The first game almost seemed like batting practice! Especially in the first inning where the White Sox were just smacking Trevor Bauer all over the diamond. He gave up 6 hits and one walk, resulting in 5 runs, in just 2/3 of an inning. Notice he only walked one. Uh...go you?
Francona made the call - the very difficult call - to take Bauer out and start bringing out the bullpen guys. Hard call because A) You don't want to start using them in the first inning of the first game of a double header, yowza! and B) They kind of suck. He had to decide if Bauer was going to suck more than the bullpen. Turns out he made the right call. The bullpen did suck, but technically they did suck less because although they also gave up 5 runs, they did it over more innings.
Bauer did face the press like a man after the game, and gave a very mature (or egotistical) interview.
Matt Albers actually was pretty good. He went the longest, finishing out the first then pitching the second and third. He only gave up 2 hits and no runs.
Bryan Shaw, who used to have a reputation for not sucking, came in for the 5th and gave up 3 runs. Of course, the Indians already had scored 14 of their own runs by now, so it wasn't that big of a deal - THIS TIME.
Cody Allen, who hasn't given up a run in a while, gave up a homer to score one of Shaw's guys and one of his own. Then he came back for the 6th and gave up another one. No!
Thankfully the Tribe got some more insurance runs in the 7th and 8th, giving Smith, Pestano and Perez a lead they couldn't blow. Not having any pressure to do well - they all did well. Smith gave up a walk and Pestano 2 hits, but that was it for the three of them.
And Chris Perez, back from the DL, had a 1-2-3 inning. I kid you not - Chris Perez had a 1-2-3 inning. When was the last time he did that? Well it was only May 17, 4 appearances ago, but he's only done it 5 times in 18 appearances this year. Here's to many more!
So everybody hit today in the first game! It's kind of inevitable when you get 19 runs. The team amassed 21 hits and 9 walks. They had 8 doubles, a triple and a homer. There were 12 2-out RBIs. Only one guy had a single-hit game, and only one guy didn't get any RBI.
The White Sox brought in a position player, Casper Wells, to pitch in the 9th. He's the only pitcher who didn't give up a run. Ha!
Reynolds was the only guy with one hit, but he did walk twice and come around to score twice. Asdrubal, back for his second game, didn't get any RBI but he did go 3 for 7!
Ryan Raburn made an appearance and got 4 RBI. Nick Swisher and Lonnie Chisenhall each got 2 hits. Drew Stubbs was batting leadoff and got 2 hits AND an outfield assist!
I'm not going to go over everyone's stuff - there's so many hits, it'd be boring! But I am going to talk about Jason Kipnis now.
He went 3 for 4 with 3 walks. His 3 hits were doubles and he got 2 RBI and 4 runs scored.
- Leads the team in runs
- Leads the team in hits
- Leads the team in doubles
- Leads the team in triples
- Leads the team in RBI
- Leads the team in stolen bases
- Leads the team in average (qualifiers)
- Leads the team in slugging (qualifiers)
- Leads the team in OBPS (qualifiers)
In the last 30 days, he's:
- Third in the league in hits
- Second in the league in doubles
- Tied for first in the league in RBI
- Tied for third in the league in stolen bases
- Second in the league in average
- Second in the league in OBP
- Second in the league in slugging
- Second in the league in OBPS
That was a FUN 4 hours of baseball! Did anyone see all that coming after we were down 5-0 in the first? Not me! I thought it'd end up like 7-5 Indians or something. Not 19-10!!
After that was a rain delay I think. I honestly don't know, I fell asleep when there were 17 runs (it's been a long week). Good thing I got a nap in, though, because there was a lot more baseball to go!
The second game was crazy as well but in a totally different way. Carlos Carrasco was hot and cold, with a couple of 1-2-3 innings but ultimately he gave up 6 runs in just under 6 innings. But, he was totally a trooper about it, realizing that he absolutely had to stay as long as possible being that Bauer totally burnt through the bullpen. Six runs was enough, though - I'm glad they took him out when they did - even though it meant Oh No Not Rich Hill.
Carrasco actually only gave up 4 runs, and Hill gave up 2 more for him, because that's the kind of guy Rich Hill is. I wonder what his ERA would be if they gave him all of the earned runs that scored while he was on the mound? His ERA actually went DOWN today even though the score went UP by 2 when he was on the mount. Yes it did.
Matt Langwell came in and coughed and sputtered his way through the 8th. Baptism by fire, I guess. He gave up 2 more runs and generally didn't look good, having to throw 31 pitches.
However - the White Sox closer, who is very good, came in for the 9th and we had him throw 33 pitches, of which we scored 4 runs! That was just enough to win the game!
The Tribe had started off hot, no doubt carrying over the batting from the first game. They scored 4 runs in the first. But - that was it until the 6th, where they managed to score just one more. They finally got their second wind in that 9th and pulled it out. UNBELIEVEABLE!
They had just two prior 9th-inning wins this year, the second one coming just the other day in Baltimore. Now it seems to be becoming a "thing."
Michael Bourn had been sitting out the first game, and that was a good move because in the second game he was running his ass off out there in center. He caught a lot of stuff that regular-speed guys might have missed. Not only that but he went 3 for 5 on the night, scoring 2 runs and with 1 RBI.
Mark Reynolds was both a hero and a hindrance tonight. Hero because he hit a loooooong solo homer in the 6th to actually put us within 1 run. It was his first homer since June 15, by the way. But he also was a hindrance because in the 8th he got picked off when he shouldn't have and most likely would have scored the tying run. I dunno, he was trying too hard or something. Try less hard next time!
So, kind of ironically, I spent the morning reading 3 blog posts about how frustrating Nick Swisher is. My favorite, just for the title, was Red Right 88's "You're From Ohio? Don't Care!" Man, I wish I came up with that line hahaha There was also the more pleasant post on Waiting For Next Year, and one by England Tribe who doesn't have to see Swisher's face as much since he's not here.
Anyway I was all hot and bothered and commenting and Tweeting "Yeah! Eff Swisher!" and what does he do today? He goes 2 for 4 in the first game, then in the second game he flashes some leather and ultimately wins the dang thing on a 9th inning homer. I hope he was at least as surprised as we were!
The comeback does owe a lot to the whole lineup. Seven guys batted in that 9th inning, and they got 3 runs to tie it before Swisher sealed the deal. Raburn led it off with a single, then Asdrubal - pinch hitting for Stubbs - followed it up with a right-field single, advancing Raburn to third. Bourn got an RBI and moved Asdrubal to third, and then he scored on a wild pitch! Giambi - pinch hitting for Aviles, in his first appearance on the day - got Bourn to third and then Kipnis sacrificed him home. All that set up, and ready to go to the 9th inning all tied up after Swisher struck out and -
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| Come on, now... |
Pretty good stuff to start off a road trip 5-1, wouldn't you say? We're already halfway done and are guaranteed to be .500 or better!
Tomorrow (uh, well in 12.5 hours) we face the White Sox again and I can't wait to bang those guys around some more. It'll be Ubaldo versus RHP 4.57 which is almost exactly the same ERA as Ubaldo's. Hopefully the White Sox are just as tired as our team is and it'll be another fun matchup where we score a ton of runs.
See you there!
Radio Chatter:
"This game so far has been like your neighborhood little league game. No one is involved but the pitcher and the batters."
- Tom Hamilton
"If Trevor Bauer can't learn to control his fastball he'll never pitch at the big league level."
- Tom Hamilton
"well if there was a nightmarish scenario going in to this double header - this is it."
- Tom Hamilton on the first inning
"If Bauer makes another mistake here it'll be 8-nothing and you can go cut the grass."
- Tom Hamilton
"Viciedo looked like he was carrying the Stanley Cup under one arm as he chugged towards the line in left."
- Tom Hamilton
"On the day when they score 5 runs in the first inning, the best pitching staff in the American League at home gives it up in the second inning."
- Tom Hamilton
"Those who are not wearing shirts have Stanley Cups painted on their chests, and can hardly stand."
- Tom Hamilton on spotting the Stanley Cup parade revelers
"Wherever the Indians play nowadays, rain is falling."
- Tom Hamilton
"When you have 28 hits and 12 walks all of a sudden you have a ballgame that's a marathon."
- Tom Hamilton
"This game so far has been like your neighborhood little league game. No one is involved but the pitcher and the batters."
- Tom Hamilton
"If Trevor Bauer can't learn to control his fastball he'll never pitch at the big league level."
- Tom Hamilton
"well if there was a nightmarish scenario going in to this double header - this is it."
- Tom Hamilton on the first inning
"If Bauer makes another mistake here it'll be 8-nothing and you can go cut the grass."
- Tom Hamilton
"Viciedo looked like he was carrying the Stanley Cup under one arm as he chugged towards the line in left."
- Tom Hamilton
"On the day when they score 5 runs in the first inning, the best pitching staff in the American League at home gives it up in the second inning."
- Tom Hamilton
"Those who are not wearing shirts have Stanley Cups painted on their chests, and can hardly stand."
- Tom Hamilton on spotting the Stanley Cup parade revelers
"Wherever the Indians play nowadays, rain is falling."
- Tom Hamilton
"When you have 28 hits and 12 walks all of a sudden you have a ballgame that's a marathon."
- Tom Hamilton
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