Scott Kazmir did well, with a quality start - 6 innings, 2 hits and no runs. It took him 102 pitches, though. He's gotta get that number down but whatever - he's looking great compared to his last outing (5 innings, 4 runs). He may have had a bit of a rocky time but in his last 4 games, just that previous one was bad. The others, and today, were all shut outs.
Speaking of shut-outs, this was the Tribe's league-leading 15th shutout today!
Shaw came in for the 7th and struck out the side - but gave up 2 hits inbetween. heh. Joe Smith was out there in the 8th, all Smith-like, striking out 2 and giving up no hits or runs!
Chris Perez settled back down from Friday where he got himself into a jam (and out of one). Today he had a 1-2-3 inning which has become the rule instead of the exception since the All-Star break. RAEG!!!
So almost everyone hit today. Can you guess who didn't hit? Nope - it wasn't the pitcher! Scott Kazmir got himself a single, yo! No, it was actually Raburn! Red hot Ryan Raburn finally had a day off!
Bourn was speedy as heck again today. First he beat out an infield hit for a single, and then he saved Perez's bacon by flying through that football-field-of-an-outfield to make a Web Gem in the 9th.
Aviles was checking out the view from the top of the order, taking over the 2-spot as Swisher was having a bro-nap on his day off. He ended up with a double, going 1 for 5, and coming home to score!
Kipnis was up and at 'em - he went 1 for 2 with a walk. He hit a successful sac bunt in the 8th to move Aviles over to 3rd, which allowed him to score on a single.
Michael Brantley, who was up next with a runner on third and 2 outs, well he did what Michael Brantley does and totally got an RBI single. TOTALLY. That was the second and clinching run of the game!
After that was Yan Gomes getting his 3rd hit of the day. He went 3 for 4 and came around to score but didn't get an RBI. If you're wondering how many hits Yan Gomes has had in the last 7 games, well the answer is 14. FOURTEEN HITS IN HIS LAST SEVEN GAMES.
Do you think he's giving pep talks to Mark Reynolds? After being Sucky McSuckerson for a while, he's got 3 hits in his last 3 games. Today he had an in-any-other-park homer that was a double in the record books. And it wasn't just that one hit, he also got a singles, going 2 for 4 on the day. Let's see an amazing August, Reynolds!
Chisenhall was down in his 8-hole and he was effective today - 1 for 3 with the team's first RBI! He got an RBI single in the 2nd. He also laid down a sac bunt in the 7th, but no one could do anything to help the runner the rest of the way.
The only guy to hit in the 9-spot was Scott Kazmir, who hit a 98 MPH fastball for a single in the 5th. No one else hit in the 5th tho, boo! Also, no one else got hits in the 9-spot - neither Giambi nor Swisher could hack it.
I will admit - it was awful hard work to beat these stupid Marlins 2 out of 3 this weekend. But maybe it was due to the dancing girls. And the incredibly large outfield. I think the Indians hit at least 4 home runs!
We did take 9 out of 10 in this 3-series run against crummy teams. And 1 more before that. Unfortunately, the Tigers are doing just as well. Booooo!
Tomorrow is our big chance to finally gain some ground on those kitties. The first of a 4-game series against the Tigers. Ack, I can't believe I scheduled something for Thursday night! Let's hope the party winds down early (Oh, friends with kids - excellent, it'll be over by the 3rd inning!)
We're still firmly 3 games behind the Tigers in the division. How long has it been - 3 months like that? Argh! Could you imagine if we won 4 games? That'd put us 1 game AHEAD of them. (Even if we lose all 4, we're still .5 ahead of the Royals, by the way.)
It'll be Corey Kluber versus RHP 2.59. Totally do-able - most of our guys are hitting over .300 against this dude in the last 5 years. They definitely have to strike early on in the series to get some wins in before it's Scherzer time. Good planning on Tito's part that most of our guys were benched today for rest time.
I'm nervous. I had a hard time concentrating at work during the Detroit series last year too. Weird, right?
Well, nah - not weird. Baseball.
Radio Chatter:
"The excitement here when they announced to the crowd was about the same as when they pass the collection plate on Sunday morning."
- Tom Hamilton on the pre-game festivities in Miami, honoring the 2003 World Series
"Giancarlo Stanton must wonder 'Why do they hate me?'"
- Tom Hamilton on Miami trading most of their team but Stanton
"How does he go through a metal detector at the airport? Don't the magnets suck the metal out of his face?"
- Tom Hamilton on Dennis Rodman
"All we know is that the Tigers have been able to take advantage of a guy who has been caught cheating, for 110 games."
- Tom Hamilton on Jhonny Peralta
The problem for Cubans trying to get over to the United States...well, it seems it started with Hymen Roth 'This is the business we have chosen,' in Godfather II. He had a heck of a welcome when he got to Miami."
- Tom Hamilton is running out of things to say about Miami
"The excitement here when they announced to the crowd was about the same as when they pass the collection plate on Sunday morning."
- Tom Hamilton on the pre-game festivities in Miami, honoring the 2003 World Series
"Giancarlo Stanton must wonder 'Why do they hate me?'"
- Tom Hamilton on Miami trading most of their team but Stanton
"How does he go through a metal detector at the airport? Don't the magnets suck the metal out of his face?"
- Tom Hamilton on Dennis Rodman
"All we know is that the Tigers have been able to take advantage of a guy who has been caught cheating, for 110 games."
- Tom Hamilton on Jhonny Peralta
The problem for Cubans trying to get over to the United States...well, it seems it started with Hymen Roth 'This is the business we have chosen,' in Godfather II. He had a heck of a welcome when he got to Miami."
- Tom Hamilton is running out of things to say about Miami
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