CLEVELAND _ The Indians were without two key members of the lineup but didn't seem to mind, routing the Los Angeles Dodgers 12-5 on Thursday afternoon to avoid a sweep of a three-game series.
Jason Kipnis was out for the second consecutive day with neck stiffness and Michael Brantley was away from the club due to his wife having a baby. He'll also be put on the paternity list during the Indians' series against the Minnesota Twins over the weekend.
No Kipnis. No Brantley. No problem.
Facing former Indians pitcher and current Dodgers starter Rich Hill (3-3), the Indians (32-31) put together a three-run first inning. Three consecutive singles to start the inning were capped by Jose Ramirez's RBI single up the middle. Roberto Perez later walked with the bases loaded and Bradley Zimmer beat out an infield single to make it 3-0.
"We got three, but his pitch count was so high," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "I think we had him up over 60 after two. Then he kind of started throwing like he can for a couple innings. But then we added on and we kept after him. We took our walks, we laid off the breaking ball that can be so devastating. I thought we played with a ton of energy today."
Ramirez added an RBI double that scored Daniel Robertson in the second inning and was then caught trying to steal third. The next pitch from Hill was crushed by Edwin Encarnacion for a home run, his 13th of the season, giving the Indians a 5-0 advantage.
The Dodgers (41-26) fought back against Indians starter Josh Tomlin before Lonnie Chisenhall loudly closed the door a half-inning later. A solo home run by Cody Bellinger, an RBI double by Yasiel Puig and a two-run home run by Chris Taylor cut the Indians' lead to 5-4.
The Dodgers went to reliever Ross Stripling in the bottom of the fifth, which brought Chisenhall on as a pinch hitter. Chisenhall belted Stripling's second pitch for a three-run home run to center field to push the Indians' lead to 8-4. An inning later, he added a two-run single.
Chisenhall became only the third Indians hitter to drive in at least five runs in a game in which he didn't start, joining Chuck Essegian in 1961 and John Ellis in 1973. Perez then knocked in a run with a broken-bat single.
"Tito finds those good situations for guys," Chisenhall said. "You try to not read his mind, but I've done it long enough that we're kind of on the same page. I can visualize a good spot for me. You don't want to be caught off guard, especially in situations like that. It was a little early, but I felt ready to go."
In the seventh, Erik Gonzalez hit his first career home run, a solo shot to left field to cap the day's scoring.
Tomlin (4-8) lasted five innings, allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks and struck out seven.
