Reds complete sweep of Indians

Associated Press

cincinnati

The Cleveland Indians reached the midpoint of their annual intrastate series with one clear impression: It’s not going well in any way.

They got swept by a Reds team so sick at the start of the series that manager Dusty Baker hardly had anyone on the bench next to him. Brandon Phillips hit one of Cincinnati’s three homers and drove in four more runs on Thursday afternoon for a 12-5 victory that left Cleveland discouraged.

The ailing Reds pulled off their first sweep of the Indians since 2008, and it wasn’t even close.

“It’s part of baseball,” said Shin-Soo Choo, who had a pair of solo homers. “I don’t know. Cincinnati is maybe better than us, the last three games.”

Joey Votto and Ryan Ludwick also homered for the Reds, who had a season-high 17 hits.

No surprise that Phillips played a starring role for the NL Central leaders. He went 8 for 13 with two homers and seven RBIs against the team that gave up on him in 2006, raising his career average against Cleveland to .356.

He also paid a price for a dust-up between Indians starter Derek Lowe and Baker, getting hit in the arm by a pitch during a 5-3 win on Wednesday night.

Mike Leake went 41/3 innings before having to leave the game, still feeling the effects of a nasty stomach virus that swept through the clubhouse at the start of the series. Jose Arredondo (4-1) pitched out of a threat in the fifth.

Votto hit a three-run homer in the first inning off Josh Tomlin (3-4), who had been 4-0 in five career interleague starts.

“The pitches that were out of the zone, they let them go,” Tomlin said. “Other than that, everything I threw over the plate they hit.”

Cleveland’s Michael Brantley extended his hitting streak to 21 games, longest in the majors this season.

“He’s got that streak going, which is such a nice thing and special,” said manager Manny Acta, who got Brantley out of the game after his seventh-inning double.