Roster Update: Prior to today’s game the Indians made a flurry of moves to cover a few different ways the Tigers have hurt the team both physically and emotionally. The most serious move was the placement of Yan Gomes on the 15 day disabled list. Gomes was injured when Rajai Davis slid in to home plate in yeserday’s game and is officially out with a knee sprain. He got an MRI this morning that revealed a sprained MCL and he is now expected to miss between six and eight weeks (May 24th through June 7th).
He will be replaced on the 25 man roster by Shaun Marcum, helping the other place the Tigers hurt the Indians, in the bullpen. In addition, Kyle Crockett, essentially the only man with options left (Nick Hagadone, Marc Rzepczynski and Anthony Swarzak are all out while the rest of the bullpen is needed still), has been sent to AAA in exchange for Austin Adams, the man who didn’t pitch the first time he was with the team.
To make room for Marcum on the 40 man roster, Charles Brewer was released from his contract. With no back-up catcher now (Carlos Santana will be an emergency catcher), expect another move to come tomorrow both on the 25 and 40 man rosters as neither Brett Hayes or Adam Moore are on the 40 man as of yet. A move of Gomes to the 60 Day DL could allow for that as could the release of another player, although there are none left that the Indians would let go of lightly.
Player of the Game
For the second straight game, the Indians had an unlikely hero as it was Ryan Raburn today who provided the majority of the Indians offensive performance. As the DH, Raburn came through twice in the clutch, first with an RBI single in the third, then with an RBI double and run scored in the eighth. Batting behind Brandon Moss and Carlos Santana had its advantages as the pair combined to reach base five times and score three runs. Raburn’s 3.98 Player of the Game score just beat out Shaun Marcum, who had a pretty impressive Indians debut. With a score of -9.41, T.J. House has set a new low water mark for the season.
Feathers Up
Austin Adams has been a top prospect for the Indians ever since 2010 when he pitched 112 innings with a 2.49 ERA, mostly at advanced the A level, but he was largely a disappointment last season when he allowed a 9.00 ERA in seven innings in his first MLB season. Today, he pitched for the first time in 2015 and was dominant in a fashion that has been expected for years. He was brought into the game with two on and one out in the fourth and ended the inning with just five pitches. The next inning he allowed a walk, but otherwise made short work of the Tigers, doing something only Anthony Swarzak and Scott Atchison had previously been able to do this series; pitch a full inning in relief without allowing a run. Adams did ultimately allow a home run to Miguel Cabrera, but no Indians pitcher has been successful in control the Tiger’s biggest slugger this series. Adams finished the game with 2.2 innings, one walk, one run, one strike out and two hits allowed.
After T.J. House faltered, it was up to the two call-ups to limit the damage and both Adams and Shaun Marcum did an admirable job. Like Adams, Marcum gave up a single solo home run (his to J.D. Martinez), but acting as a long reliever, finished the final five innings. He allowed just the single run in the ninth inning and otherwise struck out four and walked just one batter without intent.
Feathers Down
After a depressing morning, things got out of hand very early on for T.J. House and the Tribe. Before an out was recorded, House walked a batter and gave up a hit before a Miguel Cabrera home run to left. When House hit the next batter, Victor Martinez, with an 0-2 pitch warnings were issued to both teams. House calmed down to strike out the next two, but for the third game in a row, the Indians were in an early hole against Detroit.
Cabrera has been incredible all season, but it wasn’t until today that he found his power stroke. In four at bats he hit his first two home runs of the year, his second double of the season and a single. This outing raised his season batting average to an unbelievable .520 with an 11/14 mark and 6 RBI for the series. His 11 hits in the series were the most for a player batting against the Tribe since 1914. Most likely, the biggest positive the Indians have to look forward to is that he won’t be playing first base for the White Sox in the upcoming series.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 5 – Detroit Tigers 8
On Deck: The Indians are off on Monday, giving them time to lick their wounds and re-evaluate. With luck, Tuesday will mark the return of Michael Brantley to the lineup as Carlos Carrasco takes on Jose Quintana of the White Sox at 7:05 PM in Cleveland.
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