CLEVELAND – Jose Bautista hit a two-run double to help the Toronto Blue Jays defeat the Cleveland Indians 7-1 on Sunday and head to the all-star break with a three-game winning streak.
Brett Cecil (2-4) gave up one unearned run over six innings for his first win in three starts since being recalled from the minors June 30. The left-hander allowed six hits and walked three. He struck out six, got out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, and stranded nine runners overall.
Eric Thames’ two-run homer in a five-run third off Carlos Carrasco (8-6) put the Blue Jays ahead.
Toronto moved within two games of .500 and have Bautista going to the All-Star Game as baseball’s home run leader with 31 – along with 65 RBIs and a .334 average.
Cleveland has lost four of six and despite a lineup hit hard by injuries, remain in a battle with Detroit for the AL Central lead. They entered play Sunday a half game ahead of the Tigers. The last time Cleveland was in first place at the break was 1999, when they went on to win their fifth straight division title.
Thames followed a single by Yunel Escobar with his fourth homer for a 2-0 lead. Carrasco held Bautista – who had three homers in his previous two games – to a rare opposite-field single hit where the second baseman normally would have been stationed if not in a shift against the pull-hitting slugger. Bautista got to third on a pair of groundouts before Carrasco walked Travis Snider and gave up an RBI single on the first pitch to J.P. Arencibia that made it 3-0.
After pitching coach Tim Belcher went to the mound to try and settle Carrasco, the right-hander wild pitched the runners to second and third, and Corey Patterson hit a ground-rule double into the seats in right-centre for a 5-0 lead.
Carrasco released some frustration when he got Rajai Davis to bounce back to him to end the inning. Carrasco barehanded the ball, then fired it hard, forcing first baseman Carlos Santana to make a lunging stab of the near-errant throw.
It was the second consecutive rough outing for Carrasco following a 7-2 stretch over nine starts. The Blue Jays scored five runs on seven hits in three innings against him. On Tuesday, he allowed six runs and 10 hits in four innings to the New York Yankees.
Bautista’s two-run double off Rafael Perez made it 7-0 in the sixth.
Jack Hannahan had an RBI single in the bottom half for Cleveland.
Joe Smith worked a scoreless seventh for the Indians. He has not allowed an earned run in his last 25 outings, covering 23 2-3 innings since May 12.
Notes: Cleveland stranded 13 overall and went 3 of 12 with runners in scoring position. … Jays LHP Luis Perez struck out Travis Hafner on four pitches in seventh. On Thursday, Hafner hit the first pitch from the rookie for a walkoff grand slam. … Jays manager John Farrell is encouraged by the progress of two pitchers on the disabled list. RHP Casey Janssen, out since June 15 with a strained right forearm, worked a scoreless inning at Double-A New Hampshire, hit 92 mph on the radar gun, and is scheduled for another rehab outing Monday. Jesse Litsch, out since May 20 with a sore shoulder, yielded 12 hits over four innings at Triple-A Las Vegas. Farrell said Litsch is “physically fine” and will start again Friday.
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