Terry Francona has said all season that Carlos

CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona has said all season that Carlos Santana will hit. That faith is finally being rewarded. Santanas leadoff homer in the fourth inning lifted Cleveland to a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night and continued a hot June for a hitter who struggled for the first two months. "It was inevitable," Francona said. "Hes too good a hitter." The win, which was also sparked by Asdrubal Cabreras two-run homer in the first, moved the Indians (36-35) over the .500 mark. Although Santana is hitting .191 for the season, hes batting .333 (13 for 39) with three homers and nine RBIs in June. "The good thing is, its not just singles, hes going to hit home runs and get extra base hits," Francona said. "We survived to a point with him really being cold and as hes getting hot its going to help our offence." Both home runs came off Jered Weaver (7-6), who lost for the first time in 10 career starts at Progressive Field. Weaver was 6-0 and allowed 11 earned runs in 60 1-3 innings in nine starts at the Indians ballpark going into the game. The Indians managed to win despite having a thin bullpen, forcing starter Trevor Bauer (2-3) to throw 119 pitches -- a season high for Cleveland -- in 6 2-3 innings. With closer Cody Allen and setup man Bryan Shaw both unavailable after pitching the last three days, Carlos Carrasco worked 2 1-3 innings for his first career save. "Carlos pitched really well, that was a huge lift for us," Francona said. "The way he was pitching I didnt want to take him out, and there was no reason to take him out." Indians left fielder Michael Brantley left the game in the fifth for precautionary reasons after receiving a blow to the head and neck area while trying to break up a double play in the third. "He banged the side of his head on that slide," Francona said. "He passed all the concussion tests, which is good. His neck is a little stiff. Well see how he is when he comes in (Tuesday)." The Angels have lost four of five since winning five straight. Weaver allowed four runs in six innings. The right-handers 1.64 ERA going into Monday was the lowest in ballpark history with a minimum of 50 innings pitched, according to STATS LLC. Weaver had allowed three earned runs in 43 innings over his last six starts in Cleveland before losing Monday. "I know that Ive thrown well in this park but I didnt know that it was that good," he said. "Nothing else to say, just cant stay away from the homer." Bauer, who pitched around trouble all game, allowed three runs for his first win since May 20 and wasnt bothered by his high pitch count. "I can go 130, 150 or 200," he said. "I did that in college. Im used to throwing." Carrasco, who was moved to the bullpen last month after pitching poorly as a starter, struck out Howie Kendrick to end the seventh and worked around a walk and a single in the eighth. He retired Mike Trout and Albert Pujols to start the ninth and struck out Josh Hamilton on three pitches to end the game. "I want to help the team whether its starting or in the bullpen," Carrasco said. "Right now the bullpen is where I am." Cabreras homer gave Cleveland the lead, but Chris Iannetta tied the game with a two-run double in the second. After the Indians went ahead again on Brantleys RBI single in the third, John McDonalds sacrifice fly in the fourth tied the game. Santana homered deep into the seats in right field on a 2-2 pitch. The switch-hitter is 10 for 19 with two homers lifetime against Weaver. Cabreras drive cleared the 19-foot wall in left field. Angels manager Mike Scioscia came on the field to speak with the umpires, but the call was upheld after a crew chief review. McDonald started at shortstop in place of Erick Aybar, who has a sore left hip. Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving took batting practice with the Indians and threw out the first pitch. NOTES: Aybar had a pinch-hit single in the eighth. ... Francona said RHP Zach McAllister (sore back) will start Thursday. McAllister has been on the 15-day DL since May 22. ... LHP Tyler Skaggs (strained right hamstring) will pitch a simulated game Tuesday. ... The Indians signed LHP Justus Sheffield, the 31st overall pick in the draft. Sheffield, 18, turned down an offer from Vanderbilt to sign with Cleveland. ... Angels RHP Matt Shoemaker (3-1) faces RHP Josh Tomlin (4-3) on Tuesday. Damian Lillard Blazers Jersey . -- D.A. Points was disqualified Friday from the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am for using a training device while waiting to play the 18th hole at Pebble Beach. Clyde Drexler Blazers Jersey . - Ronda Rousey realizes shes finishing up one of the biggest years for any fighter in the young history of mixed martial arts at UFC 168, and the UFCs bantamweight champion intends to go out on top. http://www.blazersteamofficial.com/Anfernee-Simons-Blazers-Jersey/ . The Bulls seem to be getting along fine without him. D.J. Augustin scored 27 points in a start for Kirk Hinrich and Taj Gibson matched a career high with 26 filling in for Carlos Boozer as the Bulls improved to 7-2 since trading the popular Deng with a 98-87 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night. C.J. McCollum Blazers Jersey . Andrew Luck couldnt believe his ears. Colts fans couldnt believe the scoreboard, and the Kansas City Chiefs couldnt believe their incredibly bad luck. C.J. McCollum Jersey .com) - His team lost in the round of 16 of the FCS playoffs, yet Northern Iowa football coach Mark Farley says his team has made a strong case to be voted to the top 5 in the final rankings.FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tim Tebow walked off the practice field with no reporters blocking his path to the locker room. Finally, a few strolled up for a 90-second interview then moved on to longer chats with other Patriots. The media circus that surrounded him last season is gone. His uncertain future remains. Ten weeks into what could be his last shot at staying in the NFL, Tebow seems to be on the roster bubble. He is simply trying to make the team now, but has played poorly in two exhibition games. How poorly? His passer rating was 0.0 -- thats zero-point-zero -- in New Englands 25-21 win over Tampa Bay last Friday night. "You would definitely want to do better in some areas," said Tebow, the only quarterback the Patriots used in the second half vs. the Buccaneers. "Also, you have different things happen that you just try to handle the best way you can." He completed just one of seven passes for a loss of one yard, and had one interception on a badly overthrown pass. He was sacked twice on his first nine plays. But the lefty who has trouble reading defences and zipping passes did what he does best, running six times for 30 yards. A week earlier, in his debut, he was a bit better -- 4 for 12 for 55 yards with four runs for 31 yards in a 31-22 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Numbers may not lie, but coach Bill Belichick sees a larger truth. He watches Tebow at every practice, sees how diligently he studies and how dedicated he is in the weight room. And he sees some positive steps from the player traded by the Denver Broncos and cut by the New York Jets in a span of 13 months. "Yeah, definitely," Belichick said. "I think if you look at the entire week last week, that it will look different than the game did." Tebow could get another chance in the third preseason game on Thursday night against the Lions in Detroit. Thatll be five days before the mandatory roster cut to 75 players. The Patriots finish the exhibition schedule Aug. 29 against the New York Giants. The final cut to 53 comes two days later. Tebow, as expected, says hes not thinking about his prospects of sticking around. Grasping the New England offence is difficult enough. "I just focus one day at a time," he says, "improving every single practice." Its not even an issue? "Just getting ready for the practice," he says with a smile. Belichick has been typically reticent. The Patriots signed Tebow for a reason, of course, and though New England often carries just two quarterbacks, the veteran coach is unfazed by preseason results. Asked last week if he plans to keep Tebow, if healthy, onn the 53-man roster, Belichick said, "Thats not anything that were ready to talk about right now.dddddddddddd A lot of competition out there. Well see how it all plays out." There are some factors in Tebows favour. He could be used as a punt protector, forcing opponents to play for a fake on a direct snap. He could line up as a receiver, pose as a decoy, or give Tom Brady a target for a quick pass to the sideline that he can run with. Hes played only quarterback in training camp drills, all open to the media, but could be used elsewhere now that the practices are open for just a short time period. With Tom Brady having thrown all but 47 of the Patriots passes the last four years and Ryan Mallett entrenched as the backup, coaches may view Tebow as a project with plenty of time to work on his quarterbacking skills without having to play in games. And would the Patriots really keep a sixth defensive end or sixth cornerback instead of him? But then, there are the negatives. The Patriots have kept just two quarterbacks in three of the past four years. Tebow tends to scramble too soon, without exhausting all options down the field. And when he does look down there, finding his third or fourth receiving option has been a problem. And then, of course, some throws have been well out of the receivers grasp. But Belichick is known for utilizing a players strengths even if he has glaring shortcomings. Thats the Patriot Way. "All players have different skill sets and some guys do some things better than others," he said. "I think we see a lot of good quarterbacks in the NFL. They arent all maybe the best passers, but their ability to run and pass and make plays -- design plays, scramble plays, whatever it is -- makes them a high level player. I dont think theres one specific style you have to have or dont have to have. "In the end, its about production and being able to do enough things to be successful." Tebow had success in Denver. He threw the winning pass on the first overtime play from scrimmage against Pittsburgh in the AFC wild-card round, before losing to New England the next week. He was a flop after the Broncos traded him to the Jets. New York never figured out how to use him and released him last April 29. From there, Tebow watched and waited. And just when it seemed no team wanted him, the Patriots gave him a non-guaranteed contract on June 10. But soon, Tebow may be looking for work ... again. "Ive just got to go out there and play as hard as I can and try to improve," he said. "And Ill let a lot of smarter people grade us and judge us." ' ' '