Who were those guys? Tribe bats explode for 15 runs

The Indians opened their weekend series against the Royals by putting 15 runs on the board, the most from this typically quiet lineup since July 3 of last season.  The Tribe bats rocked former number 1 overall pick (and bust) Bryan Bullington.  Nine of their runs came via the long ball, with legends Chris Gimenez, Jayson Nix, and Matt LaPorta all hitting 3 run homers.  LaPorta homered for the second game in a row as the Tribe won their second game in a row.

The Indians spotted starter Josh Tomlin a 6 run lead after a 2nd inning explosion led by LaPorta’s 3 run bomb to left on an 0-2 count.  Gimenez doubled home Jason Donald while Michael Brantley and Shin-Soo Choo singled in the final RBIs of the inning.  Every batter in the Tribe lineup had a hit, a shocking and unexpected display from a lineup that has been exceedingly woeful for the past 3 weeks.  Donald finished with 4 hits for the second time this season.

Donald scored 3 runs and was brought home by the Gimenez double and homer, a 3 run bomb to center that traveled 436 feet.  Gimenez’s big night put him over the Mendoza line and the backup catcher was happy to see a “2” next to his name, “I hate to admit it, but seeing a ‘2’ next to my name does wonders…I’ve been working to adjust to being able to swing the bat whenever I get the chance. It’s mostly mental. It felt real good to contribute.”

Jayson Nix joined Gimenez with 4 RBIs.  Jon dissected the 3rd base woes of the Tribe on Thursday – with the numbers pointing to Nix being the best of 3 bad options.  Nix, along with Gimenez, exceeded his expectations last night.  His homer in the 8th provided the Tribe with their first 3 three run homer game since 2004 (hit by Vic, Coco, and Casey).  He will be a butcher in the field but he occasionally shows some pop, with homers and doubles coming bunched together in short stretches this summer.

With a 6-0 lead after two, Josh Tomlin simply had to move the game along and throw strikes and clean up the Royals lineup.  He gave up 8 hits and 4 walks in only five innings, typically a recipe for a disaster.  But Tomlin contained the damage to only 3 runs in the 4th inning, as the Tribe would continue to add to their 6 spot.  Justin Germano looked sharp again in relief striking out 4 in 2 innings.  Frank Hermann scattered 5 hits and 2 walks over the final 2 innings as the rout was on.  The Royals managed 16 hits, only one fewer than the Tribe.  They did, however, leave 16 on base, managing 11 runs fewer than the Tribe.

The Indians have won the season series with the Royals for six straight seasons.  They will likely need to do so again this year to avoid a last place finish.  The Royals currently lead the series 5-4 with 9 more games remaining with little over a month to go.  Manny Acta has made the race for 4th, or not being last, as one of the driving goals in these final 34 games.  The Indians will continue to work on that goal this evening as Zack Greinke pitches for the Royals and Jeanmar Gomez goes for the Tribe.  Let’s hope there are still some runs left in the tank after last night.

(Photo: Chuck Crow/Plain Dealer)