CLEVELAND -- Josh Tomlin got drilled, Michael Brantley had a setback, a 10-game home win streak came to a crashing end.
It rained, too, causing a delay in the ninth inning of a game that was long over.
The Cleveland Indians will gladly put Tuesday in the rearview mirror.
A 9-3 Angels win was highlighted by the powerful bat of the uber-gifted Mike Trout, whose first home run of the night put the Angels up, 5-2, in the fifth. Trout's second two-homer game of his career helped knock the Indians back to .500 on the season at 36-36.
The Indians have been getting better than they got Tuesday from Tomlin, who was fortunate to get away with only giving up one run in the first inning that included a Trout double. The home run in the fifth came on a 2-2 pitch and came three batters after Asdrubal Cabrera had pulled up early from what could have been a double play ball; instead, it fell out of his glove and the Indians got nobody out.
Trout made them pay.
"I thought after a tough start (Tomlin) settled in a little bit," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "He just couldn't put (Trout) away."
The Angels first and second hitters, Kole Calhoun and Trout, combined to go 7-of-10, hit three homers, drove in six and scored five. Lonnie Chisenhall is the only Indian who had more than one hit. Nick Swisher went 0-for-4, sliding back down to .200 for the season.
"We couldn't get Calhoun out," Francona said. "With those big bats that come up after that, you're in trouble."
So, the Indians move forward. Chisenhall had followed his historic nights in Texas with a bit of a cold streak, going 0-for-13 before he hit a second-inning single to break that streak. His homer two innings later was a no-doubter to right center on the first pitch.
Chisenhall back to .368 for the season.
Brantley has been there in many big moments for the Indians this season, but after leaving Monday night's game with concussion-like symptoms he was held out Tuesday. He'd come to the park feeling good and looking to play but was later sent to the hospital for further tests. Francona said the Indians will error on the side of caution until they know Brantley is ready to go.
This just wasn't the home team's night. The ball jumped off the bat of Angels hitters in the humidity and was hit to all corners of Progressive Field.
"I kind of settled in towards the middle of the game but I still made a couple mistakes there," Tomlin said. "It was (humid) but those balls were hit pretty well."
Tomlin gave up more than five hits just once in his first five starts. He's recorded a pair of eight-strikeout games and four weeks ago, his ERA was under 3.00. Tuesday was his shortest start of the season and now has lost back-to-back starts for the first time since July 2012.
The Indians are scheduled to have Tomlin back on the mound Sunday against the slumping Tigers, who just fell out of first place in the AL Central. Two more against this very good Angels team come first.
The Indians are very much alive and in the mix. They just have to limit -- and forget -- nights like they had on Tuesday.
