Player of the Game
One of the few offensive bright spots for the Indians on Friday night was Marlon Byrd, whose strong play continues to make his $1 million contract a steal. On the evening, Byrd went a perfect 4-4, including a home run and a double. Coming into the Monday, Byrd held a solid .708 OPS overall, including a .732 OPS against left-handers.
Feathers Up
Outside from Byrd’s big night, the only other major highlight for the Indians was Ryan Merritt making his major league debut. Merritt had been on the roster for a week without making a pitching appearance, so entering the game alone was a welcome sight. However, the southpaw looked great, pitching 4.1 scoreless innings, while only allowing one hit and striking out two batters.
Feathers Down
Without question, Josh Tomlin had his worst start of the season on Monday night. Tomlin’s line on the night was 3.2 IP, 9 H, 8 R (4 ER), 1 K. Perhaps part of Tomlin’s struggles were due to misfortune: after giving up three runs in the first two innings, he nearly got out of thee third inning without any additional damage. However, after home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez controversially ruled that Mitch Mooreland didn’t stray from the baseline after Josh Tomlin hit him in the back with a throw to first base, two more runs scored, and the Tribe went down 5-0. Terry Francona protested the call, and ended up earning his first ejection of the year. With Tomlin’s loss, he lost two undefeated streaks – he was 7-0 in 2016, and dating back to 2015, Tomlin was 12-0 after a Tribe loss.
Though Juan Uribe has been regarded as a solid defensive third basemen this season, he had more than his fair share of issues on Monday. He committed two errors on one play in the 4th, when he misplayed a backhand ground ball hit by Adrian Beltre, then proceeded to lob the ball high in the air back to Josh Tomlin, who lost it in the sun. Later, Uribe forced Mike Napoli off the bag with a poor throw that allowed Elvis Andrus to reach base.
Yan Gomes continued his recent heavy struggles, going 0-4, including a strikeout and double-play groundout. In his first two at bats he put decent swings on the ball, but lined out to right field both times. With his hitless game, his season batting average dipped to .175. Should his anemic offensive output continue, it will be interesting to see how the Indians handle Gomes.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 2 – Texas Rangers 9
On Deck:
The Indians will have a chance to even up the three game series Tuesday night at 6:10 pm. The Tribe will start Corey Kluber (4-5, 3.78 ERA) who will face Colby Lewis (4-0, 3.78 ERA).
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