Closer Chris Perez earns his second save in as many days and his 12th for the season with a scoreless ninth.
TORONTO, Ontario -- Jeanmar Gomez should get to stick around for a while this time.
Gomez, a patch in manager Manny Acta's trade-and-injury-riddled starting rotation, pitched five innings Sunday as the Indians beat Toronto, 5-4, at Rogers Centre. Gomez allowed two runs on five hits in 80 pitches.
It was the skinny right-hander's second big-league start. He made his debut July 18 against Detroit and went seven innings in a 7-2 victory. He was sent back to Class AAA Columbus right after the game.
Gomez made two starts at Columbus, winning both to even his International League record at 8-8, before getting called up again following Saturday's trade of Jake Westbrook.
Asdrubal Cabrera gave Gomez a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer in the first. Toronto tied the score with runs in the second and third, but the Indians kept scoring.
They took a 4-2 lead with two runs in the fifth. Carlos Santana drew a bases loaded walk and Cabrera scored on Matt LaPorta's double play grounder.
Jason Donald made it 5-2 with a two-out homer in the sixth off former Indian Brian Tallet. It was Donald's third homer.
The Blue Jays lead the AL in homers. They showed why in the seventh as they powered their way back into the game on consecutive two-out homers by Yunel Escobar and Jose Bautista to make it 5-4. Escobar homered off Tony Sipp and Bautista homered off Frank Herrmann for his 32nd homer.
Then it came down to the Tribe's bullpen.
Rafael Perez and Joe Smith worked their way through a scoreless eighth. New closer Chris Perez gave up a leadoff single to Travis Snider, but retired the next three batters for his 12th save and second in as many games.
He ended it by striking out Bautista with the tying run on second base.
Toronto had three homers for the game. Aaron Hill hit the first one, a leadoff drive off the foul pole in the second to cut the Tribe's lead to 2-1. In the third, he singled home Vernon Wells to make it 2-2.
Jesse Litsch (1-5) allowed four runs on six hits in four innings.