Player of the Game
On a day where Trevor Bauer struggled to keep Detroit off of the board, the Indians needed all the offense they could get. Carlos Santana did his best to keep Cleveland in the game, going 2-4 with a double and a home run. Santana’s home run – his 32nd this year – was especially significant, as it cut the Tigers lead to a single run in the 6th inning.
Feathers Up
The day after winning the game for the Indians with a walk-off single in the 10th inning, Jose Ramirez continued his stellar season by going 2-4 on Sunday. Ramirez also now has a hit in 14 of his last 15 games, a stretch where he has gone 22-60 with three walks and just three strikeouts.
Zach McAllister pitched a scoreless eighth inning, which has been a theme recently: after having his fair share of struggles earlier in the season, the hard-throwing righty has been very good as of late, carrying a 1.06 ERA in his last 17 innings, while striking out 18 and walking only three.
Feathers Down
With the news that Carlos Carrasco would miss the rest of the season due to broken pinky coming Saturday, the Indians really could have used a great start by Trevor Bauer on Sunday. Unfortunately, Bauer couldn’t deliver. The righty was very wild on Sunday, hitting three Tiger hitters, leading to some tension between Cleveland and Detroit. On top of the hit-batters, Bauer also walked two hitters, and it eventually caught up to him after blanking Detroit in the first two innings. At the end of the day, Bauer allowed six earned runs in 5.2 innings pitched.
Despite Bauer’s struggles, the Indians’ offense kept them in the game until the ninth inning, when Joseph Colon walked two Tigers and later hung a breaking ball to J.D. Martinez, who sent it deep to center field to put the game out of reach. Colon likely has pitched his way out of a spot on the Indians’ playoff roster, having now walked seven hitters in 7.2 innings of work in the MLB this season.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 5 – Detroit Tigers 9
Scoreboard Watch: With the Tigers win, Detroit moved to seven games back of Cleveland for the AL Central title, while the Indians’ magic number remained at 7. The White Sox were officially eliminated from the Central race with their loss to KC.
On Deck:
The Indians will have a much-needed off day of Monday, before continuing their home stand with a three-game series against Kansas City. On Tuesday, Josh Tomlin (12-8, 4.75 ERA) will face off against Edinson Volquez (10-11, 5.40 ERA).
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