Right-hander Jeanmar Gomez excels again as the Indians defeat Orioles at Progressive Field on Thursday night.
View full sizeIndians first baseman Matt LaPorta digs out a bounced throw from Andy Marte for the third out in the seventh inning against the Orioles on Thursday at Progressive Field.CLEVELAND, Ohio — Right-hander Jeanmar Gomez did not exactly overwhelm at Class AAA Columbus this season. But he sure has looked good with the Indians.
Gomez allowed one run on six hits in six-plus innings as the Tribe slowed down Buck Showalter's Orioles, 4-1, Thursday night at Progressive Field.
The Tribe (48-67) snapped a four-game slide and avoided a three-game sweep by Baltimore in Cleveland for the first time since 1987.
The Orioles (40-75) slipped to 8-2 under Showalter. They had won four straight.
Indians center fielder Michael Brantley went 4-for-5 -- the second four-hit game of his brief major-league career. Brantley might have taken one bad swing the entire night.
Tribe left fielder Trevor Crowe, who started in the five-hole for the first time this season, went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Third baseman Andy Marte notched two hits and played superb defense.
Gomez was 8-8 with a 5.20 ERA in 20 starts for the Clippers. He is 3-0 with a 1.54 ERA in four starts with the Tribe. He has given up zero earned runs once, one earned twice and two earned once.
After Baltimore's Adam Jones led off the seventh with a bunt single, Tribe manager Manny Acta hooked Gomez for Rafael "Lights Out'' Perez.
Perez got the next three outs and worked a perfect eighth. Perez, awful early in the season, has allowed four earned runs in his last 29 1/3 innings.
Chris Perez earned his 14th save with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Brantley opened the first with a single off former Indian Kevin Millwood (2-12). Asdrubal Cabrera singled. After Shin-Soo Choo flied out, the runners advanced on Shelley Duncan's grounder.
Crowe grounded into the hole at short, where slick-fielding Cesar Izturis made a backhand stop, planted on the outfield grass and threw hard and on-target. Crowe barely beat it. Showalter briefly discussed the call with umpire Brian O'Nora.
Crowe entered hitting .314 with runners in scoring position.
The Tribe's three hits in the first were one more than its total from Wednesday night's 3-1 loss to Brad Bergesen.
In the second, Lou Marson drove in Jason Donald from third with a grounder. Donald had led off with a single.
Crowe's RBI double in the fifth made it 3-0. Choo scored from first. Choo had reached on a HBP.
The Orioles scored in the sixth on a two-out single by Ty Wigginton.
Cabrera's two-out single in the eighth accounted for the final margin.