Bauer goes distance as Indians beat Rays
CLEVELAND -- Trevor Bauer pitched a three-hitter for his second career complete game, and Carlos Santana had two hits and two RBIs as the Cleveland Indians completed a three-game sweep with a 6-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night at Progressive Field.
The Indians, who also got a two-run home run from Jason Kipnis, have won six games in a row overall and 11 in a row at home. Tampa Bay lost its seventh in a row.
Bauer (5-2) struck out 10 and walked one.
Tampa Bay starter Chris Archer (4-10) pitched six innings, giving up four runs on six hits and two walks. He fanned five.
Bauer held Tampa Bay scoreless on one hit through the first six innings, retiring 15 men in a row at one point, as Cleveland built a 4-0 lead. The Rays finally reached him for a run in the seventh inning.
Brad Miller led off the inning with a walk. Evan Longoria flied out, but Logan Morrison doubled to right field, moving Miller to third. Bauer then struck out Desmond Jennings for the second out.
Corey Dickerson hit a sharp ground ball into the hole on the left side, and shortstop Francisco Lindor made a diving stop. Lindor was unable to throw out Dickerson at first, but Lindor instead threw to third baseman Juan Uribe, who tagged out Morrison, who rounded the bag too far to get back safely. Miller scored on the play, credited as a Dickerson single.
The Indians countered with two more runs in the bottom of the seventh inning off reliever Matt Andriese. Tyler Naquin led off the inning with a double, and he scored on a Santana single.
Santana stole second base, went to third on a deep flyout by Kipnis, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Lindor, giving Cleveland a 6-1 lead.
Archer, who was originally a draft pick by the Indians, a fifth-rounder in the 2006 draft, had a tough first inning against his former team.
Santana led off the bottom of the first inning by drawing a walk. Kipnis then belted a 1-2 pitch over the wall in center field for his ninth home run, matching his total from last year and giving the Indians a 2-0 lead.
Lindor drew a walk and went to second on a groundout by Mike Napoli. Jose Ramirez, who led Cleveland with a .372 batting average with runners in scoring position, singled to center, scoring Lindor as the Indians extended their lead to 3-0.
The Indians made it 4-0 with a run in the fourth inning. Lonnie Chisenhall led off the inning with a double into the right field corner. Archer retired the next two batters, but Santana lined a double into the gap in right-center field, scoring Chisenhall.
NOTES: Indians OF Abraham Almonte began a rehab assignment Wednesday night with Triple-A Columbus. Almonte was suspended for the first 80 games of the season after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug prior to the start of the campaign. Almonte is eligible to be play in minor league games. The earliest he could be activated by the Indians is July 3. ... Cleveland 3B Juan Uribe entered Wednesday's game having hit home runs in each of the last four games. The Indians' record for most consecutive games with a home run is seven, by Jim Thome in 2002. ... Rays RHP Chris Archer came into his start Wednesday without hitting a batter since July 3, 2015. Archer's streak of 31 consecutive starts without a hit batter is second in Rays' history to James Shields, who went 38 starts from May 3, 2009 to May 25, 2010. ... Rays 3B Evan Longoria has nine home runs in June, tying him with San Diego's Wil Myers for the most in the majors this month.