Cleveland Guardians vs Tampa Bay Rays Match Player Stats On Aug 13, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Aug 13, 2017

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Austin Jackson hit a solo home run in the eighth inning, pushing the Cleveland Indians ahead for a 4-3 win on Sunday, taking three of four games from the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.

The Indians (63-52) saw a 3-1 lead disappear on Steven Souza's two-run home run in the sixth, but Jackson's fourth home run of the season, off reliever Tommy Hunter (2-3), put Cleveland back ahead.

Tampa Bay (59-60) found some offense after five shutouts in the previous eight games, but their bullpen couldn't keep the score tied late.

Corey Kluber (11-3) got the win, striking out nine batters in seven innings of four-hit baseball, continuing a dominant three-game run for Indians pitchers. Cody Allen pitched the ninth for his 21st save of the season. The Rays got the tying run to second base with two outs, but Adeiny Hechavarria struck out to end the game.

Neither team had a hit until the third inning, when the Rays had three, with Evan Longoria's RBI single scoring Jesus Sucre for a 1-0 lead.

Cleveland jumped ahead in the fourth on RBI doubles by Jay Bruce and Carlos Santana for a 2-1 lead, then added a solo home run by Edwin Encarnacion -- his 24th -- to make it 3-1 in the sixth.

Souza tied the game in the sixth with his 25th home run, off Kluber. The Indians nearly went ahead in the bottom of the seventh, but a perfect throw from Souza in right field off a Francisco Lindor single got home in time to tag Santana out at the plate.

The Rays had come in fresh off the worst eight-game stretch in franchise history, scoring only eight total runs, with five shutout losses within the current home stand.

The Rays now go to Toronto for a four-game series, while the Indians go to Boston on Monday for a single game that was postponed by rain Aug. 2, then to Minnesota for a three-game series to continue an 11-game road trip.

NOTES: Rays 3B Evan Longoria, who left Friday's game with left thumb contusion and sat out Saturday's game, was back in the lineup at third Sunday. He drove in the game's first run in the third inning and scored after a walk in the sixth. ... OF Kevin Kiermaier went 0-for-4 with a run scored on Saturday in his first rehab game with Class-A Charlotte. He's missed two months with a hip injury. ... The Indians now have 11 shutouts this season, most in the American League and one behind the Dodgers for the most in the majors.