Tribe flexes muscles, buries Diamondbacks

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.:  Jason Kipnis, Shin-Soo Choo and Jack Hannahan unloaded on Diamondbacks pitchers, as the Indians breezed to a 10-2 win today at Salt River Fields.

""We came out swinging right off the bat,'' manager Manny Acta said, ""Kipnis and Choo set the tone.  We were making good contact and made something happen.''

Michael Brantley doubled to lead off the game and scored on Kipnis' first home run of the spring. Choo followed immediately with his first of the exhibition season.

In the third, Hannahan stepped to the plate wtih the bases loaded and sent a drive over the right-field wall for a grand slam. Tellingly, Hannahan, who bats from the left side, hit the home run off lefty Tyler Skaggs.

""Last year we thought Hannahan was a better hitter than he showed in Triple-A,'' Acta said. ""He started to get a better approach and wasn't trying to hit for power.''

Brantley had two singles in addition to the double and is 6-for-10 in three games with two doubles and a triple.

David Huff might have pitched three scoreless innings if left fielder Fred Lewis had taken the courrect route to a drive to deep left. Instead, it bacame a double and the start of a two-run rally in the second inning.

Huff retired the side in order in the first and third.