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  Tuesday, Jul. 4 1:05pm ET
Indians rookie goes deep twice
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

CLEVELAND (AP) -- The Indians aren't allowed to play Ping-Pong anymore. On Tuesday, they got to watch as the Toronto Blue Jays paddled the ball around.

Kenny Lofton's clutch two-run double came after Toronto made two of its three errors in the seventh inning, and rookie Russell Branyan homered twice Tuesday to lead Cleveland to a 9-4 victory over the Blue Jays.

Sandy Alomar Jr.,
Sandy Alomar tags out Carlos Delgado, who tried to score from second on a hit by Darrin Fletcher in the fourth inning.

Cleveland's come-from-behind win came on the day manager Charlie Manuel ordered a Ping-Pong table and couches removed from the Indians clubhouse and banned card games.

"The TV stays," he joked.

Toronto, which entered as the AL's second-best fielding team, made three errors in the seventh when the Indians rallied for six unearned runs.

Lofton, Roberto Alomar and Omar Vizquel all hit run-scoring doubles in the inning as Cleveland finally got some timely hitting.

"Our offense came up with some big hits," Manuel said, "and we got some breaks and took advantage of it."

Bartolo Colon (8-5) allowed four runs and seven hits in seven innings. The right-hander struck out seven -- five to start the game -- and walked two.

Right fielder Ricky Ledee, obtained from the Yankees last week, threw a runner out at the plate in the fourth and made a nice catch before crashing into the wall in the eighth.

Tony Batista and Shannon Stewart homered for the Blue Jays, who made four errors and could have been charged with a fifth. Toronto had just 44 errors in 83 games coming in.

"We made six errors," Toronto manager Jim Fregosi said. "I don't care if they put four on the board. We made six. You don't win when you play like that. We played good defense all year and didn't catch the ball today."

Branyan's solo homer in the fourth pulled the Indians to 3-1, and he added a two-run shot in the sixth off starter Frank Castillo as Cleveland closed to 4-3.

Branyan has 10 homers in 73 at-bats this season, and three multi-homer games.

"The report on him was not to throw him fastballs," Castillo said, "so I started him with a curve and he was all over it. Then I threw a changeup, and he was all over that, too. Both of them were fat pitches."

Jim Thome walked to open the seventh against Lance Painter, who was replaced by John Frascatore (1-3). Richie Sexson, who had struck out in his previous two at-bats, followed with a routine grounder to third that Batista couldn't handle.

"I just missed that ball," Batista said. "It was just routine. I don't know how. I don't know why."

Enrique Wilson then reached when Frascatore fielded his bunt and threw it down the third-base line, allowing Thome to score.

One out later, Lofton doubled into the gap in left-center off lefty Pedro Borbon to make it 6-4.

Carlos Delgado then dropped Sandy Alomar's foul pop for the Jays' third error in the inning, and after Alomar singled, Roberto Alomar and Vizquel capped the Indians' second-biggest inning this season with their doubles.

"I just wanted to put the ball in play," said Lofton, who is 5-for-10 since dropping from leadoff into the No. 8 spot in the order. "There's some pressure batting leadoff and moving down has given me a chance to relax."

Colon, who tied a major league record by walking the first four batters in his previous start, was untouchable early on. He blew his fastball past the first five Toronto hitters in starting the game with five straight strikeouts.

However, Batista homered into the Indians' bullpen on a 3-2 pitch to make it 1-0. Batista swung at a fastball high and away, driving it over the wall for his 24th homer.

Stewart's two-run homer in the third gave Toronto a 3-0 lead. Jose Cruz Jr. doubled leading off, moved up Chris Woodward's sacrifice and scored on Stewart's 11th homer.

Game notes
Colon is 20-7 since July 1 of last season. ... Manuel's decision to remove the clubhouse Ping-Pong table and ban card games met with his player's approval. It also gave self-proclaimed table tennis champ Paul Shuey a chance to rank the team's top paddlers. Who's No. 2? "We just traded him," said Shuey, referring to David Justice. ... The Indians have used 55 batting orders this season. Only Manny Ramirez, on the 15-day DL, has hit in the same spot all the time, batting cleanup in 47 games. ... Batista has 50 homers in 174 games since joining the Blue Jays last season. ... The Blue Jays lead the majors in homers, and if Jose Cruz Jr. gets two more by Sunday, Toronto will become the first team ever to have four players with 20 or more homers at the All-Star break. ... C Darrin Fletcher was activated before the game. He was out with a strained right shoulder.

 


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RECAPS
Cleveland 9
Toronto 4

Baltimore 7
NY Yankees 6

Detroit 11
Tampa Bay 0

Boston 14
Minnesota 4

Kansas City 10
Chi. White Sox 7

Texas 10
Oakland 7

Anaheim 7
Seattle 6

Philadelphia 7
Milwaukee 4

St. Louis 14
Cincinnati 3

Pittsburgh 10
Chicago Cubs 4

Florida 9
NY Mets 8

San Francisco 4
Colorado 1

San Francisco 3
Colorado 0

(2nd game)

Atlanta 7
Montreal 3

Arizona 10
Houston 4

San Diego 7
Los Angeles 2

AUDIO/VIDEO
audio
 Kenny Lofton and the Indians are just trying to put the ball in play.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6

 Indians' rookie Russell Branyan is happy to start a series with a win.
wav: 123 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6