Rangers 0 - 2 Guardians
Final
  for this game

Indians hope to stay hot on offense in clash with Rangers

Aug 2, 2014 - 3:08 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Following an offensive eruption on Friday night, the Cleveland Indians will try to repeat the performance in game two of a three- game set against the Texas Rangers at Progressive Field.

Behind a 4-for-4 effort from David Murphy, the Indians rolled to a 12-2 victory in the series opener.

The heart of Cleveland's order also came up big. Mike Aviles went 2-for-4 with three RBI, Michael Brantley went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI, and Lonnie Chisenhall went 2-for-5 with a home run. In all the Indians pounded out 16 hits as they matched a season high for runs scored.

That was more than enough for starter Danny Salazar, who allowed just a single unearned run in his six innings of work.

Cleveland has now won three of its last five games and is just a game below .500.

Texas starter Jerome Williams was responsible for most of the Indians' offensive fireworks, as he was battered for 10 runs on 13 hits over four innings of work.

Elvis Andrus went 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead the meager offensive effort from the Rangers, who have lost four of their last six.

Miles Mikolas will attempt to start moving in a better direction when he makes his sixth career start for Texas on Saturday.

Since being called up from the minors in early July Mikolas has been a fixture in the Rangers rotation. That hasn't been great for the Rangers, as the 25- year-old has gone 1-3 with an ERA of 8.54 in six starts.

In his short-lived career, which began in 2012 with San Diego, Mikolas has pitched in 32 total games and posted an ERA of 5.67. However, the five starts he has made with Texas this season are the only ones of his MLB tenure.

He has never pitched against Cleveland.

Part-time starter T.J. House will take to the mound for the Indians on Saturday.

House has spent time with Single-A Mahoning Valley and Triple-A Columbus this season, but has been a more consistent part of the MLB roster since being called up on May 17.

He has appeared in 10 games since the call up, with nine of those coming in a starting capacity. However, he has had some large gaps between starts. In fact there was a 10-day difference between his two most recent starts, when he allowed three runs over 4 2/3 innings against the Yankees on July 10 and then allowed three runs in five innings against Minnesota on July 21. House has not seen action since that appearance against the Twins.

House is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA overall. He did not help those numbers when he faced Texas for the first time earlier this season. On June 9 he pitched in Arlington and allowed six runs over just 3 1/3 innings, as the Indians fell in a 17-7 rout.

Cleveland has won four of five against the Rangers in the season series.






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