A.J. Burnett pitched well, but Fausto Carmona was better as the Cleveland Indians blanked the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0 in the first game of a doubleheader on Monday.

Carmona (4-1) pitched a complete-game five-hitter, walked four and struck out three for his second major-league shutout.

He improved to 3-1 in five starts at Progressive Field in Cleveland, where the Blue Jays have lost 15 of their last 16 games.

Aiding Carmona’s cause is Toronto’s .209 average with runners in scoring position, which ranks 30th out of 30 major-league teams.

Asdrubal Cabrera homered and David Dellucci had two hits and one run batted in as the Indians (19-18) posted their fifth win in six games.

Cleveland has outscored Toronto 21-1 with one game remaining in the four-game series.

Fredericton’s Matt Stairs had three hits for the Blue Jays (17-22), losers of four straight games.

Rod Barajas and Alex Rios had Toronto’s other hits.

Burnett (3-4) lasted 7 2/3 innings, limiting the Indians to three runs on five hits and three walks with seven strikeouts.

It remained scoreless until the sixth inning, when Grady Sizemore hit a one-out double off Burnett, moved to third on Jamey Carroll’s groundout and scored on Dellucci’s single up the middle.

In the seventh, Burnett walked Travis Hafner and Cabrera belted a two-run homer to make it 3-0.

The nightcap begins at 7:05 p.m. ET, with Shawn Marcum (4-2) taking the mound for Toronto and Cliff Lee (6-0) starting for Cleveland.

With files from the Canadian Press

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