When it rains, it pours. Weather issues led to a pair of delays for the Indians and Angels on Thursday night, but it did not slow Cleveland's bats in a 14-4 victory at Progressive Field.
Carlos Santana, Mike Napoli and Jose Ramirez each launched a home run, while Lonnie Chisenhall collected four RBIs, providing more than enough cushion to back a solid effort by Indians ace Corey Kluber. The righty logged six innings, allowing three runs, including two via solo homers by Mike Trout and Cliff Pennington.
"It was huge," Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor said of the offense's big night. "We're not going to have games like that every day, but when we do have games like that, we've got to keep pushing and keep working and grinding."
Santana left the game in the fifth with a head contusion after being hit by a foul ball off the bat of Lindor, while watching from the home dugout. Indians manager Terry Francona noted that Santana went through a series of concussion tests and seemed OK. The DH was sent home during the game to rest and will be re-evaluated Friday.
Angels righty Jhoulys Chacin, who is trying to state his case to remain in the rotation, was on the hook for seven runs in 1 1/3 innings.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Santana sets tone: Santana opened the bottom of the first with a home run, giving him 25 on the season for the Tribe. Cleveland did not look back from there. Chisenhall added a three-run double -- on a line drive that sailed over the head of left fielder Ji-Man Choi -- to continue a five-run push in the first. The Indians kept adding on, reaching double digits in runs by the fourth inning.
Santana sets tone: Santana opened the bottom of the first with a home run, giving him 25 on the season for the Tribe. Cleveland did not look back from there. Chisenhall added a three-run double -- on a line drive that sailed over the head of left fielder Ji-Man Choi -- to continue a five-run push in the first. The Indians kept adding on, reaching double digits in runs by the fourth inning.
"You know you have nine innings to go," Francona said. "But it's nice to come back and play even and then we kind of jumped on them and stayed on them, which is good. If you want to be a good team, you've got to have games where you spread it out."
Solo shots: Trout clubbed his team-high 22nd homer in the first to take a brief 1-0 lead. It was his third home run in six games during this road trip, all three of which have come in the first frame. Pennington tacked on another solo shot in the third but the deficit was too steep to overcome at that point. After leading the Majors with 152 runs in July, the Angels have scored just 36 runs this month, with 23 coming via home runs.
"At times we have swung the bats well on this road trip," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "And at times we have pitched well but we haven't been able to blend the two."
Scary moment: In the fifth inning, Lindor lined a pitch from Brett Oberholtzer into the Indians' dugout, where Santana was hit by the ball before falling onto the dugout steps. Santana was helped into the clubhouse by a pair of team athletic trainers. Shortly after his exit, Napoli and Ramirez delivered their back-to-back blasts to put Cleveland ahead 14-3.
"He's actually doing much better," Francona said. "By the time he left, he was really rallying. We'll check him in the morning, because if there's any concussion symptoms, you have to err on the side of caution. I don't think Carlos thinks he has one, and he's had a few before."More »
Halos debut: Oberholtzer entered the game out of the bullpen in the fourth inning with his new team trailing, 8-2. The former Phillies southpaw was acquired off waivers earlier this week and officially added to the roster prior to the series opener Thursday. In his debut, Oberholtzer allowed six runs on six hits across 1 2/3 innings. He exited after surrendering back-to-back jacks to Napoli (29 homers this year) and Ramirez (seven) in the fifth. More »
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The Angels dropped a season-high seventh consecutive game Thursday. The last time the Halos lost seven straight games in a single season was April 30-May 8, 2010.
The Angels dropped a season-high seventh consecutive game Thursday. The last time the Halos lost seven straight games in a single season was April 30-May 8, 2010.
QUOTABLE
"Nobody is taking this in stride. No one wants to get on a streak like this. But the process is important and once we get back to the process, we have got on a good roll. I think that's what we need to focus on is the process." -- Scioscia, on the Angels' season-worst slump
"Nobody is taking this in stride. No one wants to get on a streak like this. But the process is important and once we get back to the process, we have got on a good roll. I think that's what we need to focus on is the process." -- Scioscia, on the Angels' season-worst slump
"I feel terrible. Obviously I'm not trying to do that. It's a moment you don't want. Nobody wants something like that. I feel bad. I couldn't get my mind off it." -- Lindor, on the foul ball that hit Santana
"He's in a really good spot right now. We just would like to keep him there." -- Francona, on Kluber, who has a 1.67 ERA in his last six starts
RAIN DELAYED
Heavy rain forced play to stop for 31 minutes in the bottom of the fourth, when Chisenhall was in the batter's box with one out and a runner on second. When the game resumed at 9:09 p.m. ET, Chisenhall did not miss a beat. The Indians outfielder doubled home a run and the offense kept churning. At 10:15 p.m., the game went into a second rain delay, which lasted 39 minutes.
Heavy rain forced play to stop for 31 minutes in the bottom of the fourth, when Chisenhall was in the batter's box with one out and a runner on second. When the game resumed at 9:09 p.m. ET, Chisenhall did not miss a beat. The Indians outfielder doubled home a run and the offense kept churning. At 10:15 p.m., the game went into a second rain delay, which lasted 39 minutes.
WHAT'S NEXT
Angels: Left-hander Tyler Skaggs (1-0, 2.04 ERA) will take the bump for the Halos at 4:10 p.m. PT on Friday. Skaggs will be making his fourth start since returning from Tommy John surgery. He has spun two shutout performances in his return to the rotation. Last time out, Skaggs allowed four runs on nine hits over 5 1/3 frames in a no-decision effort against Seattle.
Angels: Left-hander Tyler Skaggs (1-0, 2.04 ERA) will take the bump for the Halos at 4:10 p.m. PT on Friday. Skaggs will be making his fourth start since returning from Tommy John surgery. He has spun two shutout performances in his return to the rotation. Last time out, Skaggs allowed four runs on nine hits over 5 1/3 frames in a no-decision effort against Seattle.
Indians: Right-hander Carlos Carrasco (7-6, 3.17 ERA) is slated to start in Friday's 7:10 p.m. ET tilt against the Angels at Progressive Field. The big righty is 0-3 with a 7.56 ERA in his past three turns, but he was much better last time out. On Sunday in New York, Carrasco allowed three runs with nine strikeouts and two walks in seven innings against the Yankees.
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