Cleveland 9, Toronto 4
When: 7:10 PM ET, Friday, May 1, 2015
Where: Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio
Temperature:
55°
Umpires:
Home -
Bill Welke, 1B -
James Hoye, 2B -
John Tumpane, 3B -
John Hirschbeck
Attendance:
15088
By The Sports Xchange
CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Indians belted three home runs and right-hander Carlos Carrasco pitched six solid innings to fuel a 9-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night at Progressive Field.
Second baseman Jason Kipnis, left fielder Michael Brantley and catcher Brett Hayes homered as Cleveland registered a rare victory over a left-hander.
The Indians, who have a lineup filled with left-handed hitters, came into the game with a 1-8 record against left-handed starters, but they roughed up veteran lefty Mark Buehrle (3-2) for eight runs and 11 hits in less than five innings.
Carrasco (3-2) pitched six innings and gave up four runs and six hits but finished strong, holding Toronto scoreless on one hit in his last three innings.
Following Carrasco to the mound, right handers Scott Atchison, Zach McAllister and Cody Allen combined to pitch three scoreless innings on two hits.
Cleveland erupted for 13 hits, with every player in the lineup getting at least one hit. The top three hitters in the lineup -- Kipnis, shortstop Mike Aviles and Brantley -- were a combined 6-for-13 with two home runs, a double, five runs scored and three RBIs.
The scoring started immediately as both teams' leadoff hitters belted first-inning home runs.
In the top of the first, Toronto third baseman Josh Donaldson hit Carrasco's second pitch of the game over the left field wall.
In the bottom of the inning, Kipnis led off with a home run over the right field wall against Buehrle.
Both teams scored three runs in the third.
In the top of the inning, Donaldson singled with one out and went to second on a walk by designated hitter Jose Bautista. First baseman Edwin Encarnacion followed with a double to left field, scoring Donaldson and sending Bautista to third.
After catcher Russell Martin struck out, center fielder Kevin Pillar tripled to center field, scoring Bautista and Encarnacion to give Toronto a 4-1 lead.
Cleveland countered with three runs in the bottom of the third, which began with a walk to Kipnis. Aviles' single moved Kipnis to third and Brantley's infield single loaded the bases with no outs.
First baseman Carlos Santana grounded into a fielder's choice forceout at the plate for the first out. But right fielder Brandon Moss pulled a double down the right field line, scoring Aviles and Brantley to cut the Toronto lead to 4-3.
Santana went to third on Moss' hit and Santana scored the tying run when third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall grounded into a forceout at second to make it 4-4.
Cleveland took a 6-4 lead in the fourth when Aviles doubled and rode home on Brantley's first home run of the year, a line drive over the wall in center field.
The Indians kept up the attack in the fifth on a three-run homer by Hayes off left-hander Andrew Albers, who relieved Buehrle.
NOTES: Indians LHP TJ House, who is 0-4 with a 13.15 ERA in his four starts, was placed on the disabled list with inflammation in his left shoulder. OF Tyler Holt was recalled by the Indians from Triple-A Columbus to replace House on the roster. ... Blue Jays LHP Daniel Norris was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo. Norris will be replaced in the rotation by RHP Marco Estrada. To replace Norris on the roster, Toronto selected the contract of LHP Andrew Albers from Buffalo. ... Blue Jays 2B Devon Travis was not in the lineup Friday because of a bruised left collarbone sustained when he was hit by a ground ball in Thursday's game. He underwent X-rays, which were negative.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
Toronto
|
8 |
1 |
17 |
.242 |
13 |
9 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
Cleveland
|
13 |
3 |
24 |
.361 |
22 |
4 |
9 |
4 |
0 |
0 |