Player of the Game
Without any offensive fireworks, David Murphy robbed Steven Vogt of a home run and thus wins the POG. It was a close call between Murphy and starter Corey Kluber but the sure joy of watching an outfielder rob an All-Star of a home run is more than worth giving Murphy the honor for the day.
Feathers Up
As mentioned, Murphy robbed Vogt of a solo home run in the top of the first as the right fielder timed the leap perfectly. The homerun would have putt the A’s up 1-0. Shorty after “the catch”, Giovanny Urshela made a nice running catch in foul territory, over the tarp down the third base line for the third out of the inning. The Indians defense saved starter Corey Kluber at least one run in the 1st. Wait, what?
Corey Kluber pitched great today despite the numbers not showing it. He mixed his pitches well, up and down in the strike zone and had the A’s hitters off balance for most of the afternoon. In 8 innings, he “only” struck out six while walking two, giving up 2 earned runs on four hits. At 112 pitches (72 strikes), Terry Francona decided not to send Kluber in to pitch the 9th- no reason to push his pitch limit to 120 or more before the All-Star break.
Giovanny Urshela continues to impress in his rookie season as he hit a single off the wall in left-field off Gray in the eighth. It was a fastball that Gray left up in the zone and only the Indians second hit on the afternoon.
Feathers Down
The All-Star catcher Vogt could not be contained for long, however. In the top of the 4th, Kluber threw him a 1-0 93 mph four-seam fastball which he hit about 5 rows back into the right field seats; completely out of the reach of Murphy. It was a similar pitch he almost hit out in the 1st (91 mph sinker that was left up in the zone.) The inning began on an eight pitch walk to Billy Burns after getting ahead in the count 1-2.
As been the case thorough the first half, the Indians had offensive opportunities early but could not capitalize. After A’s starter Sony Gray retired the first 10 batters, Fransisco Lindor singled up the middle only to be retired when the next batter, Michael Brantley, grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. To start 5th, Gray walked Murphy but bounced back to retire the next three to successfully escape.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 0 – Oakland Athletics 2
On Deck: The Indians, like the rest of Major League Baseball, now enters the All-Star break. The game will be played in Cincinnati on Tuesday night at 7:30 pm on FOX; the only Indians player to participate will be second-baseman Jason Kipnis, who will take over for starter Jose Altuve at some point. Kipnis will stay in Cincinnati after the game and wait for his teammates to arrive as the Indians begin a three-game series with the Reds on Friday the 17th.
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