Player of the Game
Carlos Santana went deep twice tonight for a total of three RBI out of the Indians eight runs scored. Francisco Lindor also had a terrific game with one home run and three RBI of his own to go with two singles for a 3 for 5 night.
Feathers Up
There is a saying that momentum is only as good as the next day’s starting pitcher and that was certainly true for the Angels. After receiving as bad of a performance as is possible from Hector Santiago in game one, Matt Shoemaker was dominant last night in game two. Today, they went with David Huff and the results were predictable for the Indians fans who saw him pitch all those years ago in Cleveland. In the first, Francisco Lindor hit a home run just over the wall in left, then Carlos Santana did the same in the second. Continuing the scoring, Yan Gomes hit a double to right, aided by a poor route from Cole Calhoun, then scored after Juan Uribe was safe on an error and Michael Martinez was safe on a botched double play. Rajai Davis added a single as well and Jose Ramirez walked, before Lindor knocked in two more with a single to right. That ended Huff’s night as two of the Angels three starters this series failed to make it through the second inning.
Danny Salazar wasn’t at his best today after missing his last start due to shoulder fatigue, but he was good enough to face an anemic Angels offense. He pitched just 5.2 innings and, while he only allowed one run on a solo home run from Jefry Marte, he struggled with control all day. Salazar walked four, allowed three hits and struck out eight. He was aided by two double plays as well, particularly one in the sixth that cleared the bases before the Marte home run.
While essentially nothing was expected of Michael Martinez when he was called up as a short term replacement for Lonnie Chisenhall as he dealt with a family issue, he has continued to surprise with his solid play. He made a great play in center field early on, turning a routine fly ball into a double play with an assist at third, then after he moved to third base for Juan Uribe, he made another fantastic play. Offensively, he had an RBI and run scored today and is batting .256 on the season, all pretty impressive for a career AAA utility man.
Feathers Down
For the second time in two series, the Indians lost a player after he was hit in the groin by a batted ball. While Yan Gomes is back in the line-up after his injury, Juan Uribe had to be removed today after taking a 106 MPH ball off the bat of Mike Trout into his own. He was replaced in the line-up by Tyler Naquin and nothing further is known of his availability in the near future at this moment.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 8 – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 3
On Deck: The Indians foray to the West Coast is over, but they aren’t ready to come home quite yet. Before they return to Progressive Field on Friday, they will play three in Kansas City against the Royals. Cleveland has already won six of seven against their divisional rivals and used that success to gain first place. Carlos Carrasco will look to increase that lead as he takes on Edinson Volquez at 8:15 PM Monday night in game one.
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