Player of the Game
Danny Salazar was mostly spectacular through 6.2 innings as he gave up just two runs on six hits and struck out eight batters. He especially stepped it up to pick up his defense after Jose Abreu hit a single in the sixth inning and then advanced to third on a fielding error by left fielder Ryan Raburn. Salazar then struck out Adam LaRoche and Avisail Garcia and got Alexei Ramirez to fly out to end the inning without giving up a run. He did give up a home run in the top of the third inning to Carlos Sanchez. Despite this performance, his effort was basically wasted in yet another loss. When he left the game, Salazar had only given up one run, but a single by Melky Cabrera off Zach McAllister scored Sanchez to make it 2-0. McAllister got out of the rest of the inning without giving up any additional runs.
Feathers Up
Indians pitchers did a pretty nice job overall giving up just two runs and 12 strikeouts in a performance that would allow most teams to win the game. In addition to Salazar, the bullpen of McAllister, Marc Rzepczynski and Bryan Shaw combined to pitch 2.1 innings of scoreless baseball to at least give the Tribe a chance with just a little bit of offense win the game. Alas, that wasn’t the case.
Giovanny Urshela made it interesting in the bottom of the ninth when he lead off with a triple. He eventually scored with one out after David Murphy grounded out to earn an RBI single. However, Brandon Moss harmlessly flied out to end the game.
Feathers Down
Raburn looked like he simply jogged back toward the fence after he made an error on a one-hop single that bounced off him and rolled toward the outfield fence. The mistake allowed Abreu to get all the way to third, but he was saved from becoming a game goat with Salazar’s brilliant finish to the inning. Raburn, who served as the Indians cleanup hitter, also went 0-for-3 with three Ks, so overall it was a pretty bad day at the ballpark for him.
The Indians had the makings of a rally in the bottom of the seventh when Carlos Santana singled with one out. Jesus Aguilar then struck out before Brandon Moss singled to put runners on first and third with two outs. But, as has been the case for much of the season, a strikeout ended the potential rally when Roberto Perez went down swinging for the third out.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 1 – Chicago White Sox 2
On Deck: The Tribe opens a three-game series at 7:10 p.m. July 27th in Cleveland against Kansas City. Cody Anderson (2-1, 1.91 ERA) looks to bounce back after his first rough start on July 22 when he gave up 10 hits and four runs in 2.2 innings against Milwaukee. The Royals counter with righty Edison Volquez (9-5, 3.15 ERA). The three-game set with the Royals will conclude a seven-game home stand.
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