Roster Update: The Indians sent Nick Hagadone down to Triple-A Columbus yesterday, leaving an empty spot on the 25-man roster. To fill that spot, they called up reliever Scott Barnes. Hagadone was placed on the Minor League disqualified list because of a self-inflicted injury to his pitching hand. He reportedly punched something in the stadium after Friday’s game resulting in the hand injury that will sideline him for quite some time.
Player of the Game
Zach McAllister had an outstanding outing today. He pitched 5.2 innings and did not allow any earned runs. He gave up 4 hits and walked 3. He struck out 8 Tampa Bay batters and at one point had recorded 5 consecutive strike outs. He did not allow any hits until the 5th inning. His score of 5.86 wins him his 1st PoG of the season. Close behind was Casey Kotchman with a score of 5.44.
Feathers Up
The Indians took advantage of errors and a hit batter early in the game. Travis Hafner was hit by a pitch in the 2nd inning and came around to score the Tribe’s first run. Johnny Damon led off the 3rd inning with a triple and quickly scored after a James Shields throwing error during a failed pick off attempt. The Indians scored another run in the 3rd inning after a fielding error allowed Travis Hafner to reach safely and Jason Kipnis to score.
Several players had multiple hits in today’s game. Shin-Soo Choo, Jason Kipnis, and Johnny Damon each had 2-hit games and Michael Brantley and Casey Kotchman added 3 hits each.
The bullpen was dominating once again. Joe Smith and Tony Sipp each pitch flawlessly today. Should-be All Star, Vinnie Pestano, came into the game for the 8th inning and struck out 3. He now leads the Majors with 23 holds.
Hit Streak Update: Going into the All Star Break, Shin-Soo Choo has a 7 game hit streak and Michael Brantley has a 10 game streak.
Feathers Down
Asdrubal Cabrera had a bad game offensively, but that does not even compare to his defensive miscues in the 6th inning. Zach McAllister was charged with an infield single when Carlos Pena reached safely. This hit could have been avoided if Asdrubal Cabrera did not misjudge the amount of time he had to throw to 1st base. With one out in the inning, Jason Kipnis fed a ball to Cabrera at 2nd for a fielder’s choice, but Cabrera dropped the ball. Zach McAllister went on to give up a few doubles in the inning, leading to 4 Tampa Bay runs, all of which were unearned.
Chris Perez failed to record his 25th save after blowing his 1st save since opening day. Perez struck out the first batter he faced in the inning, then gave up a home run, triple, and 2 singles, allowing 3 runs in the 9th inning. This was his worst game of the year.
Play of the Game
Chris Perez gave up an RBI triple to Carlos Pena in the 9th, which tied the game for the Rays.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 6 – Tampa Bay Rays 7
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