Roster Moves: The Indians have made things official as Scott Kazmir was placed on the 15 day DL today with a right ribcage sprain. In his place, Trevor Bauer will make the Indians fifth start, but will probably not stay on the team as Carlos Carrasco will end his suspension Sunday.
Player of the Game
Carlos Santana took the Indians first Player of the Game for a position player in 2013 as he did all he could to win the game. He did it with power, hitting his second double and first home run of the season today. He also knocked in and scored two runs each for a final POG score of 5.95. On the other end of the spectrum, Brett Myers had the lowest score of the year with a total of -9.25.
Feathers Up
The Indians accomplished something tonight that rarely occured under Manny Acta and almost never under Eric Wedge. They have used the same lineup in each of the first three games. While players will eventually need time off, they don't need it the first week of the season, so Terry Francona has put out his best possible offense every day.
After years of a veritable 'power outage', the Indians finally have some pop from the right side of the plate. Mark Reynolds hit his second home run of the year tonight (his first was the game winner last night) following Carlos Santana who had one of his own. The Indians have home runs in each game so far this season.
After two low scoring games, the Indians proved they can mash when they need to, coming from behind multiple times tonight to tie the game at three, then later at six. Santana was a big part of both comebacks, knocking in runs in both the fourth and sixth innings.
Feathers Down
Brett Myers looked terrible today, especially after the two quality starts by the Indians to start the season. Three batters into the game, Myers gave up a two run home run to Jose Bautista, giving him more runs allowed than any other pitcher to this point. He later gave up another two home runs, allowing a total of six runs in just five innings. The Indians knew his velocity would be down coming into the season, but without a solid fastball, there is nothing to keep opposing batters from feasting on his breaking stuff. It is only one start, but unless he can make some changes, Bauer may find a more permanent spot in the Indians rotation soon.
Going right along with the Indians ability to come back, they had to give up runs in the first place to make it all possible. The Blue Jays were slamming the ball all over the second deck past the outfield wall, ending with five home runs, two hit by J.P. Arencibia alone. His second home run came off Myers in the sixth inning, who was left in despite giving up three runs the prior inning and six runs total.
The Indians lost their first game of the season and despite giving up five home runs, lost the game because of a few poor plays on defense. Poor relief pitching also came into play, as both Cody Allen and Matt Albers had issues with command.
Play of the Game
With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Mark Reynolds fielded a ball that should have ended the inning. Instead, he threw wide of Cody Allen, who was covering, and the ball got away, allowing the runner to score from third. The unearned run was the final scored that inning, pushing the Toronto lead to three. The error was given to Reynolds, but Allen should have at least caught it as it glanced off his glove.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 8 – Toronto Blue Jays 10
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