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Indians' offense backs Masterson in rout of Reds

Jul 2, 2011 - 4:44 AM Cincinnati, OH (Sports Network) - Asdrubal Cabrera and Carlos Santana hit back-to-back homers to support eight strong innings from Justin Masterson, as the Indians earned an 8-2 rout of the Reds in the opener of a three-game set.

Masterson (6-6) picked up his first win since April 26 by limiting Cincinnati to one run on four hits and a walk. He had gone 0-6 in his last 11 starts, but posted a 3.34 earned run average and multiple good starts during that span.

The primary reason he didn't win those outings was because of run support, but he got plenty of it Friday. Grady Sizemore hit a solo blast, while Travis Buck added a two-run single for the Indians, who have won three of four.

"He's been great all year," Sizemore said. "His biggest thing has just been his offense scoring runs for him."

Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips went 3-for-4 with two homers to reach 1,000 hits for his career. But he was the lone bright spot for Cincinnati, which was coming off a 3-3 road trip.

Starter Bronson Arroyo (7-7) took the loss after giving up eight runs on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings. Three of the hits he allowed were homers, continuing a season-long trend for the right-hander.

He has allowed 24 homers in 101 2/3 innings this season, including seven in his last two starts alone.

"I didn't have anything tonight," Arroyo said. "I didn't have a sinker, I didn't have a breaking ball, was throwing 83-86. Kind of pigeon-holed to throwing changeups and straight fastballs."

All of the homers he gave up Friday came in a two-inning span. In the second, Arroyo delivered an 0-2 fastball down but over the plate, and Sizemore crushed it to right-center field.

Then in the third, Masterson got an Indians rally started with a leadoff single. Arroyo rebounded by retiring the next two hitters on groundouts, but left a fastball over the plate to Cabrera, who hit it over the right field fence.

Cabrera had barely settled into the dugout when Santana hit a hanging curveball down the right field line and over the fence, making it a 4-0 game.

The Reds got a run back in the fourth on Phillips' leadoff blast -- his 999th career hit. Masterson's first-pitch fastball ran inside on the hands, but Phillips managed to get around on it and blast it to the second deck in left.

But the Indians turned the game into a rout with a two-out rally in the fifth. With two runners on, Santana singled in a run and Sizemore followed with an RBI double to chase Arroyo from the game.

Sam LeCure entered, but Buck slapped a two-run single through the left side of the infield, pushing Cleveland's advantage to 8-1.

Buck experienced left hamstring tightness during the play and departed the game, replaced by Austin Kearns on the bases and in right field.

Armed with a sizeable lead, Masterson kept the Reds off the scoreboard. He faced the minimum from the fifth through seventh innings, and got through the eighth unscathed.

Phillips came up with one out in the ninth and got his milestone hit in a big way. Chad Durbin delivered a full-count fastball -- the 11th pitch of the plate appearance -- over the plate, and Phillips ripped it to left-center field, just over the fence.

However, the hit made only a small dent in the Reds' deficit, and Durbin retired the next two batters.

Game Notes

The eight runs were the most for the Indians since June 1, when they beat Toronto 13-9...Cleveland improved to 43-37. It did not record its 43rd win last season until July 27...Masterson's hit was the second of his career...The Indians hit back-to-back homers for the third time this year...Sizemore has hit four homers against Arroyo in 19 plate appearances...Arroyo averaged 1.13 home runs per nine innings prior to this season, but in 2011, that average has jumped to 2.12 -- the highest in the majors...Saturday's game was moved from 7:10 p.m. to 4:10 p.m. (et) to accommodate the Fox Saturday game of the week.