Player of the Game
Michael Bourn was the only Indian with two hits in tonight's game and he knocked in the Tribe's first run as well. Bourn also made a great diving play in center field and won tonight's Player of the Game with a final score of 1.83
Feathers Up
Zach McAllister continues to be the Indians most consistant pitcher as he threw five innings and allowed three or less runs for the 10th time this year (in ten starts). It was, however, possibly his worst start during that span.
Moving to left field has been just about the best thing to happen to Michael Brantley this year. He went from a good glove with a terrible arm in center to being a great glove with an above average arm in left. Tonight, he through out his fifth base runner of the season, best among AL left fielders.This matches his career high in assists just two months into the season. He is also yet to make an error in 2013.
Feathers Down
A questionable call that went the Indians way wasn't enough to get Zach McAllister out of trouble in the first inning. A phantom tag by Nick Swisher caught Brandon Phillips out for the first out of the inning, but a two out single by Xavier Paul was just what the Reds needed to start the game off with a 3-0 lead.
McAllister did two things tonight that he rarely does. First, he allowed three runs, something he has done just three times this year in 10 starts (he has yet to allow more than three). Second, he struck out six batters for just the third time this year. He seems to get much better results when he pitches for contact and gets ground balls than when he gets a lot of swing and misses.
Rich Hill faced a single batter and walked him for the second game in a row. It appears that Hill will be this years veteran that Burning River Baseball will take on until he is released. Despite their recent set-backs, the Indians bullpen is very good and there is no room for a left handed match-up man who walks people, especially with Nick Hagadone and Scott Barnes both on the roster. It would be nice to see either Fernando Nieve (who was brought up earlier this year, but not used, or Preston Guilmet introduced as members of the bullpen to see what they could do at the Major League level.
Some poor defense and bad luck hurt Bryan Shaw tonight, making his outing look far worse than it should have. It was still really bad, but he probably only deserved two of the four runs that were credited to him.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 2 – Cincinnati Reds 8
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