Player of the Game
Lead-off hitter Jason Kipnis had a fantastic day adding to his solid production as the lead-off hitter for the last week. During several times this game, he was the spark the Indians offense needed to climb back into the game and eventually win it.
Feathers Up
The obvious takeaway from this game is the offense battled with grit to come from behind after a 6 run top of the fourth by the Blue Jays. Down 6-1 and looking lifeless, the Indians took their hacks off a very poor Toronto pitching staff. It was the biggest Tribe comeback this season; down five runs in the fourth. The slow start from the offense has been a trouble point for this team since the opening series in Houston; it was good to see them score double digit runs for the second time in the series.
Jason Kipnis continues to be on fire adding four hits, including a HR, double and three runs scored on the day. After a slow start, he is slowly heating up with seven hits and two HR’s in this series. Kipnis knocked in the first run in the fifth with an RBI single to left which saw the Indians score six runs of their own to re-take the lead 8-6 at that point.
Jose Ramirez, Michael Brantley and Carlos Santana each had multiple hits on the day with Brantley, Brandon Moss and Ryan Raburn each added multiple RBI’s. Raburn arguably had the biggest hit on the day. On the first pitch seen from Jeff Francis, he doubled in two runs- the tying and go-ahead runs in the six-run fifth. That made the score 8-6 at the time. The offense never looked back. In the bottom of the sixth, Santana walked with the bases loaded; not only giving him an RBI but also earning the 452 BB of his career, putting him in the Indians all-time top 20.
The Indians bullpen was stellar for once; pitching 4 2/3 innings giving up only one run with that run coming off a Russell Martin solo HR to the bleachers in the 9th. Cody Allen, who pitched in that ninth, is now in the top 50 career appearances for the Indians.
Feathers Down
Today’s game featured some of the stupidest plays of the Indians season as Carlos Santana left everyone flabbergasted. First, after making a smart play by bunting to an empty third base to reach in his first at bat, he was caught off second on an infield fly. In the fourth, he had a good chance at a double play on a hard hit ball that would have ended the inning without score, but instead he ran the ball all the way to third to hold the runner and didn’t get anyone out. Feeling the frustration, Trevor Bauer made a mistake of his own when he tried to turn a simple 1-3 put out into a double play and cost himself any chance of an out. Had both outs been made, the inning would have ended with at most two runs scored, just prior to when Devon Travis would have come to the plate. Instead, the hottest rookie in baseball blasted a grand slam over the left field wall for his seventh home run and 23rd RBI of the season.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 10 – Toronto Blue Jays 7
On Deck: Off day tomorrow before opening up a three game series against the Kansas City Royals in Missouri. The Indians will have to beat two lefties in the series if they are going to win it: Jason Vargas and Danny Duffy.
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