Roster Update: In order to shore up a weakening bullpen, one of many issues on the current Indians team, Cleveland has promoted newly acquired reliever Ryan Webb. Further information about his acquisition can be found here. To make room on both the 25 and 40 man roster, Jerry Sands was designated for assignment.
Player of the Game
It was a dogfight for the award tonight, but with a solo shot in the eighth inning, Roberto Perez just beat out Jason Kipnis for the honor. Both were deserving, but Perez just slightly more so as he reached base in every at bat including a single, walk, double and home run. Two runs scored between his double and home run and he scored three times himself as the rest of the offense was active as well. His final POG score of 7.11 was the second best by an Indians hitter this year.
Feathers Up
A close second for the Player of the Game, Kipnis had his best game of the year and the third best game by an Indians hitter all season. It was his three run home run, scoring Michael Bourn and Perez, that gave the Indians the initial lead in the third and he added another RBI later on.
In a rare comeback, the Indians put three on the board in the bottom of the sixth to take back the lead and save Danny Salazar the win. With one out, Lonnie Chisenhall doubled to the wall in center, followed by a hustling double from Perez to score him. Michael Bourn continued the trend with a double of his own scoring Perez, then went to third on a wild pitch. Still with one out, Jason Kipnis dribbled a ball down the first base line to bring home Bourn, increasing the score to 6-4.
Feathers Down
As can often happen when five members of the starting lineup are batting over .310 to come into the game, the Royals offense got started early today. Alcides Escobar and Mike Moustakas hit solid singles to start off the game with a Lorenzo Cain ground out moving them to second and third. After another out was recorded, Kendrys Morales brought home both base runners with a single to center, giving the Royals the early 2-0 lead.
Each time he pitches, Danny Salazar improves upon previous performances and does something special to prove why he is so highly regarded. Today, he featured his curve ball more often and struck out seven batters in six innings including four consecutive scoreless innings between the first and the sixth. Unfortunately, he still makes his mistakes and tonight’s biggest was with a runner on first and Eric Hosmer at the plate. In the sixth, Lorenzo Cain singled before Hosmer took a 2-1 fastball that went straight down the middle out of the ballpark. The Indians would eventually come back, but that hit gave the Royals a 4-3 lead.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 7 – Kansas City Royals 5
On Deck: After two embarrassing series against Detroit and Kansas City, the Indians will take on a team from outside of the Central. The Toronto Blue Jays will come to Cleveland for the next four games including one tomorrow night at 7:05 PM. Two left handers, T.J. House and Daniel Norris will face off in the opener.
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