The Indians scored eight runs on seven hits in the third inning, then withstood late Toronto rally.
Still, it's hard not to like the way manager Manny Acta's ballclub responded after being shut out twice over the weekend by Tampa Bay and beaten soundly in Monday's series opener here. Not only did they win the last two games to go 3-3 on the trip, but they did it with a bang by scoring 19 runs on 30 hits.
The Indians wrapped things up with a 13-9 victory over Toronto in which Asdrubal Cabrera led an 18-hit attack with four hits and three RBI.
"We made a very good comeback on this trip," said Acta. "We took two out of three here to finish .500. It's not perfect, but considering the way we're playing at home we'll take it."
The Indians return for a seven-game homestand against Texas and Minnesota with the best home record in the big leagues at 19-6.
The Tribe took a 4-0 lead against Kyle Drabek in the first, but didn't really hit stride until the third. Then they scored eight runs on seven hits for a 12-0 lead.
Michael Brantley and Cabrera started the game with consecutive doubles against Drabek (3-4, 4.69), the key player Toronto received from Philadelphia when they traded Roy Halladay after the 2009 season. After Drabek struck out Shin-Soo Choo, Travis Buck and Carlos Santana both walked to load the bases. Grady Sizemore unloaded them with a booming double to the fence in center and a 4-run opening salvo.
Drabek didn't make it out of the first. After he walked Jack Hannahan with two out, manager John Farrell called for Shawn Camp. The Indians were quiet in the second and rowdy in the third.
Buck singled and Santana walked to start the inning. Sizemore crushed a ball to center that Rajai Davis barely caught as he sprinted to the fence. Matt LaPorta followed with a three-run homer to center for a 7-0 lead. It was LaPorta's seventh homer of the season and second on this trip.
Then things turned serious.
Hannahan doubled and Adam Everett singled him home. Brantley singled Everett to third and Cabrera scored them both with his second double in three at-bats for a 10-0 lead. Jason Frasor relieved Camp and Choo scorched a ball to center that went off the end of Davis' glove and rolled to the fence for a three-base error as Cabrera scored.
Buck followed with a pop up in shallow left. Shortstop Yunel Escobar, battling 24 mph wind gusts, dropped the ball for an error as Choo scored for the final run of the inning.
"Almost everyone in the lineup contributed," said Acta. "It was good to see Grady have his second good game in row. We're going to need his bat."
Toronto made it 12-3 in unique fashion. Eric Thames, Davis and Jayson Nix hit three straight triples for the first two runs. Corey Patterson added an infield single to score Nix for the third run of the inning. It's the first time since May 6, 1981 that a team has hit three consecutive triples. The Montreal Expos did it against San Diego.
The Indians stretched the lead to 13-3 in the sixth when LaPorta scored from third on a fielder's choice by Brantley. Toronto made it 13-6 on a three-run homer by Davis in the sixth.
Josh Tomlin (7-2, 3.27) went six innings for the Tribe. He allowed a season-high six runs on eight hits. He struck out a career-high seven and walked one.
"It was nice to pitch with a big lead like that," said Tomlin. "It frees you up to really go after the hitters. But I started getting too much of the plate, especially against right-handers."
Toronto added another run in the seventh to make it 13-7. Mike McCoy singled, took second on a wild pitch and went to third on an error by Everett at second. He scored on Jose Bautista's double-play grounder.
The Blue Jays made one last run in the ninth when Bautista hit a two-run single off Hannahan's glove at third. Vinnie Pestano relieved an ineffective Rafael Perez to end it before something bad happened.
Cabrera went 4-for-6 to raise his average to .306. He has 14 doubles and 39 RBI for the season.
"He's been tremendous. He's been our mainstay in the lineup," said Acta. "He's the guy we count on to get a guy over or get a guy in. As I've been saying the last couple of weeks, he's playing like an All-Star."
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2011/06/cleveland_indians_score_8_runs.html
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