Player of the Game
In a 12-2 loss, the Indians didn’t have many bright spots. If there was a player of the game, it would probably be Jose Ramirez. He went 1-2 with a double, a walk, a hit-by-pitch and also scored one of the Indians two runs. His hit brought his current hitting streak to 11 games He also contributed in ways that don’t show up in the box score, making a great snow-cone catch in left, advancing to third on his double when he realized no one covered third, and shifted from left field to second base to give Jason Kipnis a rest late in the game.
Feathers Up
Aside from Ramirez’s big day, one of the only other positives from Wednesday’s game was Abraham Almonte entering the game in the eighth inning and collecting his first hit of 2016, a double down the right field line. Almonte was hitting from the right side of the plate, where he normally struggles, which made his double even more impressive.
Further, Tyler Naquin continued to show no signs of slowing down offensively Wednesday, as he went 2-3 with a walk, which raised his batting average to .320 on the year.
Feathers Down
Josh Tomlin, who at times has pitched like an ace in 2016, had probably his worst outing of the year against Detroit, going only 4.2 innings and allowing eight runs, though only five were earned. He was perfect through three innings, but things quickly unraveled: he allowed a two-run home run off the left field foul pole to Cameron Maybin in the fourth, which tied the game, and later surrendered the lead on a sacrifice fly by Justin Upton. After giving up a two run single by Miguel Cabrera in the fifth, a three-run home run by Nick Castellanos put the game out of reach at 8-2, and Tomlin’s day was done.
The game could have had a much different outcome, but with runners on the corners and no outs in the third, Jason Kipnis missed a home run that was foul by about five feet down the right field line. The home run would have given the Indians a 4-0 lead. Instead, Kipnis struck out and the Indians only were able to add one more run in the inning on a Francisco Lindor sac fly that was Cleveland’s final run of the game. Interesting, with a runner on third and less than two outs, Kipnis has been dreadful this season, going 1-12 with seven strikeouts and just five RBIs in 16 plate appearances.
Zach McAllister may be running out of time on the MLB roster, as he had another poor performance Wednesday, allowing 4 earned runs off of three hits and a walk in just a third of an inning. His season ERA now sits at 5.40.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 2 – Detroit Tigers 12
On Deck:
The Indians will take on New York Yankees at Progressive Field in a four game series that kicks off tomorrow at 7:10. The Indians will pitch Trevor Bauer (7-2, 3.02 ERA) while the Yankees will give the ball to Ivan Nova (5-5, 5.06 ERA).
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
