Bullpen, Naquin propel Indians to sweep of Angels

[August 15, 2016]  CLEVELAND -- This is the way that Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona envisioned his revamped bullpen working, especially with the addition of Andrew Miller.

"With the way he was throwing, the best thing to do is to stay out of the way. That was phenomenal," Francona said.

Tyler Naquin had three hits and Jason Kipnis homered to lead the Cleveland Indians to a 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday at Progressive Field.

It was a come-from-behind victory for the Indians, who trailed 4-1 after four innings. But once Cleveland got the lead for good in the sixth, Miller and closer Cody Allen took it from there.

Miller pitched the seventh and eighth innings and Allen the ninth. The two relievers combined to retire all nine batters they faced to close out the victory.

"We just try to get the lead to the bullpen, and they come in and do what they do," Kipnis said.

"We had a couple things we didn't get done, and that allowed them to get to their strength, the bullpen," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

Cleveland swept the four-game series, outscoring the Angels 37-12. The loss is the Angels' 10th in a row, marking their longest losing streak since they dropped 11 straight games in July 1999.

The Angels' frustration is growing by the day, and was reflected by Albert Pujols getting ejected from the game for arguing a called third strike from Miller to end the eighth inning.

"It was unwarranted," Scioscia said. "Albert was walking back to the dugout and he gets thrown out? That's odd."

Trevor Bauer (9-5) pitched six innings to get the win, while Allen earned his 22nd save.

"I just try to stay in the game as long as I can and keep us in it, because we know we can come back," Bauer said.

Angels starter Jered Weaver (8-10) gave up five runs in 5 1/3 innings to take the loss.

Kipnis got Cleveland on the board first with a solo home run in the first inning, his career-high 20th blast of the season.

A two-run home run by Ji-Man Choi in the second inning gave the Angels a 2-1 lead.

Los Angeles added another run in the third inning, which began with a triple by No. 9 hitter Nick Buss. Buss scored on a groundout by Yunel Escobar, extending the Angels' lead to 3-1.

It became 4-1 in the fourth inning when Soto slammed a 1-0 pitch from Bauer over the left field wall for his fourth home run.

Bauer, however, still made it through six innings, allowing four runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

"Trevor left a fastball up in the middle of the plate on the homer by Soto, and he made some costly mistakes," Francona said. "But once he found it he really competed and gave us a chance to win."

Cleveland's comeback began in the fifth as Naquin doubled to lead off the inning. An Abraham Almonte single moved Naquin to third and Roberto Perez walked, to load the bases with no outs.

Indians center fielder Tyler Naquin (30) scores a run beside Los Angeles Angels catcher Geovany Soto (18) in the sixth inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Naquin was forced out at home on a ground ball hit by Carlos Santana to first baseman Choi for the first out. Weaver struck out Kipnis for the second out, but Francisco Lindor drew a walk to force in Almonte and cut the Angels' lead to 4-2. Mike Napoli then reached on an infield single to deep short, plating Perez to make it a one-run game at 4-3.

The Indians continued their comeback in the sixth inning. An RBI double by Naquin tied it and an RBI single by Almonte gave Cleveland a 5-4 lead that Miller and Allen preserved.

"Our offense is a fun group to watch," Miller said. "We're an incredibly balanced team that can win in a lot of different ways."

Weaver gave up five runs on 10 hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings, becoming the fourth consecutive Angels starter to get roughed up by Cleveland's hitters.

The Angels' four starting pitchers had a 12.23 ERA in the series, giving up 24 runs and 38 hits in 17 2/3 innings.

NOTES: Angels OF Mike Trout's streak of 178 consecutive games played was snapped when he wasn't in the starting lineup. Trout was in the on deck circle as a pinch hitter when Choi struck out to end the game. ... Angels 1B Jefry Marte was removed from the game in the second inning after getting hit by a pitch in the left shoulder. X-rays were negative and he is day-to-day. ... Indians 3B Jose Ramirez singled in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 18 games. That's the longest by an Indians player since Kipnis hit in 20 straight in June 2015. ... The Indians are averaging 5.11 runs per game, second-best in the American League behind Boston (5.43) and third-best in the majors, trailing Colorado (5.23).

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