Player of the Game
Josh Tomlin remains a consistent force in the Indians rotation, winning his 7th ‘Player of the Game’ of the year, tieing him with Justin Masterson for most by an Indians pitcher. Tonight he was even better than normal, scoring 7.19 points in one game while his per game average for the season is just over 2.00. Tomlin struck out 5, only allowing one run in 7 innings. Another player of note is the guy whose name has been removed from the rest of this post. He scored 5.55 points after only earning 11.53 points all season.
Feathers Up
Austin Kearns is lucky Joe Coblitz is not writing this game recap. Otherwise, those of you reading this might have got cheated on a fair analysis. The Indians took the lead over the Yankees in the seventh inning, 4-2, after Kearns‘ three-run two-out home run. It was Kearns‘ first home run since August 22, 2010, when he was playing for the Yankees. Kearns entered the game batting .196 with no homers and two RBI in 102 at-bats. His home run went to right field, off the Yankees’ A.J. Burnett. It was his 112th pitch of the game.
Shelley Duncan drove in the Tribe’s first run, also in the seventh, with a single to right field. He fell behind, 0-2, before battling back to 2-2. He hit a fastball away into right for a single to drive in Grady Sizemore and send Lonnie Chisenhall to third.
Starter Josh Tomlin no-hit the Yankees for six innings, crafted a quality start, set a modern-day record and held Derek Jeter hitless.Tomlin who improved to 10-4, 3.78 ERA gave up two runs in seven innings. He has worked at least five innings in 29 starts to begin his career, breaking the mark of 28 set by Boston’s Daisuke Matsuzaka in 2007. Tomlin carried a no-hitter into the seventh. Mark Teixeira hit aground-ball single up the middle, Tomlin dancing to get out of the way. Teixeira had been 0-for-7 career against Tomlin.
Jeter finished 0 for 4 to remain at 2,994 career hits. Game was sold out. I attended the game and it had a playoff atmosphere.
Feathers Down
Unlike Tomlin, Burnett did not have a no-hitter going, but he was nasty nonetheless. The only Indian who gave him problems through six innings was All-Star shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. With one out in the first, Cabrera singled. He was cut down attempting to advance after Burnett’s pitch skipped away from catcher Russell Martin. Travis Hafner walked and Santana flied to center. Cabrera would later double in the sixth. Jeter led off the game with a slow roller toward Tribe third baseman Chisenhall, who failed to field it cleanly for an error. Curtis Granderson walked, Tomlin’s first walk in four starts and his fifth since May 1.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 6 – New York Yankees 3
My column, my rules. His name shall not be written until his batting average is above .250 or he is removed from the roster. Right to censor. – jlablitz
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