Rangers Routed By Indians

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CLEVELAND — After a somber couple of days in which they saw teammates Justin Masterson and Asdrubal Cabrera traded to contending teams, the Cleveland Indians needed a game like one they played Friday night.

Right fielder David Murphy had four hits, center fielder Michael Brantley added three and third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall continued his demolition of Texas pitching with a home run as the Indians routed the Texas Rangers 12-2 at Progressive Field.

“We haven’t had many games like that,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “We’ve had so many close games it’s nice to play one where we have some wiggle room, to be able to get some guys some rest and not have all those stressful innings to pitch.”

Right-hander Danny Salazar (4-4), throwing 98 mph in the first inning, pitched six innings for the win.

“What I really liked about Danny tonight is that right from the get go he was throwing his best stuff,” Francona said. “When he feels good physically, he has the ability to be a really good pitcher.”

In three starts since being recalled from Triple-A Columbus, Salazar is 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA.

“At Columbus, I worked on my secondary pitches and how to use my

fastball better,” Salazar said.

Texas right-hander Jerome Williams (1-1) gave up 10 runs and 13 hits in four innings.

“He left a lot of pitches out over the plate, a lot of deep counts. Didn’t have his changeup, didn’t really have his breaking ball. And he didn’t command his fastball,” Texas manager Ron Washington said. “When he missed, they hit the ball. He got a lot of ground balls, but they were hard-hit and they found holes.”

In his last game against Texas on June 9, Chisenhall went 5-for-5 with three home runs and nine RBI. On Friday night, he was 2-for-5 with a home run and an RBI.

In Chisenhall’s last two games against Texas, he is 7-for-10 with four homers and 10 RBIs. In five games against the Rangers this year, he is batting .545 (12-for-22) with four home runs and 14 RBIs.

Murphy, who spent the last six years playing for Texas before signing with the Indians as a free agent during the winter, had two singles and two doubles to raise his average against the Rangers this season to .526 (10-for-19).

“Murph just shows up and give you an honest effort every day,” Francona said.

Brantley, who has been hitting in tough luck lately, was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and only played the first five innings.

“Finally, somebody wasn’t standing where Michael hit it,” Francona said.

Leading 5-1, the Indians blew the game open with a six-run fifth inning. Both teams used most of the last four innings to rest some of their regulars.

Cleveland took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI double by Brantley against Williams.

The Indians added two runs in the third inning to make it 3-0. Shortstop Mike Aviles started the inning with a leadoff walk and went to second on a single by Brantley. First baseman Carlos Santana singled home Aviles before Brantley, who went to third on Santana’s hit, scored when Chisenhall hit into a double play.

With one out in the fourth inning, Murphy singled and went to second on a single by left fielder Ryan Raburn. Aviles singled to drive in Murphy. Brantley also singled, his third hit in the first four innings, to score Raburn and extend the Indians’ lead to 5-0.

Texas scored an unearned run in the top of the fifth inning to cut the Cleveland lead to 5-1. But the Indians knocked Williams out of the game with a six-run fifth inning that was highlighted by a two-run double by Murphy — the last batter Williams faced — and a two-run single by Aviles as the Indians extended their lead to 11-1.

“I wasn’t executing pitches and that’s when they were getting those hits,” Williams said. “When I did execute, they found a hole. It’s all on me. I didn’t execute and that’s what happens when you don’t execute.”

Chisenhall’s solo home run leading off the sixth inning accounted for Cleveland’s 12th run.

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