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CLEVELAND -- For the Cleveland Indians, the day got off to an exciting beginning, and the game wasn't so bad, either. After learning that the team had traded for elite reliever Andrew Miller, the Indians celebrated by completing a three-game sweep of the Oakland A's with an 8-0 victory Sunday at Progressive Field.
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"There was definitely a good vibe in the locker room (when the trade was announced). More excitement at 9 o'clock in the morning than there normally is," said Corey Kluber, who pitched seven scoreless innings to anchor the Indians' win.
Kluber (10-8) gave up just five hits and Mike Napoli homered to cap a five-run Cleveland third inning.
The Indians outscored the A's by a 19-6 margin en route to sweeping the weekend series.
"They just flat out beat us. We ran into a buzz saw here," Oakland Manager Bob Melvin said.
The A's, who were held to six hits, went 2-4 on their road trip to Texas and Cleveland.
Kluber was in command from start to finish.
"He came out of the chute firing strikes, and usually when he gets off to a good start he continues it. He was really good," Indians manager Terry Francona said.
Oakland starter Sonny Gray came into the game with a record of 2-0 and a 0.64 ERA in four career starts against the Indians. But Gray (5-10) was removed from the game after 3 1/3 innings, having given up seven runs and eight hits. His 5.43 ERA, which was already the highest in the American League among qualifiers, climbed several more points to 5.84.
"We've seen him pitch so well, his ERA doesn't seem to match the way he pitches," Francona said. "The first two innings today he sliced right through us."
Gray retired the first six batters he faced, but the Indians roughed him up for seven runs and eight hits in the next two innings.
Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with nobody out in the third inning. Jason Kipnis drove in two with a single, Francisco drove in one with a sacrifice fly, and then Napoli drove in the last two with his 24th home run, which was also the 1,000th hit of his career.
The first five batters Gray faced in the fourth inning reached base, which led to an RBI single by Roberto Perez and a sacrifice fly to make it 7-0.
Gray gave up seven runs and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings.
"He has great stuff, and that's what's frustrating about this," Melvin said. "Today they found some holes and got a couple of bounces, but it's not his stuff. His stuff is good."
Gray, who was 14-7 with a 2.73 ERA last year, agrees with Melvin.
"I've looked at last year and previous years, and my stuff is similar to then," he said. "Things are just not going in the right direction for me."
Things are going great for Kluber, who has pitched seven or more innings in each of his last four starts.
"I didn't have my best command, but when I needed to I made my pitches, and got away with a few mistakes," Kluber said.
Cleveland kept pouring it on in the fifth inning, when a sacrifice fly by Abraham Almonte extended the lead to 8-0.
The closest Oakland came to scoring was in the seventh inning when the A's had runners at second and third with one out. But Kluber retired Max Muncy on a popout and Ryon Healy on a fly ball to end the inning.
NOTES: Miller, acquired by the Indians from the Yankees for four minor league prospects, is expected to be in uniform on Monday. Traded to New York in the deal were OF Clint Frazier, LHP Justus Sheffield, RHP Ben Heller and RHP J.P. Feyereisen. ... To make room on the Indians' 40-man roster for Miller, OF Joey Butler was designated for assignment. ... The Indians' agreed-upon deal with Milwaukee in which they would have sent four minor league prospects to the Brewers for C Jonathan Lucroy, fell through when Lucroy exercised a clause in his contract that gave him veto power over trades to a limited number of teams. Cleveland was one of the teams on Lucroy's no-trade list. ... Entering Sunday, Athletics OF Coco Crisp led the majors with a .436 batting average with runners in scoring position. ... The A's currently have 13 players on the disabled list. They have used the DL 22 times this year, which marks the sixth time in the last 10 years they have used the DL 20 or more times in a season.
