Player of the Game
The Indians couldn’t get anything together against Carlos Rodon today, but in the ninth they had a little life when Yan Gomes doubled and Chris Johnson brought him home with a home run to very deep center field. For this, Johnson wins his first Player of the Game with the Indians.
Feathers Up
Considering how well he pitched in the first three innings, it’s incredible that Carlos Carrasco was only able to go five. In those first three, he struck out six batters and didn’t allow a base runner, but after he allowed one run in the fourth and two runs in the fifth, he didn’t look nearly as sharp. In the end, those were his only runs allowed and one was unearned and another should have been. He struck out nine total and was removed after two batters in the sixth after walking his second batter of the game.
Trevor Bauer made his debut in the Indians bullpen tonight and was generally decent. He struck out his first two batters faced then gave up a double to Jose Abreu. Not losing his cool, he was aided by a terrific pick by Chris Johnson at third base to end the inning without issue.
The Columbus Clippers won the Governers’ Cup tonight and are the International League champions for the third time in the past six years. They won the series 3 games to 2 thanks largely to Jesus Aguilar, who reached base three times tonight and scored two of the Clippers three runs. Mike Clevinger pitched his second straight game of 7.2 shut out innings (only his second game in AAA and both in the play-offs) to earn the win. They will play the winner of the Pacific Coast League in El Paso in a one game championship on Tuesday to determine the top AAA club in all of baseball.
Feathers Down
Francisco Lindor has been one of the best defensive short stops in baseball this year (already fourth in the AL in defensive runs saved), but it was his fourth inning error that gave the White Sox their first run of the game and another mistake on a double play that gave them their third in the fifth. Both plays looked rushed and had Lindor simply slowed down and set himself before throwing, he probably would have converted both double plays.
Carlos Rodon continued his decimation of the Indians lineup tonight, pitching 7.2 one run innings and allowing just six hits. He only struck out four, but he did a great job focusing on the bottom half of the strike zone and inducing ground balls. He didn’t give up many free base runners either as he walked just one (as always it was Carlos Santana) and the White Sox committed no errors.
Possibly the most boneheaded mistake of the season Abraham Almonte was picked off first to end the game right after the Indians had pulled to within one. Jason Kipnis was up and, while still a long shot to win, Almonte removed all doubt before he even saw a pitch.
The Indians announced earlier that they will make up the rain out with the Tigers on October 5th if needed, but tonight’s loss makes that need look much less likely. To get to 85 wins, which is a conservative estimate of what will be needed, the Indians would need to win 12 of their next 14. If they do that, they won’t have to worry about the Twins at least as seven of those games come against their AL Central rival.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 3 – Chicago White Sox 4
Scoreboard Watch: After being rained out yesterday, the Angels swept the Twins in a double header today. Combined with their win in the opener of the four game set, this has allowed them to take over second place in the race for the second Wild Card by a game. Houston was winning 8-6 in the eighth inning of a back and forth affair with the Athletics when the Indians closed.
On Deck: The Indians will look for a sweep in their three game series with Chicago tomorrow afternoon at 1:10 PM in Cleveland. The two longest tenured pitchers with both teams will face off as John Danks (2007) and Josh Tomlin (2010) go head to head.
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