Napoli keys Indians rout of Angels
Published 2:41 am Friday, August 12, 2016
CLEVELAND (AP) — Mike Napoli was 4 for 4 with a homer and four RBIs, Lonnie Chisenhall drove in four and the Cleveland Indians routed the Los Angeles Angels 14-4 on Thursday night.
Indians designated hitter Carlos Santana left with a contusion on the right side of his head after being struck by a foul ball while standing in the dugout during the fifth inning. Santana hit his 25th homer to lead off the first inning.
Napoli’s three-run homer, his 29th, highlighted a four-run fifth. He also had an RBI double in the second.
Chisenhall added a three-run double when Cleveland scored five times in the first.
Corey Kluber (12-8) allowed three runs in six innings. He is 4-0 with a 1.88 ERA in his last six starts.
Mike Trout homered in the first for Los Angeles, which has dropped seven straight — its longest losing streak since 2010.
Jhoulys Chacin (2-6), who replaced Tim Lincecum in the Angels’ rotation, allowed seven runs in 1 1/3 innings.
Santana was standing behind the railing on the top step of the dugout when he was struck by teammate Francisco Lindor’s foul ball. Santana went down and was helped to the clubhouse by trainers.
The Indians began an 11-game homestand by moving four games ahead of idle Detroit in the AL Central.
Chisenhall added an RBI double in the fourth as the Indians scored in each of the first five innings.
Trout was 1 for 13 with an infield hit and eight strikeouts coming into the game. The homer was his 22nd.
Cliff Pennington also homered off Kluber in the third, his third of the season.
The game was delayed by rain in the fourth and seventh innings for a total of 1 hour, 10 minutes.
DECISION NEAR?
Indians manager Terry Francona said the team will decide on the next step for outfielder Michael Brantley in the next couple of days. Brantley has played in only 11 games after surgery on his right shoulder in November and has been on the disabled list since May 14. It’s possible he will have additional surgery.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Angels: 1B C.J. Cron (broken left hand), who has been on the 15-day disabled list since July 9, is expected to begin a rehab assignment next week.
Indians: RHP Jeff Manship (sore wrist) was activated from the 15-day disabled list. LHP T.J. House was optioned to Triple-A Columbus.
UP NEXT
Angels: LHP Tyler Skaggs had a career-best 18 2/3-inning scoreless streak snapped in his last start Aug. 6 at Seattle.
Indians: RHP Carlos Carrasco is 1-0 with one save and a 1.36 ERA in seven career appearances against the Angels.