A Run and A Run and A Run and A Run!

Woooow! Twelve runs! Twelve runs in just one night! One run fewer than we got versus San Francisco and Anaheim! Oh, how we've missed you, runs!

Check out that tiny LOB, too - just 7, with 13 hits and 6 walks. Boo-ya!

The offense was The Thing today but pitching was all right. Five runs and all right? Well no - just 3 earned runs. And they were all from Salazar. Five innings and all right? Well that was after 2 errors so who knows how many extra pitches were thrown? And how about when Salazar had bases loaded with no outs and doesn't implode? How about the 1-2-3 inning against Abreu-Dunn-Viciedo? Not a quality start, no, but a nice game for the kid.

The bullpen all trundled out on to the field but they were able to relax a bit. They gave up a lot of hits (3) and only struck out a few (3) but still no one scored. They preserved the Tribe's 7-run lead!

7-run lead!

The first inning was super fun to watch. Yeah, WATCH! I was at my parents' house and flipped on the game to catch that amazing first inning. I hadn't seen anything like that all year! Everything was dropping in that outfield. Everything!

Michael Bourn - who has actually been quite good once he got back, while everyone else was quite not - was a bit of a weak link today. He started and ended that 5-run first inning with a pop up and a fly out. Dude! He did end up going 1 for 5 and scoring once.

Mike Aviles - aka "Handsome Mike" - was in batting second for the injured Jason Kipnis. Awwwwww....15 day disabled list! But Aviles and Kipnis share a lot of the same excitement, so Mike was able to go in there and get a couple of hits and score a couple of runs for his buddy Kip. The same cannot be said for poor ol' Elliot Johnson who was filling in for Kipnis in the field, and was the only guy on the team not to get a hit. He also made 2 errors which contributed to 2 un-earned runs. Oh, Elliot!

For real...

Even Nick Swisher was down with the patience today, going 2 for 3 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored. No strikeouts for the bro.

Everything kind of belongs to Carlos Santana right now, as we're all running backwards covering our tracks about how utterly disappointed we are in him. Disappointment - gone! Tonight 'Los went 2 for 4. Those 2 were a double and a HOMER. He had 2 RBI and came in to score 3 runs!!! When Carlos hits, we all hits man!

Ryan Raburn was oddly bunched in there in the 5th spot today. He got a bigbig 2-RBI single in that awesome first inning, and came around to score once. David Murphy came in to pinch hit for him later on, and went 0 for 1 with a walk and a run scored. Interesting choice for 5th!

Brantley (.272) then was 6th, which is fine for him because he can hit anywhere. His production had been so THIN lately (if not non-existent!) but tonight he was back doing the Brantley thang going 3 for 5 with a HOMER and 3 RBI! Wow, how about this guy and his homers huh?

It's cool.

Asdrubal only got 1 hit today, but he also got a walk and he also didn't strike out. They did mention something about him appearing to "pull up lame" as it were, later in the game. They took him out for Jose Ramirez so...we'll see?

Gomes cranked it back up tonight with two really sweet doubles, reaching out and golfing them in to right. That accounted for 2 RBI and one run scored!

So it was all offense, all game long. From everyone (everyone but Elliot!) If this is the new trend I LOVE IT! I think it'll take a few games for us to confirm that this is a trend, but at least we know they've got it in them. Well, we've always known they had it in them - that's what was so frustrating.

Tomorrow is a 6:05 PM start because ...? Does it have to do with the NFL Draft? Everything has to do with the NFL Draft, even a week before the NFL Draft. It'll be Masterson versus a new guy who has a little 1.23 ERA but possibly is no match for our Real Men at the plate.

Let's hope they all show up again tomorrow. This is fun! See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"There were a lot of denture makers and chiropractors."
- Tom Hamilton says there are no Jack Bauers in Winterhaven

"Oh, he looked like Minnesota Fats with a pool cue!"
- Tom Hamilton on Yan Gomes' double in the third

"Well it was nine miles up and about 330 feet out, and that's all it took."
- Jim Rosenhaus on Abreau's homer

"That 'Hokey Pokey' got a little rated-R."
- Tom Hamilton on a very exciting wedding he went to

"Some folks are waddling out of the park early."
- Tom Hamilton on Dollar Dog Night