Puig, Clevinger lead Tribe to win over Angels

Yasiel Puig drove in his first two runs for Cleveland, Mike Clevinger won his fifth consecutive decision and the Indians beat the Angels, 7-3, on Aug. 2.

Puig, acquired from Cincinnati in a blockbuster trade July 31, had RBI singles in the first and second, helping Cleveland take an early 6-1 lead.

The 6-foot-2, 240-pound right fielder also showed off his defensive skills. He made a leaping catch on the warning track of Andrelton Simmons’ line drive in the fourth and ran down Kole Calhoun’s fly ball in the corner in the eighth.

Puig is 3 for 7 in two games for the Indians and has instantly become a fan favorite. The crowd of 28,386 gave him a loud ovation before each at-bat and chanted his name on several occasions.

Clevinger (6-2) gave up one run in 6 1/3 innings — a solo homer to Mike Trout in the first. The blast was Trout’s 36th of the season and moved him into a tie for the major league lead with Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich.

The right-hander allowed three hits and struck out eight. Clevinger is 4-0 in six career starts against the Angels, who traded him to the Indians in 2014 when he was pitching in the minors.

Puig, Carlos Santana, Jose Ramirez and Jason Kipnis drove first-inning runs when Cleveland scored four times. Santana and Puig had RBIs in the second.

Roberto Perez hit his 19th home run of the season in the third.

The first five batters reached against Taylor Cole (1-2), who made his fifth start of the season in 25 appearances.

The right-hander allowed four runs and retired one batter before being replaced by Dillon Peters.

Francisco Lindor walked and Oscar Mercado followed with a single in the first. Santana’s single made it 1-0 and Puig’s line single to left scored Mercado.

Ramirez’s double scored Santana and Puig came home on a headfirst slide when first baseman Albert Pujols bobbled Kipnis’ grounder and couldn’t make a throw.