Player of the Game
Carlos Santana had a fantastic game tonight, extending his recent streak of great play. He had 2 doubles, 2 runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base. He has steadily risen out of the basement of mediocre play and is slowly approaching the levels we have grown accustomed to these last 5 years.
Feathers Up
The Indians got things going early tonight, giving Corey Kluber the run support he has been missing and has so desperately deserved. After back-to-back singles by Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor, Michael Brantley teed off on a pitch and deposited the ball in the right-center field seats. That wouldn’t be all for the Tribe though, Santana went to left-center with a double that plated Lindor in the 3rd. Brandon Moss followed that up with a 2-run home run the right, his 16th of the season. That gave the Indians a 6-1 lead, those 6 runs were the most the Indians had scored for Kluber this season, until Yan Gomes hit a bomb to Athens, Ohio to make it 9-1.
The bats were alive tonight as well. Along with the aforementioned 9 runs, the Tribe tacked on 11 hits, including 3 home runs and 3 doubles. Kipnis, Lindor, and Santana all had multiple hits. The Indians were also 4 for 10 with runners in scoring position, getting those clutch hits that have eluded them all season.
Corey Kluber was his typical elite self this evening. The Klubot pitched 7.2 innings giving up 7 hits while striking out 5 and walking 1 batter. He was responsible for 3 runs tonight, although 2 of them came on a 3-run home run hit by Jay Bruce off Cody Allen. It’s about time he was given the run support he deserved, even though he didn’t need it tonight.
Milestone Alert: With two doubles tonight, Carlos Santana moves into the top 50 all-time for the Indians, surpassing the elder Tito Francona with his 155th career two-bagger. The second double tied him for 49th all-time in club history with Buddy Bell.
Feathers Down
It was a questionable move for Francona to allow Kluber to remain in the game going in to the 8th inning of a game that was decided innings earlier. Francona always keeps a deep bullpen so its puzzling why he’d allow his ace starter to go deep into a game that wasn’t close.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 9 – Cincinnati Reds 4
On Deck: The Tribe will wrap up the series tomorrow at 1:10 pm. They have a tough task ahead of them as they try to take the series, facing off against soon-to-be dealt Johnny Cueto. Taking the mound for the Wahoo Warriors is Carlos Carrasco.
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