Player of the Game
Today’s player of the game was second baseman Orlando Cabrera with a ‘Player of the Game’ score of 5.95. Cabrera stole this one away from Justin Masterson, who was winning until the 8th inning, when Cabrera singled and scored. Cabrera also hit a monster two-run homer to give the Indians a one run lead. Masterson finished with a score of 5.13, the first positive score by a starting pitcher this season. It was Cabrera’s first ‘Player of the Game’ of the season and first as an Indian. It was a good day for the Indians as all three pitchers (Masterson, Tony Sipp and Chris Perez) and five hitters (Cabrera, Michael Brantley, Travis Hafner, Lou Marson and Shelley Duncan) had scores over 1. The final team ‘POG’ score was 25.72 for a strong win for the Tribe against the Chicago White Sox.
Feathers Up
Justin Masterson had 17 ground ball outs; For a guy who allowed 2.41 ground balls per fly ball given up last year, this was typical Masterson. I sure hope the infield defense improves over last year. If it does, Justin’s numbers will be much better and games much faster. Masterson and set-up man Tony Sipp held Gordan Beckham hitless. Beckham had 5 hits and scored 2 runs in the first 2 games.
Sipp and closer Chris Perez pitched a perfect 8th and 9th inning. Orlando Cabrera had a very fine offensive day. He came through in numerous clutch situations, most notably his 2 out, 2 run homerun in the 6th with the team down by 1 run.
The triple play turned in the 4th inning was the first triple play for the Tribe since 2008 (Asdrubal Cabrera’s unassisted triple play) and the first one turned in MLB since June of last year.
The Indians move to within one game of .500!
Feathers Down
Only 8,726 in attendance today, talk about cheap entertainment. Cleveland is home to the greatest front-runners in America.
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