CLEVELAND — The black cloud that has hovered over the Indians all season has been replaced by some sunshine.

With everything going their way as of late, the Indians extended their winning streak to a season­high five games, completing a four-game sweep of the Blue Jays with a 6-1 victory Thursday after­noon at Progressive Field.

Cleveland got an impressive out­ing from starting pitcher Justin Masterson and used a big fourth inning to record their first four­game sweep of the Jays since 1995.

“Masterson was just fantastic,” said Cleveland manager Manny Acta. “He had the most confidence I’ve seen him have in his breaking ball. He had them beating the ball into the ground all day.

“He was very good. He was just short of dominant.”

Masterson set the tone for another enjoyable day for the hometown fans, taking a shutout into the final inning before run­ning out of gas.

Relying primarily on an effective slider, the right-hander allowed just a run on eight hits, while strik­ing out five over 8 1/3 innings.

More photos below.

“It was the most consistent one to throw for a strike,” Masterson said of his slider. “The other pitches were OK, but that was the pitchthat kind ofgot me on track.” Masterson has been on track since it appeared that he might be heading back to the bullpen after a series of struggles. He’s turned it around and solidified his spot in the rotation by going 3-2 with a 3.51 ERA over his last six starts.

“It’s never doubting,” Masterson said. “It’s just, ‘When are we going to do what we know we can do?’ You have to have that confidence.”

“It’s been a pleasure to watch him pitch after the slow start that he had,” Acta said. “He persevered.”

Masterson was backed by more than enough offense, all of it coming in a decisive six-run fourth inning.

A surging Matt LaPorta got it started by clouting a three-run home run for the game’s first runs. It came off Blue Jays starter Shawn Marcum, who had shut down Cleveland to that point, limiting the Indians to just a walk over the first three innings.

“He was pitching a great game,” said LaPorta, who became the first Cleveland player this season to hit homers in three consecutive games with his blast to the home-run porch in left field. “He just made a mistake and left it over the plate a little too much. I was just trying to hit it hard.

“It’s always nice to go out there and help the team win. It’s not a surprise. I don’t know what it is.”

What came as a bit of surprise was Shelley Duncan following LaPorta with a homer of his own. It was the first time the Indians hit consecutive homers this season.

Cleveland left the yard twice on the day, while Toronto went without a long ball for the fourth consecutive game. It is a season-long drought for the Jays, who lead the majors in home runs, but were kept in the park by Indians pitchers the entire series.

“It had a lot to do with our starters,” Acta said. “We have a lot of sinkerball pitchers and they kept the ball on the ground.”

Masterson’s victory accounted for the fifth straight win by an Indians starting pitcher, something the club hasn’t accomplished since 2005.

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.