Indian pitchers combined to walk nine, three came around to score, as the Cubs scored seven for the second straight night to beat the Indians 7-2 at Progressive Field. It marked the 12th time this season the Indians scored two or fewer runs in a game.
They are 3-9 in those games.
“We do have guys with good track record and [if] they’re healthy and they’re going to hit,” manager Terry Francona said. “I’ve said this for eight years, guys will get to their level. That will be fun to watch and it will really help us. I hope it starts Friday in Detroit.”
Behind six innings and five strikeouts from Cubs starter Kyle Hendriks, who won his third game of the season, and homers from Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant, Chicago swept the brief two-game series to improve to 12-3 on the season while the Indians fell to 10-9.
Indians starter Carlos Carrasco worked out of trouble multiple times Wednesday night, but he piled up pitches quickly and didn’t last long.
“He was really yanking a lot of fastballs to the lefties and away to the righties,” manager Terry Francona said. “Shoot, he was probably in the fourth inning and his strike-to-ball was even. There were a lot of walks. He was pitching out of danger the entire time.”
Carrasco escaped the first and fourth innings after walking a pair of batters in each without giving up a run but Rizzo broke the scoreless tie in the top of the third when he ripped a rope just over the right field wall for his fourth home run of the season and a 1-0 Cubs lead.
Carrasco’s night came to an end in the fifth inning after allowing back-to-back singles from Rizzo and Javier Baez before striking out Willson Contreras, who slammed his bat in frustration and was promptly ejected.
Carrasco threw 103 pitches in 4 1/3 innings in which he allowed three earned runs on four hits, He walked five and struck out seven.
“I was an on-and-off tonight,” Carrasco said. “I couldn’t find my stuff. The fastball was a little off; my curveball was in the dirt. I’ve learned when you have a night like that, you have to fight your way through it.”
Contreras' ejection forced Cubs manager David Ross to put Victor Carantini, who was the DH, behind the plate and move starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks to be the cleanup hitter.
Oliver Perez relieved Carrasco and intentionally walked Ian Happ to load the bases. Jason Heyward’s sacrifice fly to right brought home Rizzo and David Bote followed with a two-run single to right to make it 4-0. Bote got caught in a rundown between first and second to end the inning.
Cleveland finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth, but only scored once despite loading the bases with one out.
Tyler Naquin, who led off with a single came home on a Jose Ramirez sac fly to right. The Indians had just loaded the bases thanks to a challenge won by Terry Francona on a diving attempt by Cubs left fielder Kris Bryant to rob Cesar Hernandez of a hit. Replay ruled no catch and a single for Hernandez.
Bryant retaliated in the top of the sixth by greeting Indians reliever Adam Cimber with a 436-foot shot to the left field bleachers and a 5-1 Cubs advantage.
The Indians scratched across their second run of the night in the seventh when Francisco Lindor roped a two-out RBI single to right center scoring Hernandez but were unable to put a big inning together.
Former Indian Jason Kipnis helped put the game out of reach with an RBI double down the left field line in the eighth inning to give Chicago a 6-2 lead.
Heyward added an RBI double to the wall in right in the ninth to score Happ from first providing the final margin.