Rays’ bats bombard Tribe pitchers

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

Indians manager Terry Francona had a rough afternoon.

His team’s pitching staff wasn’t any better.

The Tampa Bay Rays got 14 hits off Cleveland starter Zach McAllister and four relievers, including home runs by Yunel Escobar and Evan Longoria, in an 11-3 victory over the Indians on Sunday.

If there was a bright side for Francona, he was able to watch part of the defeat from the clubhouse after being ejected in the fifth inning. Home plate umpire Bill Welke tossed Francona before he exited the dugout following a 1-0 pitch to Nick Swisher that appeared to be low and outside.

“I thought his strike zone was inconsistent all day, not just on that one pitch,” Francona said. “After the game, I told Bill, ‘In fairness to you, I went back and looked at all the pitches, and I feel stronger now than I did when I was yelling at you from the dugout.’ “

Francona broke into a small smile and added, “I may have cursed [during the postgame conversation].”

Francona’s first ejection of the season included a spirited argument with Welke, who first drew his ire Friday for his work at second base. The skipper ran out of the dugout to confront Welke, indicating with his arms how far outside he believed the pitch to Swisher was.

As he walked off the field, Francona fired a wad of gum to the ground, then yelled at Welke once he returned to the dugout. Bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr. assumed managing duties for the rest of the game.

“It was a tough day for all of us, but we know Tito has our back,” left fielder Michael Brantley said. “Everybody in this locker room has the utmost respect for him, and we know he’ll fight for us.”

“I respect what Tito did, trying to pump our team up,” third baseman Mark Reynolds said. “Unfortunately, sometimes you’ve got to take your licks out there.”

Francona said he was already riled up because of a play in the fourth inning that saw Sam Fuld’s triple down the right field line bounce off a ball boy.

First base umpire Adrian Johnson judged that the ball boy didn’t intentionally interfere with the ball, allowing Fuld to remain at third, but his explanation of the rule “agitated” Francona.

McAllister (4-5) took the loss in his shortest start of 2013, allowing a season-high five runs in 41/3 innings.