The Cleveland Indians opened a four-game weekend series against the Tampa Bay Rays with a 3-1 win, the third consecutive win for the Tribe.
Right-hander Josh Tomlin earned the win after serving up his best start of the season, allowing just one run and two hits in seven innings on the mound. The win evened Tomlin's record at 5-5 on the season as the Indians have now won five of their last six games.
Cleveland used the long ball to give Tomlin just enough run support with a trio of solo home runs. Right fielder Shin Soo Choo led off the game for the Indians with a home run in the bottom of the first. Centerfielder Michael Brantley followed with another solo shot in the second inning and then Travis Hafner added an insurance dinger in the bottom of the eighth.
Chris Perez came on to close out the win and earn his 24 save on the season which moves him into a tie for second among the American League leaders in saves, just one save behind Baltimore's Jim Johnson. Tampa Bay starter Jeremy Hellickson took the loss after a strong outing to drop his record to 4-5.
The two teams resume their series on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. ET.
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