Player of the Game
Josh Tomlin takes the cake tonight, with a ‘Player of the Game’ score of 5.78 that should have been higher. Tomlin pitched into the 8th without allowing any runs, but had a win taken away from him and 2 runs added to his season total when Joe Smith imploded. Smith not only allowed both of Tomlin’s runners to score, but three of his own, earning him a blown save and the loss for a ‘POG’ score of -6.57.
Feathers Up
In some non game related news, Shin-Soo Choo will begin his rehab assignment tomorrow night with the Lake County Captains. As long as there are no set backs, he should return to the Tribe within a week. The Indians have to make a roster move tomorrow as Jack Hannahan’s time on paternity leave is up, so expect either Shelley Duncan or Ezequiel Carrera to be sent back to the minors. The best move would be to get rid of Jason Donald or Austin Kearns for Tuesday’s game and get rid of the other one to make room for Choo, but the Indians have been very reluctant to move players not named Buck, Duncan or Carrera.
How ’bout that Michael Brantley? Over his last 3 games (10 at bats) he has hit a true cycle, single, double, triple and home run. Take that for what it’s worth (not much).
Feathers Down
The Indians were only two innings away from going 4-3 on the road trip and being just 2 games behind Detroit with the Tigers coming into Cleveland next, but ended up going 3-4, 3 games behind Detroit. Now the Indians will have to sweep the Tigers to make any real progress in the division race.
Manny Acta did everything right tonight, but it still wasn’t enough. He started all his starters, had one of his most reliable pitchers starting and took him out when he started to look tired. He even matched up late with Joe Smith and Rafael Perez, who have been two of the premier relievers in the American League this year. This is a prime example how little the manager actually effects the game. He put all the pieces in place, they just didn’t do what they were supposed to do.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 3 – Texas Rangers 5
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