Davis exits, but A's still overpower Indians
Mark Canha belted a two-run homer among his two hits in place of injured slugger Khris Davis, lifting the visiting Oakland Athletics to a 5-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday.
Jurickson Profar led off the eighth inning with his second homer in as many games, and Matt Chapman ripped an RBI double for the Athletics, who have won a season-high five in a row.
Francisco Lindor launched his 14th career leadoff homer, and Carlos Santana went deep for the third time in four contests for the Indians, who have lost four of five versus Oakland this season.
Davis' return to the Athletics' lineup didn't last long as he was lifted for a pinch hitter in the third inning. Davis is dealing with the lingering effects of the left hip contusion he sustained after running into a wall at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on May 5. While he has been in the lineup lately, he did not play against the Indians on Monday.
The pinch hitter turned out to be Canha, who deposited a 1-2 fastball from Trevor Bauer (4-3) over the wall in right field to give Oakland a 3-1 lead in the third inning. Canha's homer was his sixth of the season and fourth in seven games.
Santana trimmed the deficit in the bottom of the third after sending a first-pitch fastball from Toledo, Ohio, native Chris Bassitt over the wall in center field.
Chapman continued to torment Cleveland by giving Oakland a 4-2 lead with a two-out RBI double in the fourth inning. Chapman homered and drove in three runs in a 6-4 victory over the Indians on Monday, and he belted a walk-off homer in the 12th inning of the Athletics' 4-3 win over Cleveland on May 10.
The Indians answered in the bottom of the fourth inning as rookie Oscar Mercado's double plated Leonys Martin.
Bassitt's career-high six walks drove up his pitch count and led to him being relieved by Liam Hendriks (2-0), who allowed just one hit over two scoreless innings to pick up the win. He struck out one and did not walk a batter.
Three Oakland relievers bridged the gap from Bassitt to Blake Treinen, who struck out two in the ninth inning to secure his ninth save of the season.
Bassitt allowed three runs on three hits with six strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings. He threw 88 pitches.
Bauer yielded four runs on four hits and four walks in six innings. He struck out five.
--Field Level Media
