AAA Roster Update: Danny Salazar, who is currently with the Columbus Clippers, has been placed on the MiLB seven Day DL with a strained triceps.
Player of the Game
In the bottom of the twelfth, the Indians had runners at first and third with one out, prompting the Red Sox to bring in Daniel Nava from right, giving them a five man infield. To win the game, Asdrubal Cabrera simply had to hit the ball in the air past the infield, but he did one better, smashing a line shot, three run home run to right to give the Indians the 7-4 walk off win. Cabrera also scored the first run of the game after singling and stealing a base in the first, then scored later on a Jason Kipnis single. By the end, he went 2/5 with three runs scored, three RBI, a steal and a walk for a POG score of 7.97, his best game of the season.
Feathers Up
It took a little while, but after scoring just one run over the first five innings, the Tribe finally got things started in the sixth. Down one after a two run David Ortiz home run, the Indians’ first five batters of the inning reached base safely to give the Tribe a two run lead. Asdrubal Cabrera lead off the inning with a walk, then consecutive hits by Jason Kipnis and Michael Brantley brought him home. Lonnie Chisenhall then attempted a sacrifice bunt, but was safe at first and David Murphy brought two more home with his patented, one handed, just make contact swing. This gave the Indians three runs in the inning before an out was recorded, but things would end quickly as Yan Gomes grounded to third and Jason Giambi predictably grounded into a double play to end the inning.
A rarely seen face peaked out of the bullpen door tonight and looked solid, despite pitching to just two hitters. John Axford made his first appearance since May 27th and struck out both batters faced, to end the eighth and get the first out in the ninth. Josh Outman, Scott Atchison and Nick Hagadone also pitched scoreless outings to get the Tribe into extra innings.
Carlos Carrasco hadn’t pitched in the Indians past seven games, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t as sharp as possible when called upon after midnight to go as long as he could in extra innings tonight. After Bryan Shaw pitched a scoreless tenth, Carrasco threw the 11th and 12th, striking out four of his seven batters faced. The only hitter to reach base against Carrasco was Johnny Gomes, who he hit with a pitch to start his night. His effort was worth the win as Asdrubal Cabrera came through in the bottom of the 12th.
Feathers Down
A two hour rain delay got things started later than scheduled and because of this, Clevelanders missed out on the chance to see Johnny Manziel, one of the Browns first round draft choices, throw out the first pitch. Even with the Indians winning every game on the home stand, this first pitch was the big news of the week, so it is disappointing that the Cleveland fans missed out on something they actually care about.
Corey Kluber was good tonight, but not great like he was all month as his four runs allowed were the most he has given up since April 19th. Kluber still pitched into the seventh inning and struck out five, giving him 100 K’s on the year. He allowed just five hits on the night and the only one that really hurt was a David Ortiz two run home run. The last two Red Sox runs came in the seventh after Kluber walked Stephen Drew to start the inning and allowed singles to Daniel Nava and Brock Holt. He was nearing 100 pitches at the time and the only reason he was kept in the game as long as he was most likely was because Cody Allen and Marc Rzepczynski were unavailable.
The Indians had a chance to put the game away in the 11th when Jason Kipnis lead off the inning with a walk, but a questionable decision thwarted that possibility. Instead of allowing Lonnie Chisenhall (who has the highest average, OBP, slugging percent and OPS on the team) to hit, he was forced to sacrifice bunt for the second time in the game. While the bunt was a good one, bunting with no outs and a runner at first has been statistically proven to not increase the chances of scoring a run and Chisenhall has been the most consistent hitter on the team. Murphy then flew out and Yan Gomes struck out, leaving Kipnis at second as the two teams went on to the 12th.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 7 – Boston Red Sox 4
On Deck: The Indians get a well deserved off day before heading down to Texas to play the Rangers on Friday.
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