LDN - Sports

Lindor, Uribe propel Indians past Rays

[June 21, 2016] CLEVELAND -- You can't tell the Cleveland Indians' winning streaks without a scorecard.

Following their 7-4 win over Tampa Bay Monday night at Progressive Field the Indians have won four in a row overall and they have won nine in a row at home.

"I didn't know that," said Indians manager Terry Francona of the home winning streak. "But when we play good, wherever it is, we have a good chance to win. When we don't, we can get beat."

Monday night, despite committing two errors, the Indians played well and won.

Francisco Lindor belted a solo home run to snap a tie in the eighth inning and Juan Uribe added a two-run blast to send the Indians to another victory.

The Indians did not lead in the game until that three-run, two-homer outburst in the eighth inning.

"They've got a good ballclub over there. They put up a lot of good at bats," said Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash, whose team has lost five in a row.

Leading off the eighth, Lindor hit the first pitch thrown by reliever Erasmo Ramirez (7-5) into the seats in right field for his eighth home run.

"I was just trying to get on base," Lindor said. "I'm not a power hitter. I just focus on getting the barrel to the ball and whatever happens after that happens."

Lindor also had a single and double, his American League-leading 13th three-hit game of the season.

One out later, Carlos Santana singled and Uribe followed two batters later with a home run over the wall in center, marking the third consecutive game in which he has gone deep.

Bryan Shaw (1-3) struck out the side in the top of the eighth to get the win. Cody Allen pitched the ninth to earn his 14th save.

Leading 3-2, the Rays extended their advantage in the sixth inning when Brad Miller belted his ninth home run into the right-field seats off Cleveland starter Josh Tomlin.

Cleveland countered with a run in the bottom of the sixth versus Tampa Bay starter Drew Smyly as Santana hit a mammoth solo home run over the center-field wall, cutting the Rays' lead to 4-3.

"He hit a neck-high fastball over the center-field wall. Sometimes you've just got to tip your cap," Cash said.

The Indians tied it with a run in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly by Rajai Davis.

Smyly pitched seven innings, giving up four runs and eight hits with five strikeouts and no walks.

Tomlin, who leads the league with 0.8 walks per nine innings, pitched seven innings, giving up four runs, three earned, on five hits, with three strikeouts and no walks.

"He doesn't walk anyone, you can't run on him and he competes like crazy," Francona said.

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The Cleveland Indians celebrate in the dugout in the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

"My job is to go as deep into the game as I can, keep the opposition at bay and give our offense a chance," Tomlin said.

A two-run home run by Evan Longoria, his 18th, in the first inning gave the Rays an early 2-0 lead.

The Indians got a run back in the fourth inning. With one out, Lindor singled and went to second on a base hit by Mike Napoli. Lindor stole third and scored when Santana grounded into a force out at second.

Tampa Bay took a 3-1 lead in the fifth when Desmond Jennings tripled and scored on an infield groundout.

A replay review netted the Indians another run in the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out, Yan Gomes hit a ground ball to short, and both he and the throw from shortstop Miller arrived at the same time. Although first base umpire Lance Barksdale called Gomes out, Francona challenged the call and the decision was reversed following video.

That reversal resulted in a run being scored because Gomes went to second on a single by Davis and scored on a two-out base hit by Jason Kipnis.

NOTES: Led by OF Rajai Davis' league-leading 21 steals, the Indians are second in the American League with 54 stolen bases. The Indians have only led the league in stolen bases six times in their history, most recently in 1999. ... Indians INF/OF Jose Ramirez is hitting .381 with runners in scoring position, third best in the American League. ... Since 2010, Tampa Bay has the best road record in the majors at 271-245 (.525). ... Rays manager Kevin Cash is a former bullpen coach under Terry Francona. Prior to the start of batting practice, as a gag, Francona had the video board crew put up a photo of Cash in his playing days with the words: "Kevin Cash, A Tribute To A Legacy, Career Stats 2002-2010: .183 AVG, .248 OBP, .273 SLG."

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