Chicago White Sox: 1
Cleveland Indians: 2
Short and Sweet
Quickly moving beyond the pageantry of the home opener and the three game sweep loss to Arizona, the Tribe got on the board early and Carlos Carrasco kept it that way. The Indians starter wouldn’t allow two base runners in the same inning until the 5th, when a Todd Frazier home run tied the game at one. James Shields matched him for Chicago, allowing just two hits and one run in 5.1 innings.
The bullpens would take over where their starters lead off and the game went into the 9th with the game still tied. While the Indians had scoring chances in sixth, seventh and eighth and the White Sox had a good chance in the top of the 8th, two bases loaded, inning ending Edwin Encarnacion double plays and a great diving catch by Yandy Diaz kept any runs from crossing the plate.
After Andrew Miller, Cody Allen, Boone Logan and Bryan Shaw shut down the Sox, Francisco Lindor came through with a two out tenth inning walk, then scored on Michael Brantley‘s opposite field RBI single.
Tribe Top Three
3. Francisco Lindor – SS – 30% of vote
As has been the case this entire season, Lindor is the spark plug that gets the Indians started. His home run in the first was the Tribe’s only run until he got on base again in the 10th and scored from first on a double. In between, he had another hit and another walk in addition to an ill-timed sacrifice bunt.
2. Michael Brantley – LF – 33% of vote
While Lindor did all the rough work, it was the returning Brantley who was the home opener hero. He went 0 for 2 to start the game, then walked twice before finally coming through in the 10th with the RBI double that won the game.
1. Carlos Carrasco – SP – 35% of vote
The first time through the rotation, Carrasco was the only Indians starter to have even a decent appearance. He improved upon that this time around by allowing just a single run on four hits and no walks. Carrasco was dynamite down in the zone and beyond Frazier’s solo home run, the Sox had a hard time barrelling up any of his offerings.
Honorable Mention
Yandy Diaz’s incredible diving play saved the game in the 8th.
Cody Allen threw a perfect inning in the 9th with 3 K’s.
Abraham Almonte hit a double and walked.
Tribe Time Tomorrow: The Indians and White Sox will come back for game two of three at Progressive Field tomorrow at 6:10 PM in Cleveland. Danny Salazar will make his second start of 2017 going against left hander Derek Holland.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
