CLEVELAND _ Like a cup of ice that holds its position for far too long before every piece charges all at once, the Indians' offense finally flowed on Friday night.
Following a frustrating week of not being able to come through in the key moment in the Bay Area, the Indians found what they were looking for in Cleveland _ and then some. The Indians trailed for much of the game, but that was all forgotten after a four-run fifth and an eight-run seventh propelled them to a 13-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays at Progressive Field.
The Indians went 1-5 during their recent road trip, averaging just 2.7 runs per game. They hit .203 (41-for-202), which dropped to .148 (8-for-54) with runners in scoring position.
Upon returning home, the key hit they had lacked so many times on the road finally arrived. And once it did, the Indians poured it on, scoring 10 unanswered runs, racking up 15 hits and finishing 8 for 13 with runners in scoring position.
The Indians entered the fifth trailing 3-1 against Blue Jays starter Marco Estrada (4-7). Abraham Almonte led off the inning with a triple, and Roberto Perez followed with a walk. Erik Gonzalez cut the lead in half with an RBI single to right field and was later followed by Michael Brantley, who tied it with a fielder's choice.
With two outs and two runners in scoring position, Edwin Encarnacion gave the Indians their first lead of the night, ripping a double into the gap in left-center field to put the Indians ahead 5-3. Earlier, Encarnacion belted a solo home run, his 20th of the season, to center field. That home run made it six consecutive seasons in which he has hit at least 20 home runs. He also has now homered against all 30 teams.
Encarnacion wasn't done, adding an RBI single to right field off Blue Jays reliever Jeff Beliveau in the seventh. He finished 3 for 4 with four RBIs and a walk and was a triple short of the cycle.
The Indians (49-45) weren't done. Jose Ramirez added an RBI double to left-center, Carlos Santana singled home a run and Almonte highlighted the inning with a three-run home run to right, pushing the lead to 11-3. Bradley Zimmer finally joined the fun, ripping a two-run single to right to cap the scoring.
Indians starting pitcher Trevor Bauer (8-8) labored early on but lasted five innings, allowing three runs on six hits and four walks and striking out six. Bauer allowed leadoff doubles in each of the first two innings, eventually leading to an early 2-0 deficit. He settled down from there, holding the Blue Jays at a 3-1 advantage prior to the Indians' breakthrough fifth, when they took the lead, and their explosive seventh, when the game was put out of reach.
Tyler Olson, Bryan Shaw, Dan Otero and Ryan Merritt followed Bauer and combined to pitch four shutout innings.
Friday night's game drew 34,284 fans and was the fourth sellout of the season for the Indians, who have also sold out Saturday's game against the Blue Jays (44-52). It was also manager Terry Francona's first game back at Progressive Field since June 29 after he underwent tests and then a procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat.
