TORONTO - Shin-Soo Choo ripped a two-run triple in the fifth to end a sloppy outing for rookie left-hander Marc Rzepczynksi as the Cleveland Indians beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 Thursday afternoon in the rubber-match of a three-game set.
Rzepczynksi (1-2), making his fourth big-league start, was again plagued by wildness, walking four batters and hitting another in 4 1-3 innings of work. He also gave up three hits but six strikeouts helped him limit the damage to four runs, two earned.
An error by Jose Bautista, who let a grounder skip through him at third base, helped set the stage for Cleveland's pivotal three-run fifth. Asdrubal Cabrera's grounder might have resulted in an inning-ending double play but instead ended up in left field and put runners on the second and third with one out.
Choo followed a triple to bring both runners home and after Shawn Camp came on in relief, scored on Victor Martinez's grounder for a 4-1 lead Cleveland never relinquished.
Aaron Hill clubbed a two-run homer in the bottom of the frame as the Blue Jays (47-49) pulled close but never got level in their 15th loss in 21 games. They also missed out on another chance to get back to .500 before a crowd of 32,061.
Chris Gimenez added some insurance with an RBI groundout in the sixth and rookie David Huff (5-4) allowed four runs in 7 2-3 innings for the Indians (38-58).
Huff left after allowing Millar's two-out solo blast in the eighth that made it a 5-4 game, but Joe Smith closed out that frame before Kerry Wood finished things off in the ninth for his 13th save, despite hitting Alex Rios in the head with a curveball to open the frame.
Rzepczynksi, the fifth Blue Jays starter to make his big-league debut this season, looked strong through three before losing the plate in the fourth. He followed a Cabrera single by hitting Choo and walking Martinez and Ben Francisco to bring home a run.
The Blue Jays tied it in the bottom of the frame when Adam Lind and Millar hit consecutive doubles.
Notes: Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston gave Marco Scutaro a partial day off, starting him at DH instead of shortstop. That gave John McDonald a rare start. Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi said there was "lots of interest" in Scutaro. ... Casey Janssen (shoulder) faced five batters and failed to record an out during a rehab outing Wednesday for double-A New Hampshire. He allowed three hits and a walk, and another batter reached on his throwing error, and gave up four runs, three earned. ... Gaston revealed that Dustin McGowan, recovering from shoulder surgery in Dunedin, Fla., underwent knee surgery July 9 after hurting himself while running. Recovery time is about six weeks.
