Orlando Cabrera busted out for four hits, Asdrubal Cabrera added three more, and the Indians totaled 15 hits this afternoon to back the strong pitching of Carlos Carrasco and the Tribe bullpen, as Cleveland won 6-2 in Arizona to win their three-game series against the Diamondbacks.
Carrasco (8-4, 3.54 ERA) worked seven innings and surrendered two solo home runs but only four hits in total to once again deliver a key performance for the Indians. Carrasco did not walk a batter and fanned seven, while Vinnie Pestano and Chris Perez each tossed a hitless inning to end it.
The Indians scored in each of the first three innings to lead 4-0 after three, and although Arizona’s two blasts got the Diamondbacks within 4-2, the Tribe scored single runs in the eighth and ninth to cushion the final margin.
Orlando Cabrera got things started in the first with a one-out single, and moved to third on a single from Asdrubal Cabrera. Carlos Santana then delivered an RBI base hit off of Zach Duke (1-3, 5.92 ERA) to give the Indians the lead they would never lose.
In the Indians’ second, Lou Marson led off with a hit, and was sacrificed to second by Carrasco for the second out after Jack Hannahan had been retired, But Michael Brantley came through with an RBI hit, taking second on the throw to the plate, then moved to third on O. Cabrera’s second hit. A. Cabrera then drove in Brantley to make it 3-0.
The Tribe added a run in the third when Shelley Duncan walked and Austin Kearns reached on an infield hit leading off. Marson forced Kearns at second on a ground out with Duncan going to third, and Cleveland extended their lead to 4-0 on a Hannahan ground out.
Arizona got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when Justin Upton collected the D-backs’ first hit, a homer to left-center with one out, and the home team made it 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth when Stephen Drew homered to right leading off.
The Tribe made it 5-2 in the eighth when Travis Buck drove in O. Cabrera from second with a two-out hit, and Cleveland scored the game’s final run when O. Cabrera delivered another two-out RBI hit, scoring Marson, who had doubled leading off.
With the win, the Indians move to 42-37 and head into tomorrow’s off-day no worse than a game behind Detroit. Should the Tigers lose tonight against the New York Mets, the Tribe would again claim first place by a percentage point.
Cleveland will begin their final interleague series of the season on Friday night in Cincinnati, where the Reds will be looking for revenge for having been swept in Cleveland in May.