Indians rally in a big way

Associated Press

CHICAGO

Down five almost as soon as they took the field, the Cleveland Indians looked like they were in for quite a blowout. The idea they would be delivering the beating seemed a bit far-fetched.

Jason Kipnis reached base six times and scored four runs, Ryan Raburn homered and drove in four, and the Indians rallied to pound the Chicago White Sox 19-10 in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Friday.

“That was kind of our worst nightmare at the time,” manager Terry Francona said. “I was really proud of our ballplayers. That was a pretty good, from being down 5-0.”

They picked themselves up after that dreadful first inning and matched a season high for runs. They also set one with eight doubles while falling one hit shy of their season best with 21 in a game that lasted 4 hours, 2 minutes.

Yet despite all that, Cleveland had to dig itself out of a five-run hole after the first inning and hang on after a nine-run lead dwindled to four.

Raburn gave the Indians some breathing room with a two-run drive off Ramon Troncoso in the seventh, making it 16-10. He also had a two-run single to break a 5-all tie in the fourth and spark a six-run rally.

Kipnis, who grew up in suburban Northbrook, Ill., extended his hitting streak to 10 and reached safely in his 30th straight game. He had three doubles, drove in two runs, and the only out he made was when Alejandro De Aza ran down his line drive to left in the ninth.

“He’s been swinging the bat for a while now,” Francona said. “It’s not just been singles. It’s been doubles, home runs, stolen bases. It’s been a lot of production. It’s a pretty good player we’re seeing now.”

Mike Aviles added three hits, two runs and two RBIs.

Things weren’t looking good for Cleveland after Adam Dunn and Jeff Keppinger homered while chasing Trevor Bauer during a five-run first, but in a flash, the Indians turned this one around.

They scored five against Hector Santiago in the second and broke it open against Brian Omogrosso (0-2), who allowed nine runs in 2 1-3 innings. The Indians sent 10 batters to the plate in the fourth against him, with Raburn’s two-run, bases-loaded single breaking the tie and Drew Stubbs’ RBI triple off the wall in right-center making it 11-5.