Written by Thomas Moore

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Could it really be as easy as flipping a page on the calendar for Derek Lowe and the Cleveland Indians?

After going 1-3 with an ERA of 6.49 in the month of June, Lowe (8-6) came out in his first start in July and limited Los Angeles to three runs in six innings of work as the Indians won 12-3 over the Angels on a hot Wednesday afternoon at Progressive Field.

“Pitching in games like this isn’t always easy,” Lowe said in published reports. “You afraid to nibble and walk guys, but don’t want to throw it down the middle, either.”

With the win, Lowe is now 5-1 with a 2.86 ERA at Progressive Field this season.

The Tribe jumped on Ervin Santana (4-9) early when, with two outs, Jason Kipnis walked and then Travis Hafner, just off the disabled list, worked a 12-pitch at bat into a walk to put two on for Michael Brantley, who delivered a three-run, 343-foot home run to right to put the Indians up 3-0.

“We had a lot of quality at-bats and you could see Hafner”s effect right away,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “He just wore out Santana and then Brantley hit that homer.”

Casey Kotchman added a three-run home run in the second inning, the big blow in a six-run inning. The Tribe opened the inning with singles from Johnny Damon and Lou Marson, followed by an RBI double by Shin-Soo Choo, an Asdrubal Cabrera ground out to plate Marson, and a Jason Kipnis single to score Choo.

By the time the inning ended, Santana was in showers, having retired only four of the 13 batters he faced, and the Tribe led 9-1.

The Indians added three more runs in the fifth off of Los Angeles’ reliever Jason Isringhausen. Consecutive singles by Kotchman, Jack Hannahan and Damon loaded the bases before Marson delivered an RBI single. Choo followed with a groundout to score a run and Cabrera doubled in the Tribe’s final run of the game.

Damon had three hits and even threw out Albert Pujols at second base. When that happens, you know things are going the Tribe’s way. On the day, the Indians belted out 14 on the day.

“I threw and a fan yelled, ‘Great throw,’ and I said, ‘No, I left it up,’” Damon said. “I was talking and the guy said, ‘He’s out!' I looked at second base and said, ‘You’re absolutely right.’ I had no clue.”

Oh, Johnny!

After losing the series opener, the Indians have scored 21 runs in taking the last two games from the Angels. The Tribe has now won five of its last seven games and turned into an offensive machine. In those five wins, the Indians have scored 45 runs (and put up an eight spot Friday night in a loss to Baltimore). Over their last nine games, the Indians are batting .325 as a team.

The Tribe hits the halfway mark of the season at 42-39.

The Indians are back at it Thursday night when they open a four-game series with Tampa Bay. Josh Tomlin (4-5) will face Jeremy Hellickson (4-4) at 7:05 p.m.