Roster Update: Ryan Raburn was placed on the bereavement list today for unspecified reasons. He can spend up to three days away from the team before further moves would need to be made. In his place, Zach Walters will be joining the Major League club for the third time this season.
Player of the Game
Carlos Carrasco took the momentum of his last two great starts (9 IP, 2 or less hits in each) and continued it against the Yankees tonight. He allowed just one hit during the first five innings and just four total in eight. Two of these were big as the solo home runs tied the game before Carrasco exited, but he limited the damage by not walking anyone and striking out eight.
Feathers Up
Whether it is team chemistry, relief or a simple change in luck, the Indians offense seems to have a whole new feel since the removal of Michael Bourn. They scored quickly in the first tonight when Francisco Lindor singled and scored on a Carlos Santana bloop to right. While they didn’t score another that inning, the trend continued into the second where Chris Johnson and Lonnie Chisenhall continued their recent hot streaks with two more singles. While a Giovanny Urshela double play would generally had all the Indians hanging their heads, Jose Ramirez was able to come through with two outs to score Johnson from third for the Indians second run.
In addition to the offense, the Indians defense has taken a huge step up lately and it showed tonight. Giovanny Urshela made one of the top plays of the year by grabbing a grounder with his momentum carrying into foul territory and using the patented Jeter jump and throw to get it to first on time. Abraham Almonte added a sliding catch for the first out in the sixth and Johnson snared a line drive off the bat of Mark Teixeira in the seventh to double Alex Rodriguez off first.
Milestone Alert: With eight strike outs tonight, Carrasco raised his season total above 150 on the season (155 to be exact). This surpasses his previous career best of 140 in 2014, making him the second player to pass 150 this year (Corey Kluber has 186) and the 78th pitcher in Indians history to do so. If he continues on his regularly scheduled days with his current strike out rate he could break into the top 20 Indians single season strike out totals by the end of the season.
Yan Gomes saved the Indians a couple times tonight, with a caught stealing of Brett Gardner in the ninth and a nice receipt to keep the Yankees from scoring in the tenth, but the biggest thing he did of all was hit the game tying single in the bottom of the tenth. Lindor and Michael Brantley started the inning off with hits and Lindor scored on a Santana sacrifice fly. Brantley still on second, Gomes just lifted a 1-1 fastball over the head of Stephen Drew at second to give Andrew Miller his first blown save of the season.
It took an extremely long time, but eventually Teixeira got tired and took a nap, allowing the Indians to walk off. From the tenth on, the Tribe bullpen, lead by Ryan Webb, and the Yankee bullpen, lead by Bryan Mitchell were masterful, keeping things scoreless for five innings. Finally, in the 16th, Ramirez and Lindor singled before Brantley shot a liner by a diving Teixeira to bring home the game winning run.
Feathers Down
Even though the lineup isn’t as fearsome as it once was, the Yankees still live and die with the long ball and they hit two tonight off Carrasco. Drew took the first out to right in the sixth, ending the one hit shut out and Carlos Beltran lead off the eighth with another solo shot to tie the game at two. Carrasco didn’t throw many bad pitches tonight, but when he did, the Yankees hitters made him pay for them, the only way they know how.
Bryan Shaw placed himself in a bad situation in the tenth and was unable (while Terry Francona was unwilling) to get himself out. A walk to Brian McCann and back to back singles loaded the bases with one out. Jerry Sands (in for defense after Zach Walters pinch ran for Johnson) made a fantastic play to get the second out at home, but Shaw fell behind pinch hitter Chase Headley 3-0 with the bases still loaded. Some how, Shaw got a called strike, then threw another nice pitch for a second strike swinging, but he still needed to get the ball over the plate and Headley ripped it to right for a two run single. Shaw probably should have been pulled earlier as he had little on his fast ball and was struggling with control, but it wasn’t until he had thrown 30 pitches and given up the lead that Francona went to Kyle Crockett, who struck out Jacoby Ellsbury looking on three pitches.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 5 – New York Yankees 4
On Deck: C.C. Sabathia will make his first start against the Indians since June 5th, 2013 (complete game, four runs allowed) and his first in Cleveland since August 24th, 2012 (7.1 IP, 1 ER) as he faces off tomorrow night at 7:10 PM in Cleveland against Danny Salazar.
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