TORONTO (AP) -- David Wells kept the lid on the Cleveland Indians.

Wells pitched eight strong innings as the Toronto Blue Jays sent the Indians to their fifth straight loss, 8-1 Thursday night.

"This team is like a stick of dynamite. Our fuse is a little long right now. It's going to get down to the stick pretty soon and explode," Cleveland starter Chuck Finley said.

The Indians, who became the first team in 50 years to score more than 1,000 runs in a season last year, are near the bottom of the American League in nearly every major offensive category.

They scored their only run in the first inning when Jolbert Cabrera went home on a double steal. It came after third baseman Tony Batista's fielding error.

"Good teams go through struggles," said Roberto Alomar, who has just two hits in his last 27 at-bats. "There is still a long way to go."

The Indians were without manager Charlie Manuel, who will have surgery Friday to reattach his colon. He had eight inches of his colon removed in February when it ruptured during spring training.

Manuel's surgery could leave him hospitalized for a week and away from his team for two weeks. Bench coach Grady Little ran the Indians in Manuel's absence.

"Everybody is going to miss him, but we're going to play the game of baseball like we know how to," Alomar said.

In a matchup between two of the AL's top left-handers, Wells (5-1) looked a lot sharper than Finley (3-1).

Wells won his fourth straight decision, improving to 12-3 lifetime against the Indians.

Wells allowed one run -- it wasn't earned -- and seven hits. He struck out six and walked three. After the game, he ducked the media to attend a Bruce Springsteen concert.

"Hopefully he'll bring me next time," Toronto catcher Alberto Castillo said. "A bunch of guys went."

Finley, who pitched 14 seasons for the Angels, lost for the first time with the Indians. After winning his last three starts, he gave up seven runs on six hits and four walks in five innings.

"I was erratic," Finley said. "It got out of hand. David got four runs to work with and he did the rest of it."

After Finley loaded the bases in the second on two walks and a double, Andy Thompson hit an RBI single for his first major league hit.

After striking out the next batter, Finley threw a run-scoring wild pitch. After another strikeout, he issued a based-loaded walk to Jose Cruz Jr.

Homer Bush, mired in a 4-for-33 slump, followed with a two-run single to give Toronto a 5-1 lead.

Cruz's RBI double made it 6-1 in the fourth. Carlos Deglado hit his ninth homer in the fifth.

Bush singled home a run in the eighth for his third RBI, tying a career high.

Game notes
RHP Bartolo Colon, on the 15-day disabled list with a pulled left oblique muscle, will make a rehab start for Triple A Buffalo on Sunday. ... Attendance was 16,637. ... Utility INF Craig Grebeck has been experiencing back spasms since a minor car accident last weekend. He's day-to-day.