

"You hear all the stories," Francona said. "I heard them all in Boston, how the guys in the bullpen were always giving signs. Once we found that out, we'd line them up out there, and they'd all do different stuff just to aggravate the other teams. I've heard about the guy in Toronto up in center field for years. [Josh] Beckett swore he was up there.

"The object of the game is to have your guys know the signs and have the other team not. With all the technology, that can get more difficult, just like a lot of other stuff. But, I can tell you with a fair amount of certainty, I'm just happy when our guys get our signs -- and I'm being serious about that."

At the least, the Tigers have another thing to worry about when they battle their division rival.

"I don't think it can hurt," Francona said. "So many times over the years -- not just here -- a pitcher will feel good, but he's getting hit. And he's like, 'Man, I've got to be tipping.' Well, then they spend time thinking about that, as opposed to executing pitches. Sometimes, there's not a lot of good explanations.

"We were kind of due. And then, when things start to break loose, everybody takes a deep breath and it kind of comes in bunches. I think we see that in the game all the time.

"There are some teams that are really good at getting signs from second base. I've been around guys that are really good. I've also been around guys that think they're really good and are going to get somebody killed. And then I've also been around guys that just like to deke out there, just to make sure people are thinking about it. There's all kinds of stuff going on."

Testing, testing: After a pair of games at Huntington Park in Columbus this weekend, Jason Kipnis will remain with the Indians' Triple-A affiliate for their trek to Pennsylvania this week to face the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Rail Riders.

Kipnis, who went 0-for-3 in Saturday's game, was scheduled to play second base for five-to-seven innings for the Clippers on Sunday. He'll rest on Monday before playing on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Kipnis is working his way back from a strained rotator cuff, which interrupted his spring training and forced him from the Indians' Opening Day plans.

Superlative City: Jose Ramirez's last seven plate appearances have included four singles, two three-run homers and a walk. In those trips to the plate, he's batting 1.000 with a 3.000 OPS.

Ramirez emerged as a reliable threat with the bat last season, when he batted .312 with an .825 OPS and a laundry list of timely hits.

"As he gets going in his career, as he stays healthy," Francona said, "it's going to be really interesting to see where this goes, because I think he does want to be one of the elite players in the game. I think he aspires to be that. It'll be fun to watch him on his growth getting there."