Perez hits homer, four RBI in fifth inning as Indians top Blue Jays 9-8

“It feels good. I’ve been working hard every day, coming in and doing my routine, and it’s paying off,” Perez said.

Michael Brantley also had a homer for Cleveland (81-61) in the seven-run fifth for the Indians.

Reid-Foley (1-3) was sharp during his first four innings. He allowed just three hits and one run until he got the hook in the fifth.

“I took some pitches off. Brantley hurt me. Perez, first pitch homer, hurt me,” Reid-Foley said. “You obviously want good results, but if I have to trip on a couple of curbs and learn from it, I still have to keep my head up and have fun. It’s the big leagues.”

Reid-Foley allowed six runs, five hits, two home runs, five walks and struck out three batters over 4 2/3 innings.

Randal Grichuk had a pair of solo home runs for the Blue Jays (64-78). Rowdy Tellez also had a solo homer, the first of his major league career.

“It felt pretty unreal,” Tellez said. “It’s one of those surreal moments that you just dream about doing. It was pretty cool to do it here in front of the home fans and hopefully, I’ve got more in the tank.”

Josh Tomlin (1-5) picked up the win after starter Adam Plunko failed to pitch the required five innings for the distinction. Tomlin had one strikeout in 2/3 innings of work.

Cody Allen picked up his 26th save of the season.

Both teams combined for 29 hits.

Richard Urena opened the scoring for the Blue Jays in the second inning. He hit an RBI double that gave Toronto a 1-0 lead. Aledmys Dias followed with an RBI single to increase the Blue Jays’ lead to 2-0.

The Indians cut into the Jays’ lead in the third. Greg Allen hit an RBI double to cut Toronto’s advantage to 2-1.

Toronto restored the two-run lead later in the inning. Grichuk hit his 20th homer of the season, giving the Blue Jays a 3-1 lead.

Cleveland went ahead for the first time in the fifth. Perez hit a solo homer that cut the Blue Jays’ lead to 3-2. Brantley followed with a two-run homer to put the Indians up 4-3.

Relief pitcher Justin Shafer walked Jason Kipnis with the bases loaded to stretch Cleveland’s advantage to two. Perez followed up with a three-run double that gave the Indians an 8-3 lead.

Cleveland sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning.

Later in the frame, Grichuk hit his second solo homer to cut Cleveland’s lead to 8-4. Tellez followed with the first home run of his career. The solo shot brought the Indians lead down to 8-5.

In the sixth, Jose Ramirez scored on a wild pitch by Blue Jays reliever Mark Leiter Jr., which gave Cleveland a 9-5 lead. Kendrys Morales proceeded to hit a two-run single to cut the Indians lead to 9-7.

In the seventh, Diaz hit an RBI double to cut Cleveland’s lead to 9-8.

Note: Grichuk multiple home run game was the fourth of his career. Tellez hit his seventh extra-base hit in his fourth major league game, the most of any player in the majors since 1913. Paid attendance was 35,353.

David Alter, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Perez hits homer, four RBI in fifth inning as Indians top Blue Jays 9-8

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