Ramirez Backs Kluber with 2 Hrs to Lift Tribe by Joshua
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Ramirez backs Kluber with 2 HRs to lift Tribe By Joshua Needelman Special to MLB.com BALTIMORE -- Corey Kluber wasn't yet ready to leave the mound, so he paused, his gaze fixed downward, and brushed some dirt with his foot Sunday afternoon. Finally he made off for the visitors' dugout at Camden Yards, having struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh inning. Kluber surrendered a pair of early home runs to Manny Machado, but he looked more and more like himself as the game wore on. The perfect seventh inning capped another strong outing for Kluber, and the Indians rolled to a 7-3 victory. "I didn't command the ball great today, but that being said, I got a lot of weak contact and we were able to get some quick outs," said Kluber, who has thrown quality starts in all five of his chances this season. Cleveland's offensive charge was led by Jose Ramirez, who opened his team's scoring with a solo shot in the fourth and then added a two-run dinger in the ninth. It marked the seventh multi-home run game of his career. Yonder Alonso added an RBI double in the fourth, and Francisco Lindor and Michael Brantley hit RBI singles in the fifth. Yan Gomes doubled in the final run in the ninth. In seven-plus innings, Kluber allowed three earned runs on six hits to go along with four strikeouts. Left-hander Andrew Miller -- who entered after a leadoff single chased Kluber in the eighth -- and right-hander Cody Allen tossed a spotless inning apiece to close out the game. "At that point in time, it's a one-run game and we've got one of the best relievers in baseball down there waiting, so it's no time to mess around," Kluber said. SOUND SMART Before Ramirez struck out in the first inning, he was the hardest batter to fan in the Major Leagues (20 PA/K entering Sunday). He struck out again in the seventh, but his pair of homers more than made up for the whiffs. HE SAID IT "The line early looked like he had given up three runs, but I mean Machado kind of had a lot to do with that. Probably the one guy he didn't locate to, and the one guy you better. He's obviously feeling good about himself. But other than that, I thought he was really good." -- Indians manager Terry Francona, on Kluber UP NEXT Right-hander Carlos Carrasco takes the ball for the Indians in the series finale against the Orioles on Monday at 7:05 p.m. ET. Carrasco is in the middle of a terrific April; he's completed at least six innings while allowing two runs or fewer in each of his three starts. Carrasco will duel Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman. Francona will keep Tribe aggressive on bases By Joshua Needelman Special to MLB.com BALTIMORE -- Cleveland likes to run. In fact, the Indians' 21 stolen-base attempts are tied for fourth in the Major Leagues. But something went wrong Saturday night. Perhaps Orioles catcher Chance Sisco had done his homework. Perhaps Cleveland is still weary from its trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico, last week. The Indians attempted three steals in their 4-0 win over the Orioles at Camden Yards, and three times they were thrown out. Cleveland manager Terry Francona doesn't think the showing is symptomatic of a larger problem. "I went back and I looked at it. I think they all picked good times to run. They were all bang-bang," Francona said. Michael Brantley was the first to fall victim to Sisco. He followed up Jose Ramirez's home run to start the sixth inning with a single, then attempted to snag second with Yonder Alonso batting. Brantley was called out just before Alonso went deep to put the Indians up by four. Then, after singling to left field with two outs in the seventh, Francisco Lindor was called out at second trying to steal. It was the call on Rajai Davis' ninth-inning attempt to swipe third base that irked Francona. Davis pinch-ran for Edwin Encarnacion, who reached base on a walk. When Alonso walked in the next at-bat, Davis moved to second. Davis took off for third with Yan Gomes at the plate, and Cisco fired to third baseman Tim Beckham, who applied the tag on time. "Rajai was probably safe," Francona said. "The angle that showed he was safe wasn't on the replay system, so we wouldn't have gotten it anyway." The Indians went 1-for-2 on the basepaths on Friday, with Lindor reaching second safely and Tyler Naquin getting called out as the Orioles picked up the 3-1 victory. Saturday's caught-stealings were easier to digest since Cleveland won, but don't expect the team to tone down its aggressiveness on the basepaths. The Indians have relied on the long ball a lot this season, so Francona is eager to diversify his team's scoring opportunities. Worth noting Right-hander Josh Tomlin, who has been dealing with a back issue, threw a side session on Saturday and will return to the rotation for the Indians' series opener against the Cubs at Progressive Field on Tuesday. Tomlin struggled mightily his first time out, allowing eight earned runs in three innings against the Angels on April 3. He last started April 10, throwing five scoreless innings against the Tigers. He came out of the bullpen for one inning last Wednesday against the Twins, allowing one unearned run. Jose Ramirez, Corey Kluber lead Indians past Orioles, 7-3 By David Ginsburg, The Associated Press BALTIMORE >> The Indians figured it would only be a matter of time before their struggling offense provided some support to a solid starting rotation. Jose Ramirez and the rest of the batting order finally got into a groove April 22, and the result was a 14-hit attack that carried Corey Kluber and the Indians past the Orioles, 7-3. Cleveland came into the game with a .211 team batting average and ranked second-to-last in the AL in runs scored. On this day, however, Ramirez hit a solo shot in the fourth inning and a two-run drive in the ninth, and Yan Gomes had three hits to lift his batting average 41 points to .261. “When things are not going my way, I stay positive and work it,” Ramirez said through a translator. “I know eventually I’m going to break out.” Ramirez has three homers in two games and a team-leading seven for the season. “I try not to do too much,” Ramirez said. “I just look for a good pitch and then I hit it somewhere.” Kluber yielded two home runs to Manny Machado, but the Indians twice came from behind before tacking on three runs in the ninth. “I thought we did a pretty good job,” Manager Terry Francona said. “When they came back, we came back at them. We kept pushing and took some better swings.” Kluber (3-1) allowed three runs and six hits over seven-plus innings. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner walked none and struck out four to move past Charles Nagy into sixth place on the Indians’ career strikeout list with 1,238. “It doesn’t matter if you feel you pitched well or didn’t pitch well. The goal is to end the game with more runs they do,” Kluber said. “That’s what we did.” Machado’s third multihomer game of the season wasn’t enough to prevent the Orioles from losing for the ninth time in 10 games, a skid that has dropped them 10 games under .500 (6-16). “You know what? There’s no excuse for what’s happening,” Machado said. “We need to play better overall. Nobody is in here pointing fingers. We are in here together, and we are going to ride or die together.” Andrew Cashner (1-3) gave up four runs and eight hits in six innings, walking two and striking out seven. He’s 0-3 with 7.41 ERA in three lifetime appearances against the Indians. After Machado connected in the first inning, Cleveland went up 2-1 in the fourth when Edwin Encarnacion and Yonder Alonso hit successive doubles following a leadoff homer by Ramirez. Baltimore regained the lead in the bottom half. After Machado homered, Adam Jones doubled and scored on a single by Chris Davis. A pair of walks and run-scoring singles by Francisco Lindor and Michael Brantley put the Indians up, 4-3, in the fifth. “Once you get the lead, you can’t give it up,” Cashner lamented. Indians >> CF Bradley Zimmer was a late scratch with a mild right ankle sprain. He was replaced by Rajai Davis. Orioles >> LF Trey Mancini missed a second straight game with a swollen right knee. ... DH Mark Trumbo (strained right quad) will begin a three-game stint with Double-A Bowie on April 23, then play three games with Triple-A Norfolk later in the week, manager Buck Showalter said. He won’t be rushed to return. “It’s important we get it right the first time,” Showalter said. Indians right-hander Josh Tomlin threw a side session April 21 and is expected to start April 24 against the Cubs. Manager Terry Francona opted to skip Tomlin’s last scheduled start April 18 to reset the rotation after Cleveland had two straight games postponed last weekend.