What else can you say about Cleveland Indians ace, Justin Masterson? In a pitchers dual against the New York Yankees, the Tribe took game one of today’s make up doubleheader, 1-0. Only six weeks in to the young season, Masterson collected his sixth victory of the year. The Indians now have sole possession of first place in the AL Central Division with a record of 21-16.
With the Tribe bats considerably calmed down by Yankees pitcher, David Phelps, it was Masterson that provided the excitement in the early afternoon contest. The tall right-hander went nine innings, gave up just four hits, and struck out nine Bronx bombers. On a day where the Indians bullpen needed a breather, Masterson delivered.
The shut out win by Masterson was his second 1-0 complete game of the season. You have to go back to 1989 to find the last Indians pitcher to do that. Both, Bud Black and Greg Swindell are the last pitchers to accomplish that feat. Masterson did it in just a month-and-a-half of baseball.
Besides Masterson’s masterful pitching, the Tribe got two key plays by their middle infielders, one on offense and one on defense. Second baseman, Jason Kipnis belted his fifth home run of the year in the first inning and that was all the Indians would need. In the second inning, it was shortstop, Asdrubal Cabrera doing his best impression of Omar Vizquel. With two out and a runner on second, Cabrera made a diving stop on a Chris Stewart ground ball and prevented the runner from scoring. Masterson struck out the next hitter to dodge out of the inning.
All the right things are happening for the happy-go-lucky Wahoos. Indians youngster, Trevor Bauer is toeing the rubber in game two. The Tribe heads east after the game for a quick two-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Ryan Ruiz is the Cleveland Sports Beat Writer for The Inscriber. You can follow him on Twitter @ryanpruiz24 and Facebook: Ryan (BrownsWriter) Ruiz.
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