CLEVELAND -- It was August 2013. The Cleveland Indians were chasing the Tigers in the American League Central Division standings.

Former Tigers player Ryan Raburn had just signed a two-year extension with the Indians. He spoke about the extension in a conference room just outside the home clubhouse at Progressive Field.

The first-place Tigers were in town for a four-game series. Every time his current team came up in Raburn's press conference, he spoke about how they were a good team that needed another piece or two to contend. Every time the Tigers were mentioned, Raburn spoke in almost reverent tones about them and their dominance of the Central Division.

The results on the field in that series ended up being reflective of the words Raburn spoke. The Tigers swept the four-game series that week. The Indians trailed by three games when the Tigers came to town and by seven games when they left. The Indians were all but eliminated during that series.

For several years, including the 2013 season, the Tigers absolutely dominated the Indians. That time appears to have passed.

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus summed up their season series succinctly Thursday night after his team's 9-4 loss to Cleveland.

"Quite frankly," he said, "they kind of kicked our asses all six games."

The Tigers are 0-6 against the Indians this season. To see how much of an about face that is from the recent past requires a look at the past several years. So let's take a look.

The Indians won the season series against the Tigers just one time in the seven seasons prior to this one. Here is the Tigers' year-by-year record against the Indians in those seven seasons:

Tigers vs. Indians

2015: 11-7

2014: 11-8

2013: 15-4

2012: 8-10

2011: 12-6

2010: 9-9

2009: 14-4

The Tigers went 80-48 (.625) against the Indians during that seven-season stretch.

The Tigers outscored the Indians in the season series in all seven of those seasons:

Tigers' run differential vs. Indians

2015: plus-9

2014: plus-16

2013: plus-50

2012: plus-15

2011: plus-37

2010: plus-8

2009: plus-29

The Tigers outscored the Indians by 164 runs in those seven seasons. That means the Tigers outscored the Indians by an average of 1.28 runs per game over a span of 84 games.

Oh, how things have changed. The Tigers are 0-6 against the Indians in 2016 and have been outscored 38-12 -- an average of more than four runs per game -- in those six games.

"They outplayed us -- simple as that," Ausmus said. "They out-pitched us, they out-hit us, they out-defended us. Period. They were the better baseball team out there. They've been the better baseball team all six games we've played."

Indians right-hander Trevor Bauer, who picked up the win Thursday night, was asked if it was a lift to sweep a team that has had its number in recent seasons. He didn't mince any words.

"It's huge," Bauer said. "I think you look at the last couple of years, our record in the first half of the season against them especially, it feels like every time we played them we'd get just bludgeoned. Not just beat, but beat bad. So obviously any time you get a sweep against anybody, and then a division opponent, and one that has beat us badly the past couple years, that's a big boost."

The Tigers and Indians don't play again till June. So the Tigers will have to wait more than six weeks -- at the very least -- to beat them for the first time in 2016.

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