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Arroyo, Reds roll past Indians

Jun 29, 2008 - 10:08 PM By Todd Krepop PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- It's hard to imagine that Bronson Arroyo had worse stuff on Sunday than he did in his last start - but he did. The difference was he won.

Arroyo pitched six solid innings, ending a five-outing winless drought to lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 9-5 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

Adam Dunn hit a three-run homer and Edwin Encarnacion also homered and had three RBI for Cincinnati, which won the rubber game of the three-game interleague series against its intrastate rival.

The Reds finished 5-4 on their tough nine-game road trip that included visits to the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays.

"We've been playing a lot better," Dunn said. "This was the toughest stretch we've had all year."

Arroyo (5-7) bounced back from the worst start of his career to hold the Indians to two runs - one earned - and five hits. The righthander struck out six to record his first win since May 28.

"I got away with a lot of stuff," Arroyo said. "I threw a lot more bad pitches than I did in Toronto. The difference was (Cleveland) was popping them up.

"That's why this game is so strange. You can have your best stuff and lose and have bad stuff and win.

In his last start at Toronto, Arroyo became just the sixth pitcher in major league history to allow 10 runs or more while retiring three or fewer batters. But he was in command all day against an Indians' lineup batting an American League-worst .246.

"I came back to the dugout after the first inning and (pitching coach) Dick Pole said, 'Things must be turning for you. You hung two breaking balls,'" Arroyo said.

Arroyo didn't allow more than one baserunner in an inning until the sixth. By then, Cincinnati was in firm control of the game.

Cincinnati broke a scoreless tie with a five-run fifth - capped by Encarnacion's two-run homer.

David Ross started the rally with a one-out single and Jerry Hairston followed with a double to left. Hairston scored on a wild pitch by Aaron Laffey (4-5) and Jeff Keppinger hit an RBI double in the same at-bat to give the Reds a 2-0 lead.

After Ken Griffey Jr. flied out to the wall, Brandon Phillips singled home a run and Encarnacion, who had missed the five previous games with back spasms, followed by crushing Laffey's 1-1 offering over the left field wall.

"Encarnacion looked real good for a guy that has been out," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "I am glad that we gave him an extra day off and we didn't rush him back."

Cleveland scored twice in the sixth to cut into the Reds' lead, but Dunn answered with a three-run homer in the seventh off reliever Rick Bauer and Encarnacion added an RBI single in the ninth.

"It was a fun game," Dunn said. "There was a lot of action and a lot of good things happened."

Dunn also made a couple of nice running catches in the outfield and threw out Casey Blake trying to stretch a single into a double.

"When you are involved in the field, the game is a lot more fun," said Dunn, who was the designated hitter the past two games. "It's a lot better to be moving around than sitting on the bench waiting to hit."

Laffey's afternoon was over after the fifth. The rookie lefthander yielded five runs and eight hits, striking out only two batters.

"It was a disappointing fifth," Laffey said. "I got into trouble in the one inning, and it cost us."

Grady Sizemore and Ben Francisco homered for the Indians, who embark on a crucial eight-game road trip starting Monday against the Chicago White Sox.

"It's a very important road trip for us," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "We are playing teams that are ahead of us. It's going to make it or break it for us."