Player of the Game
Cord Phelps grabbed another group of firsts today with his first double, home run, run scored, walk off hit and ‘Player of the Game’. Phelps ended the game with a three run homerun to right field in the 11th inning off Pirates pitcher Tim Wood. Although he did have an error, Cord went 2-5 during the game with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI. His final ‘POG’ score was 6.68.
Feathers Up
Asdrubal Cabrera already leads the league in Web Gems (check the right column for standings) and he most certainly added on to that lead with a barehanded grab and throw in the 10th inning (video).
Travis Hafner has avoided a post DL slump by getting on base in 4 of his first 8 at bats. Pronk is a huge part of the Indians offense, so it was pivotal that he be able to come in playing strong. By stepping into the clean-up spot in the lineup, he moves everyone else down one place, making them all slightly better hitters for their spot in the order.
The Indians have dominated in their first two series of Interleague play so far going 6 and 0 against the Reds and Pirates. They will look to continue this play against the Rockies at home in the next series.
Feathers Down
Justin Masterson was unable to get a win, yet again, despite only giving up 2 runs. Masterson hasn’t gotten a win since May, when he went 5-0 for the month, even though he only allowed more than 2 earned runs 3 times. The big problem is that the Tribe offense has only scored more than 2 runs in 3 of those starts.
The Indians were third in the league in offensive strikeouts going into the game and did nothing to change that today. Grady Sizemore struck out 4 times on his own and the team added 3 more. Manager Manny Acta stated before the game that one of the reasons Jon Nunnally was fired and Bruce Fields brought in was because the team strikes out too much.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 5 – Pittsburgh Pirates 2
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