Roster Update: As expected, Nick Swisher returned from his baby and was in the starting lineup tonight. Cord Phelps was sent back down after getting just a single at bat during his absence.
Player of the Game
With 50% of the Indians hits, Michael Brantley wins his 2nd POG in 3 days. Brantley singled, doubled, and stole a base.
Feathers Up
Indians base runners took advantage of the rain and poor throwing arm of Jarrod Saltalamacchia. They stole 3 total bases, one each by Mark Reynolds, Michael Brantley, and Jason Kipnis.
Feathers Down
At some point, the Jason Giambi experiment is going to have to end. Coming into the game, Giambi hadn't had a hit in 13 days and was on a 0/20 streak. No one expected much out of Giambi outside of a batting practice show and the occasional pinch hit, but with Lonnie Chisenhall in the minors (and Michael Bourn on the DL before that), he has been thrust into a starting job. Now that the Indians are firmly entrenched in the early season play-off hunt, they can't have 250 pound holes in the middle of their lineup. The Indians have plenty of internal options that would produce better than Giambi by starting Mike Aviles or Yan Gomes and bringing up one of a plethora (Ezequiel Carrera [OF], Tim Fedroff [OF] and Chun Chen [C, 1B] are some of the best) of options from AAA.
After last night's offensive performance, Tribe bats were silenced tonight. Indians batters managed to score one run on just 4 measly hits.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 1 – Boston Red Sox 8
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