Tribe Curbstomps Jays to Even Series

May 14, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Cleveland Indians catcher Yan Gomes smiles as he is greeted by team mates in the dugout after hitting a three-run home run in the ninth inning against Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Chisenhall and Murphy Lead Offense in Laugher

The Indians offense decided that it was tired of lagging, and decided to explode for 15 runs on Wednesday night against the Toronto Blue Jays.  The offense totaled 22 hits, 8 of them for extra bases, while Corey Kluber won his second straight start.  He now owns an ERA of just 3.38.

Key Innings

Top of the 2^nd, game tied 0-0

Carlos Santana led off with a walk, then moved up with a rare steal of second.  Asdrubal Cabrera went down swinging, but David Murphy followed by getting his first of five hits and five RBIs with a single that drove Santana home.  Yan Gomes popped out, Chisenhall singled, and then Mike Aviles flied out to center field to end the inning.  But the Indians had taken an early 1-0 lead, a lead that they would not relinquish for the rest of the game.

Top of the 7^th, Indians lead 4-2

The Jays had begun to creep back a bit, and Asdrubal Cabrera didn’t like that.  He led off the inning by slicing a double that managed to stay fair in left field.  Murphy promptly drove him in with a single.  Gomes grounded into a fielder’s choice, but Chisenhall followed with his fourth hit of the night to put Gomes into scoring position.  Aviles took advantage and knocked him in with another single, pulling the Tribe back to a comfortable lead of 6-2.  Michael Bourn concluded the inning by grounding into a double play.

The Positives

There were very few things not to like about this game.  The offense as a whole was terrific, but special credit should be given to Lonnie Chisenhall, David Murphy and Asdrubal Cabrera, who combined for 13 of the Tribe’s 22 hits.  Corey Kluber’s excellent performance should not be overlooked in all of this.  He took a perfect game into the fifth inning, stayed in through the seventh and struck out nine while allowing only 2 runs.  Yan Gomes capped the game with a 3 run blast to right field, marking his sixth homer on the season.  That’s already more than half his total in 2013.

The Negatives

Nick Swisher was the only Indians player to have a plate appearance in tonight’s game and not get a hit.  He’s still batting below the Mendoza line and we’re now a month and a half through the season.  Swish is looking more and more like a truly disappointing investment.  Speaking of disappointing, Carlos Carrasco couldn’t pitch a scoreless inning and was knocked around for a pair of runs in the ninth.

Check It Out

-The last time two Indians players had five hits each in a game was an 18-inning game against the A’s in 1932, over 80 years ago.

-Corey Kluber is now second in the American League with 66 strikeouts.  Only David Price has more K’s.

-Kluber has struck out at least 9 batters in 3 consecutive games.  The last Indian to accomplish that was C.C. Sabathia in 2008.

–Michael Brantley left with back tightness, but the team has said that the removal was purely precautionary.  Nyjer Morgan’s injury will be evaluated more tomorrow.

-The game marked season-highs for the Indians in runs, hits, run differential and game time.