In the battle of the prestigious Ohio Cup, the Reds raced ahead early
with a sweep of the Indians in Cincinnati, but behind the awakened
offense, and the pitching of Josh Tomlin and Justin Masterson, the
Indians returned the favor and just completed a sweep of the Redlegs in
Cleveland.
The game started off with Masterson begging Chris Heisey in the first,
but then got Joey Votto to hit into a one pitch double play. I think at
that point you were thinking the Indians escaped, and that the next
inning would determine how good Masterson would do. Well Masterson
didn't hit the 50 pitch mark until I think the 6th inning, and allowed
no-hits the first time thru the Reds lineup, and the first hit he
allowed was to Heisey who got a ball by Chisenhall who was playing up
for the bunt. Masterson went for a complete game with 9Ks, and 1
Unearned run allowed which he gave up in the 8th. It was the first
complete game at home for an Indians starter since September 2010, and
it comes at a great time with the off day on Thursday. Masterson has
now had at least 5 consecutive quality starts and his ERA which was once
as high as 5.60 is now down to 3.98, and just like last year his win
total should be higher if he is given just a little more run support.
The offense cranked out 8 runs vs. the RedLegs and Bronson Arroyo. The
game started off much like yesterdays game vs. Mike Leake with the
Indians getting lead-off hits, and then not being able to score thru the
first 3 innings. Shin Soo Choo is the obvious catalyst right now, and
he is looking like the Choo we expected all season since moving up into
the lead-off spot. He is a extra base machine, and if the bottom of the
order leaves runners, he is usually hitting them in. In the 4th inning
the deep pitch counts and runners finally got to Arroyo. He allowed an
opposite field single by Grimmace, and then Johnny Damon got underneath
a ball and hit a HR to RF. 2-0 TRIBE! Then Arroyo got composed to walk
Lonnie Chisenhall(first walk all year), got Lou Marson out, but then
walked Choo. Which is ok, because Choo owns Arroyo. However, Arroyo
missed his spot bad on a 0-2 count to the A-Cab. Ryan Hannigan stood up
looking for a high fastball out of the zone, and Arroyo threw it low and
over the middle where A-Cab turned on it for another HR and its 5-0
TRIBE! The Tribe would load the bases in the 7th, only to have Lonnie
Chisenhall unload them with a 3run double to break the game open further
with an 8-0 lead.
Tribe WINS 8-1!
Quick Notes:
- Choo is on fire, and scoring 8 runs with Kipnis getting the day off
is a double whammy of awesome
- I am not saying we need to replace Grimmace just for the sake of
replacing the guy. He is gold glove caliber defensively, is hitting
respectable, but after Damon hit his HR, and they show Damon sitting on
the bench after. Who else does the camera pickup? Grimmace. And what
is Grimmace doing? Whincing as if he has no knees, just had to run a
marathon, and is exhausted from life. Is he playing hurt? He is one of
the few guys you never hear about with any nagging injuries, but he
looked really old for a 28 year old.
- Here is my 1B idea for the rest of the season going forward. I don't
think you need to make a trade just for the sake of doing one, I am very
comfortable with Grimmace as a starting 1B on a playoff team.
Especially one that relies on grounders for outs. However, if defense
is what is keeping him playing, what about moving Hanahan over to 1st
and turning 3B into the Chisenhall Era? Chisenhall is hitting a lot
better than he was last season as a rookie, and I think at this point he
can start everyday and by post-season or September may even move up in
the lineup. The knock on him was that he doesn't walk, but he did
yesterday, so he is improving game by game.
- Santana has opened up his swing again, could be in for a mini slump.
I want to see him move down a bit to keep the arms in. With runners on
he gets very excited to drive them in. I like the passion, but playing
smart is key for him.
- Dusty Baker forgot that Lou Marson was behind the plate. Marson
throwing out Chris Heisey by about 3 steps just reminded the league,
that while Santana is getting really good defensively, Marson is still
better and too dangerous to run on.
- Damon is hitting .295 in his last 60 At-bats. Hmmmmm heating up.
Also he is the first LF to pass the .200 avg. CONGRATS!!!
That's all I got today. Go Tribe!
Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO #P AVG OBP SLG
S Choo RF 4 1 2 0 1 2 22 .276 .367 .439
A Cabrera SS 4 1 1 3 1 0 17 .300 .390 .485
M Brantley CF 5 0 1 0 0 0 17 .282 .318 .393
C Santana DH 5 1 1 0 0 1 19 .232 .347 .357
J Lopez 2B 5 0 1 0 0 1 14 .238 .269 .377
C Kotchman 1B 4 2 1 0 0 0 12 .228 .289 .350
J Damon LF 2 2 2 2 2 0 22 .203 .295 .325
A Cunningham LF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .194 .270 .224
L Chisenhall 3B 3 1 2 3 1 0 17 .271 .283 .492
L Marson C 3 0 0 0 1 2 18 .242 .365 .323
Totals 35 8 11 8 6 6 158
BATTING
2B: S Choo 2 (22, B Arroyo 2); J Lopez (8, A Simon); L Chisenhall (2, A
Simon)
HR: J Damon (3, 4th inning off B Arroyo 1 on, 1 Out); A Cabrera (8, 4th
inning off B Arroyo 2 on, 2 Out)
RBI: J Damon 2 (13), A Cabrera 3 (31), L Chisenhall 3 (9)
2-out RBI: A Cabrera 3, L Chisenhall 3
GIDP: C Santana
Indians RISP: 3-12 (L Chisenhall 1-2, M Brantley 1-2, C Santana 0-2, S
Choo 0-1, L Marson 0-1, A Cabrera 1-3, C Kotchman 0-1)
Team LOB: 9
FIELDING
E: A Cabrera (7, ground ball)
DP: 1 (J Lopez-A Cabrera-C Kotchman).
Cleveland Indians
Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR PC-ST ERA
J Masterson
(W, 4-6) 9.0 3 1 0 0 9 0 110-76 3.98
Totals 9.0 3 1 0 0 9 0 110-76
PITCHING
HBP: C Heisey (By J Masterson)
First-pitch strikes/Batters faced: J Masterson 15/30
Called strikes-Swinging strikes-Foul balls-In Play strikes: J Masterson
22-12-22-20
Ground Balls-Fly Balls: J Masterson 13-4
Game Scores: J Masterson 88
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