Napoli leads Indians' rout of Angels
CLEVELAND -- Mike Napoli had four hits, including a home run and four RBIs, and Corey Kluber pitched six solid innings as the Cleveland Indians routed the Los Angeles Angels 14-4 Thursday night at Progressive Field.
Carlos Santana and Jose Ramirez also homered for the Indians, who scored in each of the first five innings of the game. Lonnie Chisenhall had two hits and four RBIs and Abraham Almonte had three hits.
The loss is the Angels' seventh in a row, their longest losing streak since they lost seven in a row in April and May of 2010. In their seven-game losing streak the Angels have been outscored 45-21.
Kluber (12-8) gave up three runs on four hits in six innings to get the win. Angels starter Jhoulys Chacin (2-6), making his first start since July 1, only pitched 1 1/3 innings, giving up seven runs on six hits and three walks.
Nine of Cleveland's 14 hits were for extra bases: three home runs and six doubles. Napoli had a single, two doubles, a home run and four RBI as he extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
With the exception of Tyler Naquin, each of the other eight starters in the Cleveland lineup had at least one hit and scored at least one run.
Trailing 14-3 in the ninth the Angels scored a run on a sacrifice fly by Jett Bandy off reliever Kyle Crockett.
Mike Trout came into the game in a 1-for-13 slide with eight strikeouts, and 1-for-11 vs. Kluber. But in the first inning, Trout hit the second pitch thrown to him by Kluber over the right field wall for his 22nd home run, giving the Angels a 1-0 lead.
That lead vanished quickly as the Indians sent nine men to the plate in the bottom half, scoring five runs against Chacin. Carlos Santana led off with his 24th home run -- a blast into the right field seats. It was Santana's fifth leadoff home run this season, making him the fourth player in Indians history to hit five or more leadoff homers in a season.
Jason Kipnis grounded out, but Francisco Lindor walked and went to second on a single by Mike Napoli. Jose Ramirez drew a walk to load the bases. Lonnie Chisenhall hit a line drive over the head of left fielder Ji-Man Choi. It went as a double, driving in all three runs to extend the Indians' lead to 4-1.
Chisenhall went to third on the throw to the plate, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Tyler Naquin to make it 5-1.
The Indians scored two more runs in the second inning, knocking Chacin out of the game. Kipnis walked with one out and stole second. He scored on a single by Lindor, and Lindor scored on a double by Napoli as the Indians pushed their lead to 7-1.
Chacin was removed after Napoli's double. He pitched 1 1/3 innings, giving up seven runs on six hits and three walks.
The Angels got a run back in the third on a solo home run by Cliff Pennington, but Cleveland responded with a run in the bottom half on an RBI single by Kipnis off reliever Jose Alvarez, giving the Indians an 8-2 lead.
The Indians continued to add on in the fourth inning. Napoli doubled and scored on a double by Chisenhall, who scored on Almonte's double to make it 10-2.
Kluber had to sit through a 30-minute rain delay in the middle of the Indians' fourth inning rally. He wasn't as sharp when he finally returned to the mound, giving up singles to the first two batters he faced in the fifth, which led to an Angels run scoring when Pennington grounded into a double play, shaving the Cleveland lead to 10-3.
Napoli's three-run homer in the fifth inning off Brett Oberholtzer, Napoli's 29th homer of the year, stretched the lead to 13-3. Ramirez followed with a solo homer to make it 14-3. The homer extended Ramirez's hitting streak to 15 games, the longest of the season by an Indian, and the longest active streak in the American League.
NOTES: Cleveland activated RHP Jeff Manship off the disabled list and optioned LHP TJ House to Triple-A Columbus. Manship had been on the disabled list since July 29 with right wrist tendinitis. ... Indians RHP Tommy Hunter begins an injury rehab assignment with Triple-A Columbus on Friday. Hunter has been on the DL since July 17 with a non-displaced fracture in his lower back. ... LHP Brett Oberholtzer, who was claimed off waivers from the Phillies on Tuesday, joined the Angels on Thursday. To make room on the roster, RHP AJ. Achter was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake. ... The Angels have used an American League-high 12 starting pitchers this season. ... The other Indians to hit at least five leadoff home runs in a season were Grady Sizemore (seven in 2008), Kenny Lofton (five in 1999) and Shin-Soo Choo (five in 2012).