Player of the Game
It is rare for a relief pitcher to be the most important player in any individual game, but C.C. Lee was tonight. He came into a mess started by Josh Outman (more on that later) and struck out two of the three batters he faced. Lee now has five K’s in 6.1 innings after his scoreless outing tonight. His final POG score was 1.70, just 0.003 points ahead of Nick Swisher, who had two hits and knocked in the Indians only run.
Feathers Up
There are a few nice things about playing in San Francisco. There is the beautiful view down the right field line, all the fresh fish you could want and more triples anywhere West of Kansas City. Both the Giants and Indians scored the first runs off triples tonight as Hunter Pence hit an RBI three bagger that scored Angel Pagan in the first before Michael Bourn hit one in the third. Bourn then scored on a Nick Swisher single. Pablo Sandoval also hit an easy triple off the right field wall in the seventh, leading to the Giants fifth run.
The best face the best tonight as the pitcher who had walked the least batters in the Majors, Tim Hudson threw to Carlos Santana, the player with the second most walks in the American League. In two of his first three at bats, Santana won out, giving Hudson his first two walks on the season and the only walks in the game for Giants pitching. Santana has now walked twenty times on the season, behind just Jose Bautista in the AL. This is a good thing for him as he has batted just .133 to this point.
Feathers Down
Carlos Carrasco did what he does tonight, striking out six and allowing four runs in six innings. Unlike his two previous starts, Carrasco wasn’t perfect through the first three innings, giving up three runs during those early frames, however, he also wasn’t like his previous starts int he fact that he was actually able to pitch six innings. It is almost a negative that Carrasco ended the game so strong, retiring his last nine batters faced, as this may give the Indians enough confidence to keep him in the rotation another time through.
Josh Outman had his worst appearance as an Indian tonight, giving up a triple and a single on just two pitches before being removed. Coming into the game, he had allowed just a single run in the season, but it took just those two pitches to add another. He faced Pablo Sandoval, a switch hitter and Brandon Crawford, a left hander and was replaced by C.C. Lee, who retired the side.
Elliot Johnson had gone eleven games since his last appearance, but that didn’t make him relish the opportunity to get an at bat. Johnson pinch hit for Carlos Carrasco in the seventh inning and swung at the first pitch, grounding out weakly to second base to end the inning. Of course, it’s not like Carrasco did much better as he struck out in both of his at bats and remains hitless in his seven Major League at bats.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 1 – San Francisco Giants 5
Circling the Central: With the Indians in Pacific time, the rest of the division finished early and the Central Division is still as tight as ever. The Tigers beat the Twins to keep ahead, but every other team in the division still has 11 wins and despite the Indians loss, and the White Sox win against Tampa Bay, the Tribe and Chicago are just 2.5 games behind first, tied for fourth place.
On Deck: The Giants and Indians will play a little earlier this time, with Tim Lincecum and Zach McAllister going in San Francisco at 4:05 PM.
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