Indians beat mistake-prone Angels
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Torii Hunter lost the ball in the sun and the Angels dropped another series.
Hunter misplayed a fly ball by Asdrubal Cabrera in the fifth inning, leading to a pair of runs, and the Cleveland Indians earned a 4-0 victory in the rubber match of a three-game series.
"They hit a ball in the sun and score two runs," remarked Hunter. "You can't beat the sun, no matter what kind of glasses you have. I battled, tried to keep the ball there, but you can't do anything about it."
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Derek Lowe (4-1) allowed three hits over 7 2/3 innings and the Indians took advantage of some poor fielding.
"It was a good game," said Lowe. "Obviously, how we scored our first two runs, it was a big break, but we took advantage of it."
Carlos Santana had three hits and scored once for Cleveland, which added two runs in the eighth inning, one on a throwing error by relief pitcher Kevin Jepsen.
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Kendrys Morales had two of the three hits for the Angels, who have lost six of their last seven games. They have won just one of their seven series this year.
Ervin Santana (0-5), who threw a no-hitter in his last trip to Cleveland on July 27 last year, was charged with seven hits and a pair of unearned runs over seven innings.
Angels first baseman Albert Pujols continued his struggles at the plate. He went 0-for-4 and is batting just .216. The three-time National League MVP has yet to homer with his new club.
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With Maicer Izturis at third, Mike Trout lined out to end the top of the third.
Aaron Cunningham legged out an infield hit with one out in the fifth and Michael Brantley walked. After Jason Kipnis was called out on strikes, Cabrera sent a fly ball to right field. Hunter was wearing sunglasses and tried to use his forearm to shade the sun. Instead, the ball dropped right next to the nine-time Gold Glove winner.
The Angels loaded the bases in the eighth on a pair of walks and a single by Chris Iannetta. Vinnie Pestano, who walked Trout to load the bases, then fanned Howie Kendrick on a high and outside pitch to end the threat.
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The Indians padded their lead in the bottom half. Travis Hafner and Carlos Santana singled. Jack Hannahan then dropped down a sacrifice bunt, but Jepsen's throw to first base was a bit off the mark. Shelley Duncan followed with a sacrifice fly to center.
Chris Perez had a pair of strikeouts in a 1-2-3 ninth.
Game Notes
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Lowe is 7-8 against the Angels. Before Sunday, he had lost each of his last three starts vs. the Angels...The Indians haven't hit a home run in 11 straight games. The last time anybody went deep was a three-run shot by Carlos Santana in the fifth inning on April 17 at Seattle.