Roster Update: Both players who were removed with injuries from last night’s game, Nick Swisher and David Murphy, were placed on the 15 day DL this morning. In their place, Zach Walters and Tyler Holt were promoted from AAA Columbus.
Player of the Game
Carlos Carrasco made a triumphant return to the rotation today, throwing five shut out innings in a game for the first time this season. All year, Carrasco has been fantastic through the first three innings of any outing, either as starter or reliever, but this was the first time he continued that success as the game went on. He struck out four and allowed just two singles with no walks in a dominant effort. His POG score of 6.58 made this his best game of the season in any capacity, giving him his second Player of the Game of 2014 and his first win as a starter since 2011.
Feathers Up
Jason Kipnis and Michael Brantley provided the Indians offense in the early innings, combining for two runs in their first two times through the lineup. Each time, Kipnis reached base and was moved ahead by Jose Ramirez, the first time with a single and a ground out, the second time with a double and a sacrifice. In the first inning, Brantley drove him in from second with a single, scoring him from third with a sacrifice fly in the third.
The Indians added a couple more runs late in the game, thanks to some wild Yankee pitching. In the fifth, Ryan Raburn was hit by a pitch, followed by a single and two walks to bring in a run and knock starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda from the game. It was Yan Gomes who had the RBI walk and he came through again two innings later with another, more legitimate RBI. This time, there were two outs and two on after Kipnis singled and stole third and Brantley walked. With a full count, Gomes took reliever Shawn Kelley for a single to right, scoring Kipnis for the third time in the game and moving Brantley to third.
With the win, the Indians return to .500 at 59-59, win the series in New York and the season series against the Yankees. This is the first time in the past 20 years that the Indians have won a series in New York. Since July 13th, the Indians have had two winnings streaks of four games, two losing streaks of four games and have now won two in a row after their last losing streak.
Feathers Down
Zach Walters, IF/OF acquired in Asdrubal Cabrera trade, made his Indians debut in very uneventful fashion. Walters batted seventh and started in left field, but went 0-3 at the plate with a strike out and was untested in the outfield, his least familiar position. Walters walked in his final plate appearance before being removed for base running and defensive purposes by Tyler Holt. Walters projects to be a solid power hitter with very questionable defense, so if the Indians can hide him in left field, it could be of great benefit for the team.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 4 – New York Yankees 1
On Deck: The road weary Indians get a day off on Monday before heading back to Cleveland to take on the Diamondbacks for two.
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