Francisco Lindor and Juan Uribe homered in a three-run eighth inning to lead the Indians to a 7-4 win over the Rays in Monday night’s series opener at Progressive Field. Cleveland has won four in a row and extended its lead in the American League Central to one game over the Royals, while the Rays have lost five straight.
Lindor went 3-for-4 and finished a triple shy of the cycle. The Indians’ shortstop broke a 4-4 deadlock with a leadoff homer to right in the eighth to put the Tribe up for good. Per Statcast™, the ball traveled an estimated 372 feet at 101 mph. Uribe added a two-run shot to center later in the inning.
“Whenever we are down we don’t think about quitting,” Lindor said. “That’s the good thing about this team. We believe in each other. It doesn’t matter who we are playing, we know we have a chance.”
Evan Longoria and Brad Miller homered for the Rays. Miller’s solo shot in the sixth gave the Rays a 4-2 lead.
Uribe homered for the third straight game since returning from a groin injury. It is the first time in his career he has homered in three consecutive games.
Neither starter factored in the decision. Rays left-hander Drew Smyly scattered eight hits over seven innings and gave up four runs. Smyly started off the contest with three scoreless innings and five strikeouts. However, he would not record another strikeout and surrendered a run in each of the next four innings.
Tribe starter Josh Tomlin continued to struggle with the long ball. The right-hander surrendered a pair of home runs in the no-decision effort. He has given up a homer in 11 of his 13 outings this year and multiple home runs three times. Tomlin wound up tossing seven innings, in which he allowed four runs (three earned) off five hits.
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