CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) – Rookie Zach Walters and Carlos Santana each had two RBIs, leading the Indians to a 7-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday to conclude a disappointing season for both clubs.
Walters and David Murphy hit solo second-inning homers off Alex Cobb (10-9) for the Indians, who failed to build on last season when they hosted Tampa Bay in the AL wild-card game. Santana’s two-run single in the seventh made it 6-2.
T.J. House (5-3) gave up Sean Rodriguez’s leadoff homer in the second, but otherwise kept the AL’s lowest-scoring team off the board.
Despite a slew of injuries, shoddy defense and an unreliable offense, the Indians stayed alive in the playoff race until Friday. Still, they won 85 games for their first consecutive winning seasons since 2000-01.