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 On Tuesday night at Progressive Field, the Indians right fielder
had a double, a home run and four RBIs, center fielder Nyjer Morgan
added three hits and right-hander Corey Kluber pitched six solid
innings to lead Cleveland to an 8-6 win over the San Diego Padres.
Murphy's three-run homer in the fourth inning off right-hander Tyson
Ross (0-2) gave Cleveland a 6-2 lead. Murphy doubled home another
run in the sixth, giving him six hits and five RBIs in seven
at-bats.
In the past two games, Murphy is 6-for-8 with three doubles, a home
run and five RBIs, raising his average from .143 to .364.
"It shows you how numbers can get skewed early in the season like
this, but I also think that this allows David to relax and play the
game the way we know he can play it," Indians manager Terry Francona
said.
Kluber (1-1) allowed the leadoff hitter to reach base in each of the
first four innings but kept the damage to a minimum. He wound up
allowing three runs and nine hits with eight strikeouts and no
walks.
"Allowing the leadoff hitter to reach in the first four innings got
his pitch count up, but in the third inning he started using his
changeup more and that opened it up for him," Francona said.
Kluber said, "I had a lot of traffic on the bases early, but being
able to get out of those situations was a big boost to my
confidence."
San Diego was led by shortstop Everth Cabrera, who had three hits,
and second baseman Jedd Gyorko, who had two hits and three RBIs.
Left fielder Xavier Nady hit a solo home run in the ninth.
The Padres were their own worst enemies in the game. Thanks to two
errors and a passed ball, five of the eight runs San Diego allowed
were unearned. Ross pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up seven runs (two
earned) and five hits with two strikeouts and five walks.
"Those two errors cost us multiple runs," San Diego manager Bud
Black said. "It wasn't a clean game from both sides. They ended up
outscoring us."
Cleveland led 8-3 going into the ninth, but reliever Vinnie Pestano
gave up three runs, including Nady's homer. That brought Indians
closer John Axford into the game and he got the final out to pick up
his third save.
Cleveland took the lead in the third, scoring three runs without
benefit of a hit.
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Ross began the inning by walking catcher Yan Gomes and Murphy. Both
eventually scored with help from a passed ball charged to Padres
catcher Yasmani Grandal and a throwing error by Gyorko.
In the fourth, Gyorko belted a two-run double to cut Cleveland's
lead to 3-2.
The Indians countered in the bottom of the fourth, thanks to a
costly error by Ross, who dropped a throw at first base on what
should have been a groundout. Three batters later, Murphy hit a
three-run homer.
"He just took his eye off the ball," Black said of Ross' error. "It
was a physical mistake. Those can happen. Obviously, that led to a
three-run inning. I'm going on record as saying that Tyson will not
drop another one like that the rest of the year."
Ross said, "It was a matter of taking my eye off the ball a little
bit too soon and worrying about the bag before catching it."
Murphy was not the only offensive star for the Indians. Morgan has
played well in the leadoff spot and in center field for Cleveland,
replacing Michael Bourn, who has been on the disabled list since the
start of the season with a strained hamstring.
Morgan's three hits raised his batting average to .364, but it is
Morgan's .520 on-base percentage that excites Francona the most.
"He's been on base more than half the time. That's been great,"
Francona said.
NOTES: Cleveland will call up RHP Trevor Bauer from Triple-A
Columbus to pitch the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader. ...
The Indians took pregame batting practice outside Tuesday for only
the second time in their first seven games. Bad weather affected the
other games. ... The Padres have two pinch-hit home runs this year
and a major-league-high 10 pinch homers since the start of last
season.
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