Player of the Game
As Tribe fans have grown accustomed to, Francisco Lindor put on an all-around show on Tuesday night in Cleveland. He was a perfect 3-3 with a double at the plate, scored a run, and even collected an RBI on a bases-loaded walk in the 4th inning. Later in the game, he flashed his elite glove by nabbing Nori Aoki on a nice backhand stop and off-balance throw.
Feathers Up
With the offense only managing three runs (despite collecting ten hits and five walks), it was only due to great pitching that the Indians were able to pull-off the win. Carlos Carrasco was excellent, striking out five in 6.1 innings of work, while allowing only one run on four hits. Meanwhile, the bullpen wasn’t superb, but they got the job done. Surely to some fans dismay, Terry Francona called on Bryan Shaw to protect a two-run lead in the eighth inning. Though giving up a one-out double to Robinson Cano, Shaw retired Nelson Cruz on a fly ball and got Kyle Seager to strike out, ending the inning without any damage. While not ideal, based on his last few outings, a Shaw appearance with no runs allowed should be celebrated.
From a position player perspective, the Mike Napoli and Marlon Byrd continued to make the Tribe Front Office look smart for signing both players. Napoli went 1-3 with an RBI double and a walk, along with making several strong defensive plays. Meanwhile, Byrd continued his strong play of late, going 2-4 and scoring a run. The veteran outfielder is now 6-14 in his past four games, including a home run and two walks.
Milestone Alert: Securing his second hold of the season, Shaw moved past Tony Sipp on the Indians all-time holds leader boards and is now alone in sixth place with 61.
Feathers Down
From a broad perspective, it was a disappointing night for the Indians’ offense. Repeatedly, they put themselves in a position to put the game out of reach, but failed to do so. Perhaps the biggest let-down was Collin Cowgill‘s inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the second inning. Cowgill went 0-3 with a walk on the day, dropping his average to .083. Luckily, Cowgill shouldn’t be around going forward, with Lonnie Chisenhall returning to Cleveland from the disabled list on Wednesday. Also, after a strong initial start to the season Carlos Santana continued to struggle with the bat Tuesday, going 0-4 and dropping his average to .154.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 3 – Seattle Mariners 2
On Deck:
Wednesday has the makings of a great pitchers match-up, as Danny Salazar (2-0, 0.79 ERA) will face Taijuan Walker (0-0, 2.25 ERA). Chisenhall is scheduled to be activated off the DL for Wednesday’s game, with Collin Cowgill expected to be optioned to Columbus to make room. With Chisenhall making two starts in center field in Akron, it will be interesting to see if the third baseman-turned-outfielder will see time in center with Cleveland.
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