Roster Update: Desparation forced the Indians to finally bring Lonnie Chisenhall back despite the fact that he has been completely destroying AAA pitching for the past month. Matt Langwell was sent back to Columbus to make room for Lonnie, bringing the Indians bullpen down to the standard seven pitchers.
Player of the Game
Ubaldo Jimenez threw 5.1 innings of two hit baseball, winning him his fifth Player of the Game of the season. He is the third straight starting pitcher to win the award and fourth in the last time around the rotation. Jimenez struck out four and walked four while allowing two earned runs.
Feathers Up
After being shut out and shut down all night, Drew Stubbs did everything he could to give the Indians a run in the sixth inning. Stubbs hit a single and stole second base. After Michael Bourn struck out, Mike Aviles hit a single to left field and Stubbs, who was running, was able to score from second without a throw. It was the Indians first non-home run RBI hit in the past two games and just the second in the past three. The Indians scored their second run in almost the same manner with Bourn knocking in Ryan Raburn from second.
Despite his wildness, Ubaldo Jimenez actually pitched pretty well tonight and only gave up two hits, neither of which factored into the scoring. Even his four walks wouldn't have hurt him had it not been the wild pitches.
The Indians were actually able to come back tonight in the eighth inning and they did so against a tough bullpen. Raburn, Bourn and Aviles all reached base before a Jason Kipnis single brought home the tying run. Aviles was then able to score on a Michael Brantley sacrifice fly to left, giving the Indians a lead for the first time in the game. They did the damage against Royals left hander Tim Collins who had only given up a single inherited runner all season, but gave up two in one inning.
Feathers Down
For the second night in a row, the pitcher cost the Indians a run, but not because they were hit. Ubaldo Jimenez gave up each of the first two runs today because of wild pitches. The combination of Jimenez and Carlos Santana has been a dangerous one for the Tribe, but rarely has it been as costly as tonight.
Cody Allen got a very undeserved win tonight as he was by far the worst Indians pitcher to take the mound on the night. While his one run allowed was called unearned, it scored because of his own three base error, allowing Eric Hosmer to reach third with no one out. Allen just happened to be the pitcher of record when the Indians took the lead in the eighth.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 4 – Kansas City Royals 3
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