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Jays top Tribe in Toronto slugfest

Jul 15, 2012 - 12:45 AM Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Adam Lind finished with four hits and drove in four runs as Toronto made an early surge and then held on late to beat Cleveland, 11-9, in the middle test of a three-game series.

Edwin Encarnacion hit a pair of homers and totaled three RBI for the Blue Jays, who won for the second time in their last six. Yunel Escobar added a two-run shot and J.P. Arencibia doubled twice and drove in a run.

"The potential for us to do this almost every day with this lineup is pretty high," said Lind. "To score eight in one inning, it takes contributions from one through nine. We need to stay away from shutouts as much as possible, but when we can turn it on like this we'll be successful."

Aaron Laffey (1-1) allowed eight hits and four runs over five innings for the win.

Shelley Duncan collected three hits including a two-run blast, and knocked in three for the Indians, who have lost three of five. Michael Brantley and Casey Kotchman added late two-run homers in defeat.

Ubaldo Jimenez (8-8) lasted just 2 1/3 innings, charged with seven hits and eight runs with four walks.

Cleveland trimmed its edge to 11-8 in the eighth thanks to a pair of two-run shots from Brantley and Kotchman with none out against Jesse Chavez. Later in the frame, facing Casey Janssen with runners on the corners and two down, pinch hitter Travis Hafner singled home one to make it a two-run game, but Jose Bautista made a sliding grab on a Carlos Santana looper to end the inning.

The Tribe went down quietly in the ninth, leading to Janssen's 13th save.

The Jays broke open a tie game with a huge third inning. Bautista began it with a double and scored on Encarnacion's two-run shot for a 4-2 game. Lind then singled and Escobar launched a two-run shot to make it a four-run spread. Kelly Johnson doubled and stole third, then came in two batters later on an Arencibia double.

Jimenez departed for Scott Barnes, but Brett Lawrie's RBI double pushed the Toronto lead to 8-2. Colby Rasmus fanned ahead of back-to-back walks to Bautista and Encarnacion, then Lind singled in a pair to cap the burst at 10-2.

"I just couldn't get my pitches over the plate," lamented Jimenez. "I fell behind in the count a lot, and once I tried to pitch inside, they just took advantage of it."

In the fourth, Brantley worked a one-out walk and scored on Duncan's two-run shot, but Encarnacion reached the third deck in left center with two down in the home fifth.

Lind drove in two with a double in the home first, then the visitors countered in the second when Duncan was plunked with the bases loaded and Kotchman plated one more on a double-play grounder.

Game Notes

The win marked the second time in the last three contests that the Jays reached double digits in runs and the eighth time this season...Saturday marked Encarnacion's first multi-homer effort in 2012, and his first since June 28, 2011 against Pittsburgh...For Cleveland, Friday's 1-0 win thanks to a Travis Hafner homer was the club's first in that manner since May 26, 1992 at Oakland when Mark Lewis did so.