Player of the Game
Corey Kluber certainly had dominating stuff tonight as well as near perfect command as he needed just 87 pitches to go eight innings. He walked one and struck out seven, allowing just three hits, all in the sixth. Those three hits did lead to two runs and it was because of this that he was removed from the game for a pinch hitter in the top of the ninth, but the Indians got their ace the lead so he was able to win his eighth game of the season.
Feathers Up
Terry Francona‘s plans worked out perfectly in the first, whether he drew it up that way (unlikely) or not. While Carlos Santana didn’t reach base, Jason Kipnis, Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez all singled in their first at bats against Matt Wisler. The first run scored on Ramirez’s single, then when he tried to steal second, a poor throw allowed Francisco Lindor to go home. The official scorer called it a delayed double steal, but either way, it was a second run for the Tribe.
With two on and one out in the top of the ninth with the game still tied, Santana came through with a single through the right side to score Tyler Naquin. Santana moved to second on a wild pitch that A.J. Pierzynski was unable to pick up in time, then Rajai Davis, pinch running for Juan Uribe, scored on an error by short stop Erick Aybar. Santana then scored on Ramirez’s second RBI single of the game.
Milestone Alert: Kluber’s eighth win of the season was the 48th of his career, moving him into 50th in Indians history. He is now tied with Justin Masterson and the Hall of Fame circler, Bert Blyleven.
After winning two of the three games against Chicago by a score of 3-2, there hasn’t really been a close game on this current stretch until tonight. Despite the drama, the Indians pulled out the win, pushing their streak to 11, the longest winning streak since 1982. This pushes their record to 46-30 and, if the Royals lose tonight, could push their lead in the AL Central to six games.
Feathers Down
Corey Kluber took a no hitter into the sixth inning, but an infield single and two line drives quickly erased that and his shut out, scoring two runs for Atlanta. On the first hit, it appeared that Lindor would make another terrific play to retire Erick Aybar, but the throw took Santana off the base. Pitching from the stretch for the first time since the first, Emilio Bonifacio singled, both runners moved up on a sacrifice bunt and Ender Incierte brought them home with a two out hit. Incierte was thrown out trying to get to second to end the inning.
At the time, it seemed unimportant because they had a two run lead and Kluber was cruising, but the Indians had other opportunities to score after the first that they didn’t take advantage of. The best of these was in the third, when Ramirez walked and stole second, then moved to third on a Lonnie Chisenhall single. After two were out, Chisenhall stole second and Naquin walked, but Juan Uribe lined out to end the inning. After this, two double plays helped delay innings later in the game.
Francona made an extremely questionable move tonight in the bottom in the eighth after the first two batters of the inning walked. With the pitcher coming to bat, he had initially sent out Mike Napoli to pinch hit, but recalled him for Michael Martinez specifically so he could sacrifice bunt. After getting down 0-2 trying to bunt, he struck out looking, ending Kluber’s chance at a complete game without providing anything Kluber couldn’t have done himself (he had a sacrifice bunt in his first at bat).
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 5 – Atlanta Braves 3
On Deck: The Indians will look for their fourth sweep in a row and 12th straight game as they send Danny Salazar to the mound in the final game of this three game set in Atlanta. The game will begin at 7:10 PM.
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