CLEVELAND, Ohio — Good night for a ballgame. Baseball senior citizens Jim Thome and Omar Vizquel exchanged lineup cards at the plate. Goodwill and fellowship were in the air.

Then the Indians started to hit the baseball and they never really stopped on the way to beating Chicago, 11-2, Thursday night at Progressive Field.

Kosuke Fukudome and Jason Kipnis started the game with consecutive homers off Phil Humber (9-9, 3.86). It was the first time the Indians have started a game at home with two straight homers since June 19, 1971, when Craig Nettles and Vada Pinson did it.

Fukudome, the diamond the Indians stole from the Chicago Cubs back in July when they still had a chance to win the American League Central Division, added a diving catch in right field in the fourth and a two-run single in the fifth.

In the seventh inning, Travis Hafner doubled to the wall in right center for his 1,000th career hit. The Indians were leading, 8-2, and manager Manny Acta removed Hafner for pinch-runner Cord Phelps. The crowd of 21,487 gave him a standing ovation.

Acta said he didn't plan it that way.

"I'm not that clever," he said. "I was just trying to take care of the big guy. But it worked out pretty well."

On the pitching side, Jeanmar Gomez (5-2, 3.52) won his fifth straight start since arriving from Class AAA Columbus at the end of August. In those five starts, he has a 1.80 ERA (six earned runs in 30 innings). If this guy hasn't put himself in the mix for a rotation spot next year, the Indians haven't been watching.

Enough preliminaries. Now the main course.

After missing two games with a strained back muscle, shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera returned to the lineup with conviction in his eyes and bat. He hit a three-run homer in the seventh and a two-run bases-loaded single in the eighth to give him his second five-RBI game of the season.

Everytime Cabrera turns around lately, he's setting a record. It's lucky this season is almost over or Elias Sports Bureau would buy more computer space just to keep track of his season.

Thursday night's homer was his 25th and gave him the Indians' single-season record for homers by a shortstop. He'd been tied with Jhonny Peralta.

The homer also extended his record for most homers in a single season by a Venezuelan shortstop. He set that record Tuesday.

Cabrera has 92 RBI this season. It's the most by an Indians shortstop since player-manager Lou Boudreau drove in 106 in 1948. It's been a long time, but Indians fans should remember the year as the last time their favorite team won a World Series.

How unexpected has Cabrera's performance been this season? He hit three homers last year and never hit more than six in a season. His total number of homers coming into the year was 18.

Cabrera's never had more than 68 RBI in a season before this year. He started the year with 166 RBI in his career.

"When the season is over, I'll think about this," Cabrera said. "This year, I just wanted to come to the ballpark every day and show people what Asdrubal Cabrera can do."

Can he reach 100 RBI?

"I know that's a lot. Let's just wait till the season is over and see what the numbers are," Cabrera said.

Cabrera golfed a low fastball into the right-field seats off Addison Reed in the seventh for an 8-2 lead. In the eighth, he lined a slider from Josh Kinney through the middle.

"It's been remarkable what this guy has been able to do offensively this year," Acta said.

Fukudome wears his game face 24/7, but he does have a sense of humor. He's a free agent at the end of the year and has made it clear he'd like to re-sign with the Indians. He does have one problem with the city.

"I like playing in Cleveland, but there are too many bugs," Fukudome said through his translator as he pointed to mosquito bites on his elbow.

Hafner said he really appreciated the crowd's ovation after his 1,000th hit. When he got to the dugout, the ovation continued with Shelley Duncan screaming "2,000 more, 2,000 more."

It was that kind of night.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: phoynes@plaind.com, 216-999-5158

On Twitter: @hoynsie

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