Roster Update: Trevor Bauer was sent down immediately after his start on Wednesday, just like he was the first time as the Indians are trying to limit his number of days on the Major League roster so they will have him under team control longer. In his place, Ezequiel Carrera was claimed off waivers from the Phillies who were just in town. He will give the Indians more outfield depth with Michael Bourn on the DL and Nick Swisher day-to-day.
Player of the Game
Jason Kipnis won his second Player of the Game of the season with his highest score of the year (6.06). Kipnis singled and tripled to knock in four runs. His single was a suicide squeeze that scored a run, while his fielder's choice in the eighth tied the game. Mark Reynolds (2 run HR) and Drew Stubbs (4-5 with game winning single) also had games of note.
Feathers Up
The bottom of the Tribe line-up set the table for the Indians first two runs as Yan Gomes and Drew Stubbs each singled. Jason Kipnis followed with his first triple of the season on a strong hit to deep center field. Kipnis' sixth RBI on the season tied the game at two for the Indians. Gomes, Mike Aviles and Stubbs combined to score five runs with both Stubbs and Aviles reaching base four times each.
The Indians showed some comeback ability again tonight, coming back to tie the game in the third, take the lead in the fifth and tie it again in the eighth. The Indians won the game in the 10th with a walk off single (would be double) by Stubbs.
Hit Streak Updates: Santana: 7, Brantley: 5, Santana: 5. Two streaks of note ended tonight including Asdrubal Cabrera's 10 game streak and Ryan Raburn's 5 gamer.
With the win, the Indians move a half game ahead of the Twins in the central division standings and get back to .500 for the first time April 13th.
Feathers Down
Usually when a pitcher has control problems, it means he can't throw strikes, but today Justin Masterson had issues throwing strikes in the wrong places. In the first Masterson gave up four hits (two for extra bases) all of which came off bad fast balls that had too much of the plate. Luckily for Masterson, the hits only added up to two Twins runs thanks to a first inning double play.
With a left-hander up to bat in the 7th inning, Terry Francona brought in Cody Allen instead of the left handed match-up man (Rich Hill) or the 7th inning set up man (Joe Smith). Allen gave up a two run home run to give up the lead. The move was strange considering the other available pitchers (especially with an off day yesterday). Allen is a great reliever for his age, but he shouldn't have been placed in that position.
The severity of Nick Swisher's injury may have been understated as, rather than put Swisher at first for an inning, the Indians decided to forgo the use of the DH for the second time this year. This time, Francona pulled Yan Gomes for Jason Giambi and needed to take Mary Reynolds out of the DH spot to play first.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 7 – Minnesota Twins 6
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