Roster Update: There were multiple moves described in detail earlier here. In short, T.J. House was recalled for Zach McAllister, who was placed on the DL. Mark Lowe was also brought up from AAA with Kyle Crockett going down and Nyjer Morgan getting moved to the 60 Day DL to make room on the 40 man roster.
Player of the Game
There was plenty of offense in this game and some very good relief pitching, but the most important player of the game came through twice, despite only getting three at bats. Lonnie Chisenhall pinch hit for Ryan Raburn in the eighth and tied the game up with a solo home run to right. That tie lasted until the 13th, when Chisenhall got involved again, attempting a sacrifice bunt, but getting a single after the ball flew over Chris Davis’ head at first. Chisenhall then went on to score the deciding run on a Carlos Santana double.
Feathers Up
The Indians continued hitting against the Orioles, putting across three runs in the first three innings. In the second, Ryan Raburn hit his first home run of the season to give the Tribe a 1-0 lead, then they added on in the third. With two outs, Michael Bourn hit had a check swing roller stay fair down the third base line for an infield single after which, Michael Brantley brought him home with a triple down the right field line. Brantley scored during Raburn’s next at bat on a wild pitch that just got behind the catcher, Steve Clevenger.
Justin Masterson really stepped up for the Indians, telling Terry Francona that he would pitch today as soon as Josh Tomlin came into the game last night. Despite going on three days rest, he threw a very impressive 5.2 innings on three days rest. Masterson only struck out two, but induced three double plays, including a very important one in the fifth. The fifth inning was the first time the Orioles had more than one base runner in an inning after Masterson walked one and hit two more. With the bases loaded, David Lough hit a grounder back to Masterson, who threw to home for the first out after which, Yan Gomes threw to first for the second.
A couple unturned double plays lead to two Indians runs in the seventh inning. After Gomes singled, Carlos Santana hit a ball up the middle that looked like a double play, but deflected off Ryan Flahery’s glove, allowing Gomes to go to third. David Murphy then hit a ball to second that scored Gomes and would have been a double play as well, but Flaherty misplayed it again and barely got Murphy at first. Mike Aviles singled Santana in from second to tie the game at five. After a Michael Bourn single, Asdrubal Cabrera hit a fly ball deep to left, but was robbed of a three run home run by David Lough.
Lonnie Chisenhall didn’t have a home run until yesterday afternoon, but now has two in as many games as he tied the game for the Tribe as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning. Most impressively, the solo shot came in a seven pitch at bat with a count of 2-2 against the best reliever in the American League. Side-armer Darren O’Day came into the game with a 0.52 ERA and left with a 1.00 ERA after the game tying home run.
It was Carlos Santana who ultimately came through with the tie breaking hit in the 13th inning, the same inning the Indians won yesterday with a walk off balk. Michael Brantley, Lonnie Chisenhall and Nick Swisher all reached base safely to load the bases with one out prior to Yan Gomes at bat. Gomes flew out to right and Brantley bluffed running home, but stayed at third. Santana then brought both Brantley and Chisenhall in to score on a double that just stayed fair down the left field line.
Feathers Down
Masterson was left in too long as he was forced to throw the sixth as well and things fell apart then. Masterson walked another batter and gave up a double and two singles before a Ryan Flaherty three run home run gave the Orioles the lead. Masterson was obviously out of gas and his wildness in both the fifth and sixth showed. His length was necessary, however, due to the depleted Indians bullpen. In the end, he allowed five runs on eight hits in 5.2 innings and deserves credit for his gutsy performance.
This game was absolutely terrible defensively, despite the fact that the first error didn’t occur until the seventh inning. Masterson’s failures in the sixth inning began when Michael Bourn and David Murphy let a ball drop between them for a double. Flaherty’s misplays have already been mentioned for the Orioles side, but the Indians didn’t leave it at that. In the seventh, Asdrubal Cabrera had the ball flip out his glove before a throw to first for an error immediately before Carlos Santana threw a possible double play ball into right field for a two base error. Great pitching by Mark Lowe and Marc Rzepczynski kept the damage to a minimum, but the inning didn’t end before Nelson Cruz hit a sacrifice fly to give Baltimore the lead, 6-5.
The last thing the Indians needed was another extra inning game, but they got one anyway. Terry Francona used the two pitchers that didn’t throw yesterday, Cody Allen and Mark Lowe for 2.2 innings, but still had to use the questionable John Axford in the tenth. After using nine pitchers yesterday, the Indians used another seven tonight, although getting the win was worth it. Josh Outman pitched two innings to get the well earned win and Scott Atchison recorded his first save as an Indian.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 8 – Baltimore Orioles 7
On Deck: Tomorrow night at 7:05 PM, T.J. House will make his Major League debut as a starter as he takes on Bud Norris and the Orioles in the second game of a four game series.
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