Player of the Game
Yan Gomes came up with a huge grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Indians a commanding 8-3 lead and broke open what had been a close, well-pitched game to that point. Gomes’ blast followed a clutch double by Carlos Santana that broke a 3-3 tie to give the Indians a 4-3 lead. Gomes also got the job done in the bottom of the second inning against Angels starter Garrett Richards with a sacrifice fly to score Santana and tie the game at 1-1. For the night, the Indians catcher was 1-for-3 with 5 RBI to help spark the teams fourth consecutive win.
Feathers Up
Michael Brantley finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored to bring his average up to .324 and moved past teammate Jason Kipnis (.321) for the lead in the American League batting average race after Kipnis finished 0-for-5 tonight. Francisco Lindor chipped in with a nice 2-for-4 night with two runs scored including a key hit when he singled to lead off the five-run eighth inning. Santana also had a solid night along with his double in the eighth inning as he finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI.
Lonnie Chisenhall continues to swing a hot bat and extended his hitting streak to 10 games when he delivered in the bottom of the third inning with a clutch two-out single that scored two to plate Lindor and Brantley giving the Tribe a 3-1 lead. Chisenhall finished 2-for-4 to bump his season average to a respectable .266.
KKKKKKKluber Watch: With six more Ks to give him 219 for the season, Kluber moved into a tie for 18th place all-time for the most strikeouts in a season to match Luis Tiant, who struck out the same number in 1967. In 2014, Kluber had the sixth most strikeouts in a season with 269. Of course, Bob Feller remains at the top after he fanned 348 in 1946. Tonight’s game was Kluber’s 28th start meaning he likely has six or maybe seven more to go and a legitimate chance to improve upon his mark from last year.
Feathers Down
Kluber, who did not earn a decision after pitching just six innings, had a little trouble tonight with the long ball as he gave up a home run on the first pitch of the game to Kole Calhoun to give the Angels an early 1-0 lead. Kluber then served up another gopher ball on the first pitch after the rain delay to former Indian David Murphy, who blasted one out with a line drive to center field to make it 3-2 in the top of the fourth inning. An uncharacteristic error by Brantley on a double by Kaleb Coward with two out in the same inning then allowed Erick Aybar to score and tie the game at 3-3.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 8 – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 3
On Deck: Josh Tomlin (2-1, 3.26 ERA) takes the hill on Aug. 30 for a 1:10 p.m. start to conclude the three-game series at Progressive Field. The Angels will counter with Jered Weaver (6-9, 4.59 ERA). For Tomlin, it will be his fourth start of the season after he missed most of the year with a shoulder injury.
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