Crawford homers twice, Davis pitches 7 strong innings, Rays beat Indians 5-2

Crawford homers twice, Rays beat Indians 5-2

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Carl Crawford hit a pair of two-run homers, Wade Davis stopped his six-game winless streak and the surging Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Indians 5-2 on Thursday night.

Tampa Bay went ahead 2-1 on Crawford’s two-run shot in the first inning. His second two-run drive and Carlos Pena’s solo homer made it 5-2 in the third.

Davis (6-9) gave up two runs and four hits in seven innings. He had gone 0-5 in six starts since beating the Chicago White Sox on May 29.

Tampa Bay has won six in a row and is 7-1 in July. The Rays were 11-14 during June.

The game was in the top of the eighth when NBA star LeBron James announced he was leaving Cleveland to join the Miami Heat as a free agent. There was no noticeable reaction in the Indians’ dugout.

“Somebody is going to tell me what they saw on TV,” Cleveland manager Manny Acta said before the game.

Michael Brantley hit his first major league homer for the Indians, who have lost 23 of their last 35 road games. Jake Westbrook (5-5) allowed five runs and eight hits over six innings.

Dan Wheeler pitched 1 2-3 innings for his first save.

It was Crawford’s fifth career multihomer game and first since June 25, 2008, at Florida. Pena has 23 career homers against Cleveland, his most against any opponent.

Brantley put the Indians ahead on a first-inning leadoff homer. Andy Marte tied it at 2 in the second with his first homer since April 22.

It was the first time that Westbrook has pitched against Tampa Bay since Aug. 18, 2007. The right-hander had gone 5-0 in his six previous outings against the Rays.

NOTES: Indians 1B Matt LaPorta (head bruise and sore neck) could return to the lineup Friday or Saturday. He was accidentally elbowed in the head by Texas SS Elvis Andrus on Monday. … The Rays anticipate RHP Matt Garza will start on Saturday. Garza made his first relief appearance in three years and recorded his first career save by getting two outs to close Wednesday’s 6-4 win over Boston. He was cast in that role because All-Star closer Rafael Soriano had worked the previous four days and Garza lasted just three innings in his start Monday. … Cleveland SS Asdrubal Cabrera (broken left forearm) could start a minor league rehab assignment next week.