Indians rough up Price, Tampa Bay

Cy Young winner tagged for 8 runs

4/8/2013
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Indians' Mark Reynolds, right, is congratulated after his three-run home run by teammate Ryan Raburn.
The Indians' Mark Reynolds, right, is congratulated after his three-run home run by teammate Ryan Raburn.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Shut out in their previous two games, the Cleveland Indians faced a real tough task Sunday: Solve AL Cy Young winner David Price, a particular nemesis in recent years.

They did, in a big way.

Mark Reynolds and Lonnie Chisenhall hit three-run homers off Price, Justin Masterson pitched seven strong inning, and the Indians hammered the Tampa Bay Rays 13-0 on Sunday.

"When you get this game figured out, let me know," Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. "We hadn't scored in two nights. We're facing the guy that won the Cy Young. He's good. We made him work. We gave ourselves chances early, which is good. And we cashed in on those, which is even better."

Reynolds homered twice. Carlos Santana had a career-high five hits, including a home run off eeeeeeeeFernando Rodney and a pair of doubles. Michael Bourn also homered for the Indians.

Price (0-1) gave up eight runs, 10 hits, and three walks in five innings. He had been 5-0 with a 1.64 ERA in six career starts against Cleveland.

"I've got to get out of my own way," Price said. "I'm just fighting myself right now with my delivery. That's something I'll work on, and get it worked out. This wasn't very good. I thought about it since I came out, I don't really have a positive from today, and that's kind of tough to deal with."

It was a tough day for top pitchers. The reigning NL winner, R.A. Dickey, was roughed up by Boston by the same 13-0 score in a romp over Toronto.

"David, obviously was not sharp," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "I am not concerned. It's just one of those days. I don't want him to stew on a game like this at all. Just throw it in the garbage can. There's another Cy Young Award winner that had a hard time today. It's really incredible what's going on."

Reynolds made it 4-0 with his big homer in the third inning and added a solo drive in the seventh off Kyle Farnsworth. Chisenhall's shot came in the fifth.

"We went 20-something innings without scoring a run," Reynolds said. "We had to score sometime. It just happened to be against him."

Masterson (2-0) allowed two hits against a team that's often tagged him. He was 1-7 with a 7.74 ERA in his previous 13 games against Tampa Bay, with the other win coming in 2008 when he was with Boston.

Masterson struck out eight, walked three, and retired his final 13 batters. Joe Smith and Vinnie Pestano completed a four-hitter.

"The boys came out and they just bamboozled, just starting hitting some balls," Masterson said. "It was pretty cool to see. That's pretty much the testament. They played good defense, made some good plays out there, and they were just crushing balls. And they were putting runs on the board, and it makes the job on the pitcher a lot easier."

The Rays had posted shutouts in the first two games of the series, winning 4-0 on Friday and 6-0 Saturday over Cleveland.

Drew Stubbs hit an RBI single in the second, ending Cleveland's stretch of 20 consecutive scoreless innings.

Price left trailing 8-0. The left-hander got a no-decision on opening day, giving up two runs and seven hits over six innings in Tampa Bay's 7-4 loss to Baltimore. It's just the second time — also on June 23, 2009, against Philadelphia — that he has given up eight or more runs in a game.

Asdrubal Cabrera and Ryan Raburn walked to start the Cleveland third, and Reynolds homered with one out. Reynolds is 4 for 24 with three homers against Price.

Santana had an RBI double in the fifth before Chisenhall's first homer this season.

Reynolds' second homer of the game came in a two-run seventh as the Indians took a 10-0 lead. He has 19 career mulithomer games.

Bourn hit a solo home run in the eighth.

NOTES: Indians RHP Cody Allen said there was no intent when he hit Rays 3B Evan Longoria in the buttocks with a pitch Saturday. Allen said Sunday he was trying to keep Longoria from getting his bat extended, and the pitch got away from him. Maddon said after Saturday's game that he felt it was intentional and stemmed from a home-plate collision earlier in the game between Rays OF Desmond Jennings and Indians C Lou Marson. ... Marson, who left Saturday's game with a cervical neck strain, said he felt better Sunday and did some pregame on-field work. ... Cleveland optioned RHP Trevor Bauer to Triple-A Columbus. RHP Carlos Carrasco, who had been serving a five-game suspension dating from July, 2011, is back on the active roster.