The Cleveland Indians avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, and prevailed for a 4-3 win almost entirely on the right arm of starter Derek Lowe and bat of catcher Carlos Santana.
Lowe held Toronto without a hit for each of the first three innings, and did not allow an earned run to cross the plate all day. The groundball specialist scattered five hits over seven innings while striking out one and walking another. Lowe's victory came into serious doubt when reliever Joe Smith entered the game and gave up three hits including an RBI single to Toronto's Adam Lind before being immediately replaced, but the relief tandem of Vinnie Pestano and Chris Perez promptly saved the day.
The power-hitting future of the Indians franchise, Santana broke the scoring with a second inning solo home run, and then took Toronto pitcher Joel Carreno deep for the second time with a two-run shot again in the fifth. Santana's 27 bombs last season were the most by any full-time catcher, and with a pair of longballs already after three games, it appears he's on the path to once again outpace his peers statistically.
The 1-2 Indians will now set their sights on a Central Division rival, the Chicago White Sox, for a three-game series that opens on Monday.
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