Player of the Game
Trevor Bauer was outstanding tonight as he pitched seven innings and allowed just four hits and one run. Bauer also struck out nine White Sox batters and threw a season-high 115 pitches in one of his most (if not his most) dominant starts of the season. Unfortunately, Bauer didn’t get the win as he left the game after the seventh inning with a 1-1 score, but he looked great on the mound for the Indians and was in command during his appearance.
Feathers Up
Carlos Santana provided a wonderful start to the home stand with a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning off reliever Nate Jones. Santana could also be a logical choice for the player of the game with his game-winning hit, but he didn’t do anything else the rest of the game after striking out twice in his other three times at the plate, so my nod goes to Bauer.
Rajai Davis got the hitting started for the Indians in the first inning off starter Jose Quintana when he singled on a line drive to right field and then stole second. Francisco Lindor then singled to drive in Davis to give the Tribe a 1-0 lead after the first inning.
Michael Martinez singled to start the eighth inning for the Tribe against Quintana. After Davis struck out, Jason Kipnis doubled to the gap in right-center to score Martinez to put the Indians on top 2-1. Francisco Lindor then grounded out for the second out and then Jones replaced Quintana. Oddly enough, when Quintana left after throwing 7.2 innings, it kept alive the White Sox streak of scoring one or fewer runs in his last seven starts.
After replacing Bauer in the eighth inning, Bryan Shaw was able to get through a high-pressure inning and after he gave up a single to Tim Anderson. He got Eaton on a strikeout and then got Abreu to ground out. Shaw then intentionally walked Melky Cabrera before striking out Todd Frazier to end the inning with a 2-1 score.
Feathers Down
Cody Allen blew his second save of the year when he gave up back to back doubles with one out in the ninth inning to Brett Lawrie and Avisail Garcia to tie the game at 2-2. He averted further damage by striking out J.B. Shuck and Anderson to end the inning and leave Garcia stranded at second.
Adam Eaton hit a line drive that should have been a single in the third inning, but Lonnie Chisenhall fell down just prior to the ball hitting the ground and it skipped over his head and rolled back to the fence before it could be retrieved by Martinez in center. By that time, Eaton had made his way to third base for a triple to tie the game a 1-1. Bauer was able to minimize the damage to allow only one run to score when he got Jose Abreu to ground out to first baseman Mike Napoli.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 3 – Kansas City Royals 2
On Deck:
Danny Salazar (7-3, 2.19 ERA) will take the mound on June 18 for the Indians in the second game of the weekend series against the White Sox at 6:10 p.m. Chicago will counter with James Shields (2-8, 5.45 ERA) who makes his third start for the White Sox since he was acquired in a trade with the San Diego Padres on June 7. In his two appearances, Shields is 0-1 with a 16.71 ERA as he’s given up 13 runs and 17 hits in seven innings.
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