Indians beat up on Blue Jays 15-4
5/14/2014TORONTO — David Murphy had five hits and five RBIs and Lonnie Chisenhall had five hits and an RBI and the Cleveland Indians beat the Toronto Blue Jays 15-4 on Wednesday night.
Corey Kluber pitched seven innings to win consecutive starts for the first time this season, and Carlos Santana and Yan Gomes homered as the Indians set season-highs with 22 hits and 15 runs in winning for the sixth time in eight games.
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Infielder Steve Tolleson came on to record the final out in the ninth inning after Gomes drilled a three-run homer off Neil Wagner. Throwing knuckleballs, Tolleson faced two batters, giving up a double to Chisenhall before Mike Aviles popped out.
Kluber (4-3) allowed two runs and four hits, walked one and struck out nine. The right-hander is 3-0 with a 2.04 ERA in his past five starts, with 47 strikeouts over 34 1-3 innings.
Kluber retired the first 13 batters in order before giving up his first hit, a double by Adam Lind. One out later, Lind scored on Brett Lawrie’s double.
Bryan Shaw worked the eighth and Carlos Carrasco finished for the Indians.
Santana opened the scoring in the second when he drew a leadoff walk, stole second and scored on Murphy’s one-out double.
Murphy doubled to begin the fourth and scored on Chisenhall’s single.
Michael Brantley, whose 11-game hitting streak ended in Tuesday’s loss, doubled to open the fifth and scored when Santana followed with a homer into the second deck. Asdrubal Cabrera followed with a single, chasing Blue Jays starter Dustin McGowan.
McGowan (2-2) allowed four runs and nine hits in four-plus innings. He walked two and struck out three.
McGowan is winless with an ERA of 9.19 in four home starts this season, but 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA in four road starts. He dropped to 0-3 with a 10.61 ERA in five career games against the Indians.
Toronto cut it to 4-2 on Jose Bautista’s RBI double in the sixth, but Edwin Encarnacion fouled out and Lind flied out to the wall in left.
Cleveland tacked on two more against reliever Marcus Stroman in the seventh on RBI singles by Murphy and Aviles.
Cabrera chased Stroman with an RBI single in the eighth. Murphy greeted Wagner with a two-run double.
Cleveland capped it with a six-run, 10-batter ninth. Michael Bourn hit an RBI triple and scored on a base hit by Jose Ramirez. Murphy hit a two-run double and Gomes homered to chase Wagner.
Brantley left in the fifth with a sore back. He was replaced by Nyjer Morgan, who lasted just half an inning before spraining his right knee. Ramirez replaced Morgan, going in at second base as Aviles moved to left.
NOTES: Tolleson is the seventh position player to pitch for the Blue Jays. ... This was the third five-hit game of Murphy’s career. ... The Blue Jays placed C Dioner Navarro on the family medical emergency list and optioned RHP Chad Jenkins to Triple-A Buffalo. Toronto recalled C Erik Kratz and Wagner from Triple-A. ... When Cleveland’s Nick Swisher grounded to the mound in the ninth, he carried his bat all the way to first base. ... Indians RHP Danny Salazar (1-3) faces LHP J.A. Happ (1-1) in Thursday’s series finale.