CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Indians jumped on a struggling pitcher and some shoddy defense to defeat the Baltimore Orioles 11-4 on Saturday at Progressive Field.

Yan Gomes had two hits and three RBIs and Danny Salazar pitched six strong innings as the Indians took an early 7-0 lead and were never threatened.

Cleveland (26-21) moved past the Chicago White Sox (27-23) into first place in the American League Central.

Gomes, who came into the game hitting .177, had a two-run single in the first inning and an RBI single in the fifth.

Salazar (5-3) held the Orioles to two runs and six hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked two.

Salazar's 2.39 ERA ranks fourth in the AL.

"He has good stuff, which you need against their lineup because they make you work, they are so big and strong," Cleveland manager Terry Francona said.

The Indians roughed up former teammate Ubaldo Jimenez (2-6), who started for the Orioles, but his outing lasted only 50 pitches. Jimenez, who pitched for Cleveland from 2011 to 2013, never made it out of the second inning.

In 1 2/3 innings, Jimenez gave up six runs (three earned) and five hits with one strikeout and three walks.

"The biggest problem was his command. He wasn't able to get the ball where he needs to get it," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.

The Indians scored seven runs in the first three innings. The first inning was particularly messy for Jimenez as the Indians sent nine men to the plate. The inning included four runs, three hits, two walks three stolen bases, one error and 35 pitches by Jimenez.

"We did some things with the errors that didn't help him, but when you have a 30-pitch first inning it puts everyone on their heels," Showalter said.

Francona said he was most excited about the three stolen bases, which included a double steal executed by Mike Napoli and Jose Ramirez.

"Our base running this year is something I'm most proud of," Francona said. "Good base running goes a long way towards showing how you play the game."

Said Napoli: "Stolen bases are important because it puts pressure on the defense. That's got to be a big part of our game and we've done a good job with it."

Carlos Santana led off the first inning with a single and went to second when Jason Kipnis walked. Francisco Lindor grounded out for the first out.

Napoli hit a bouncer that third baseman Pedro Alvarez failed to flag down. It went as a two-base error, the first of four Baltimore errors that led to six unearned runs. Santana and Kipnis scored on the play to give Cleveland a 2-0 lead.

Ramirez walked and then he and Napoli executed their double steal, swiping third and second base.

"(Preventing) stolen bases have been a challenge for Ubaldo his whole career," Showalter said.

Juan Uribe lined out to short for the second out, but Gomes singled to right field, scoring Napoli and Ramirez to make it 4-0.

Jimenez retired the first two batters in the second but gave up two more runs on RBI singles by Uribe and Gomes, to extend the Cleveland lead to 6-0.

The Indians added another run in the third to make it 7-0.

Salazar breezed through the first four innings, holding the Orioles scoreless on two hits. Baltimore reached him for a run on a sacrifice fly by Adam Jones in the fifth.

The Indians got the run back in the bottom half on Gomes' RBI single. Salazar gave up back-to-back doubles to Mark Trumbo and Matt Wieters in the sixth as the Orioles shaved it to 8-2.

"I got a little tired in the middle innings, but I tried to finish strong," Salazar said.

Baltimore added two runs in the seventh against Indians reliever Tommy Hunter and the Cleveland lead was down to 8-4. The Indians scored two runs in the bottom of the frame on an RBI single by Santana and an error by catcher Wieters that allowed another run to score, making it 10-4.

Uribe drove in Cleveland's final run with a single in the eighth.

NOTES: Speaking with reporters for the first time since being placed on the disabled list May 14, Indians OF Michael Brantley said there is no timetable for his return. Brantley had surgery on his right (non-throwing) shoulder in November. Between his two stints on the disabled list, Brantley batted .231 with no home runs and seven RBIs in 39 at-bats over 11 games. ... The Indians are 2-4 versus Minnesota and 12-3 against the other three American League Central teams. ... At the start of play Saturday, Orioles relievers ranked second in the majors with a 2.53 ERA. ... Orioles SS Manny Machado is 13-for-29 during a seven-game hitting streak against Cleveland.