ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Lonnie Chisenhall had nine RBIs and three home runs in a five-hit game, Michael Brantley scored five times and the Indians beat the Texas Rangers 17-7 Monday night.
The only other nine-RBI game in Cleveland history was by Chris James in a 20-6 victory for the Indians on May 4, 1991, against Oakland.
Chisenhall had two-run homers in the second and fourth innings before hitting a three-run shot down the right field line in the eighth to give the Indians a 17-6 lead.
The offensive outburst puts Chisenhall in rare company. He is only the fourth major league player since RBIs became a statistic in 1920 to have at least five hits, nine RBIs and three homers in a game, and he is the first since Boston’s Fred Lynn did it in 1975, according to the Indians.
Chisenhall doesn’t have enough at-bats to qualify for the American League batting race right now. If he did, he’d be 50 points ahead of the Rangers’ Alex Rios, the current leader.
The Indians won three straight in the four-game set after coming to the Lone Star State with the worst road record in the majors.
Home plate umpire Jim Wolf left the game after taking a foul ball off his mask in the sixth inning.