Huge lead helps Tribe drop ’Jays

Associated Press

toronto

Matt LaPorta hit a three-run homer and Cleveland built a big lead from the very start, helping Josh Tomlin and the Indians beat the Toronto Blue Jays 13-9 Wednesday night.

Down 12-0, Toronto became the first major league team in 30 years to hit three straight triples. Eric Thames, Rajai Davis and Jayson Nix accomplished the feat in the fifth inning — Montreal was the last club to do it, with Mike Gates, Tim Raines and Tim Wallach against San Diego on May 6, 1981.

The Indians scored four times while chasing Kyle Drabek in the first inning. LaPorta’s shot highlighted an eight-run burst in the third.

Tomlin (7-2) allowed six runs and eight hits in six innings to match Boston’s Jon Lester for the AL lead in wins. He walked one and struck out a career-high seven.

Davis homered off Tomlin and drove in four runs.

The Indians came out swinging and finished with 18 hits. The AL Central leaders have won two in a row after losing five of six.

Michael Brantley and Asdrubal Cabrera opened the game with consecutive doubles and one out later, Drabek walked Travis Buck and Carlos Santana.

Grady Sizemore followed with a three-run double. Drabek got LaPorta to ground out but was replaced by Shawn Camp after walking Jack Hannahan.

Winless in three starts, Drabek (3-4) allowed four runs and three hits. It was the shortest start of the rookie’s career.

Camp set down the first four batters he faced before the Indians erupted in the third, sending 13 batters to the plate.

Buck led off with a single, Santana walked and LaPorta hit a one-out drive off the restaurant beyond the center-field wall.

Hannahan doubled and scored on Adam Everett’s single, Brantley singled and both runners on Cabrera’s double.

Shin-soo Choo reached when Davis couldn’t handle his liner to center and Buck was safe when shortstop Yunel Escobar dropped a popup in swirling winds, with each error costing Toronto a run.

Brantley’s RBI grounder made it 13-3 in the top of the sixth. Toronto added three in the bottom half on Davis’s first homer of the season, a drive to left off Tomlin.

Jose Bautista hit a two-run single off Hannahan’s glove at third base in the ninth.