Friday, April 05, 2013
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Arencibia, Jays hammer Myers and Indians

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[April 05, 2013]  TORONTO (AP) -- It's been a long time between road wins for Cleveland's Brett Myers.

J.P. Arencibia hit two solo homers, Edwin Encarnacion added a three-run shot and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Myers and the Indians 10-8 on Thursday night, avoiding their first 0-3 start since 2004.

The veteran right-hander lost his sixth straight road decision, and hasn't won away from home since Sept. 28, 2011, when he helped Houston beat the Cubs at Chicago's Wrigley Field.

"I couldn't get the ball down tonight, everything was up," Myers said. "Everything I threw was belt high or mast high and when I tried to get the ball down I'd bounce it."

Jose Bautista hit a two-run homer and Colby Rasmus also connected as the Blue Jays went deep five times.

"That's a dangerous lineup," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "They can be very free swinging but there were some walks at the top part of the order to get to Bautista. That's probably not the best recipe for success."

Myers (0-1) gave up seven runs and seven hits in five-plus innings. He walked two and struck out none.

"I thought he elevated with some pitches," Francona said. "And the ones that were elevated were a little bit flat."

Carlos Santana and Mark Reynolds hit solo homers for the Indians, who were trying to start a season with three straight road wins for the first time since 1998.

Arencibia had three hits with two RBIs. He had a second-deck drive to center in the second and a tiebreaking shot to left in the sixth, his seventh career multihomer game.

It was a welcome burst of offense by Toronto, held to three runs and nine total hits in their first two games after a winter overhaul remade the roster and boosted expectations for a playoff push.

"I think everyone has an idea of what this offense is capable of," Arencibia said. "Two games don't make your season and no one's worried. Everyone knows what we have in this clubhouse."

Steve Delabar (1-0) got two outs for the win and Casey Janssen finished in the ninth for his first save.

Bautista left after the eighth with a twisted ankle, suffered when he stepped on first base while beating out a double play relay.

"We don't think it's a big deal," said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons, adding that Bautista will be reevaluated before Friday's game against Boston.

Bautista called it "a tiny little tweak" and said he doesn't expect to miss any time.

"Hopefully tomorrow I'll wake up great and I'll be in the lineup and go beat the Red Sox," he said.

Consecutive doubles by Jason Kipnis and Nick Swisher gave the Indians a 1-0 lead in the first, but Toronto answered in the bottom half when Bautista drilled a two-run homer to left, his second in two days.

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Arencibia's leadoff drive in the second put Toronto up 3-1, but the Indians tied it in the fourth on back-to-back homers by Santana and Reynolds, whose 11th inning blast decided Wednesday's 3-2 win for the Indians.

Encarnacion lined a three-run shot that just cleared the left field wall in the fifth, putting the Blue Jays up 6-3, but Cleveland answered again in the sixth. Santana hit an RBI double and Lonnie Chisenhall chased Blue Jays left-hander Mark Buehrle with a two-run double to left, tying it at 6-all.

"It's very encouraging to see that when we're down like that and we keep fighting," Myers said.

Buehrle allowed six runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings. He walked one and struck out four.

"Seven base hits, six extra base hits, that's not me," Buehrle said.

Arencibia broke the tie with another second deck drive to begin the bottom of the sixth, bringing Cody Allen out of the Cleveland bullpen to replace Brett Myers. One out later, Rasmus hit a solo drive to right.

Emilio Bonifacio followed with a groundball double to center, then scored on a throwing error by Reynolds, giving Toronto a 9-6 lead. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Adam Lind, but he flied out to end the inning.

Reynolds hit an RBI single off Esmil Rogers in the seventh and Kipnis cut it to 9-8 with an RBI double off Darren Oliver in the eighth. Cleveland loaded the bases with two outs but second baseman Bonifacio ended the inning by ranging into shallow center to throw out Santana.

"Defensively, Bonifacio saved that game for us today," Arencibia said.

Toronto added an insurance run off Matt Albers in the eighth when Reyes scored from second on Bautista's fielder's choice grounder.

NOTES: Myers has a career mark of 46-47 in road games. ... Cleveland placed LHP Scott Kazmir Indians on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right ribcage muscle, retroactive to April 2. Rookie RHP Trevor Bauer is expected to start in Kazmir's place Saturday at Tampa Bay. ... Toronto's Jose Reyes was shaken up after sliding headfirst into the shin of SS Asdrubal Cabrera on a steal of second in the fifth, but stayed in the game.

[Associated Press; By IAN HARRISON]

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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