Indians 3, Angels 2: Win One with the Kipper

Guess what?  TD is out of town again.  Which means you’ll be subjected to another “live” recap.  I know what you’re thinking: “I don’t pay my hard-earned blog-related money for no stinking ‘live recap’!”  You’re right.  You don’t.

But if you’d like to, I accept personal checks and/or gift cards to the Home Depot.  I’ve got a pretty nice little Saturday planned, actually…

7:21: So I’m a bit late getting started here.  I ate dinner around 7:05, fully expecting the top of the first inning to be going on still, what with Fausto’s proclivity for being bad.  Instead, he sends down the Angels in the top of the first 1-2-3.  He looked fine, but we all know how that story goes.

An added bonus?  In the bottom of the first, Michael Brantley rips a double down the right field line with one out, followed by a single from Asdrubal to score him.  This means the Indians have already hit the over in hits (1.5) and runs (0.5) for the game.  Yes, those numbers are made up, but Dan Haren is good enough that it’s not outside the realm of possibility.  A nice start.

7:24: Not that nice, it turns out.  Hafner K’s and Asdrubal is thrown out trying to steal.  All while Katie Witham explains why Santana has disappointed this year.  Turns out, he’s swinging too hard.  That was also the problem with Babe Ruth, if I recall.*

This is mostly a joke.  I know that Santana “swings for the fences” more than he should, but on the other hand, if we turn him into a singles hitter, I’d be utterly disappointed. Look, I’m certainly not happy with his production thus far this season, but I’m sure there’s a happy medium to be found.  I still think he’ll be fine, as most young hitters with talent like his are once they’re allowed some time to develop.  I wouldn’t give up on Jason Heyward yet either, for the record, even though he’s having a rough go of it this year.  I also think that our organization more than any other seems to find a way to ‘tinker’ with guys’ swings and approaches until they’re more or less useless.  Hold on a second, Matt LaPorta and Jhonny Peralta are calling on the other line….

7:35: Michael Brantley makes a sensational play to throw out Vernon Wells attempting to stretch a single into a double.  The ball was hit hard, which shakes my incipient and fragile Fausto-confidence.

Sure enough, Callaspo follows with a double to the right-centerfield gap.  Fausto’s sinker?  It doesn’t sink anymore.  Makes me nervous as all get out.

By the by, Brantley records all three outs that inning.  The next two on weak FLYballs.  Fausto’s sinkerballs continue not to sink…

7:41: Proof that this really is a live-blog and I’m not going back to re-edit myself: Santana strikes out swinging to start the second.

7:42: So does Lonnie Chisenhall.  Which means Dan Haren is on pace to strike out 21.60 batters tonight.  You might be wondering how it’s possible to strike out 60% of a Major League hitter.  Obie’s gonna pinch hit later.

Buck walks, but Kipnis pops out.  1-0 Good Guys.

7:55: A pretty good inning for Fausto: two strike outs and a groundout to short, interrupted by a hard-hit single to right.  I prefer the Fausto that throws nothing but sinkers and induces groundballs, but this new slider-throwing version does strike more guys out, which makes it mostly a matter of preference.  Either way, his success as a starter will continue to be dictated by how many guys he walks.  In 2007, Fausto walked 2.55 batters per nine innings; he was good then.  In both 2008 and 2009, he was over 5.00 (!); he was bad then.  In 2010, he got it back down to 3.08, and was once again respectable.  That’s called a “leading indicator” kids.  Tell your friends.

8:06: Meanwhile, the Indians get another two-out walk off Haren, only to strand him again.  This time it’s Michael Brantley with the free pass (whose OBP is creeping into the “above average” category, something we sorely need).  But Asdrubal pops out to shallow right to end the inning.  Still 1-0.  It feels funny that we are winning this game.

8:21: Whew. Fausto walks two in the inning with one out, but manages to get out of it after Buck catches a liner in right and Lonnie fields a grounder and steps on third.  Playing with fire, but Fausto’s held the Angels scoreless through four.  That’s something, right?

8:29: After a Hafner foul out, Santana bunts his way on base.  Tinker. Tinker. Tinker.

Next up is Chisenhall, who swings at a pitch that is approximately 37 feet outside, giving Haren his sixth strikeout of the night.  Buck follows with Haren’s seventh.  Danny Boy is now on pace for 15.75 strikeouts.  It’s bad that this is considered improvement, both for the Indians and Obie.

8:49: The good news?  It’s still 1-0 Indians.  The bad news?  It’s 8:49—20 minutes since the top of the fifth started—and Fausto just barely got through that last inning.  A double, a walk, and a ball driven to the base of the wall in right field.  Somehow, no scoring.

8:53: Dan Haren just pitched the bottom of the fifth, 1-2-3.  Check the time stamp.  Don’t tell me Fausto is out-pitching Haren just cuz he’s winning.  I won’t believe it.

8:59: Fausto goes 1-2-3 as well.  Yes, he got help from a diving play from Travis Buck (!), but still, credit-where-credit-is-due department: that was the heart of the Angels’ lineup.  Haren throws a four minute inning, Fausto takes six.  I’ll take it.

9:07: A mid-inning insight: Pronk looks like he’s going to rip someone’s head off.  He has NOT been happy with the home plate ump tonight.  Add that to his 1^st inning K and 4^th inning foul out, and he looks to have a bit of hate in his eyes.

9:09: Which only proves the old adage: hate doesn’t usually make stuff better.*  Hafner grounds out to second to end the inning.  We’re still at 1-0 through six innings.

*If this, by chance, isn’t an old adage, I call it. Hate Doesn’t Usually Make Stuff Better™

9:12: Joe Smith is on.  I’m not into jinxing things, so I’m gonna shut up here.

9:15: My radio silence worked.  Joe Smith goes 1-2-3.  Now that he’s out of the game, I can say it: I think he’s been incredibly lucky this season.  He strikes out 6.3 batters per nine and walks 3.3, yet somehow has an ERA of 1.17?  He’s stranding 90% of his baserunners, has a BABiP of .263, and STILL HASN’T ALLOWED A HOME RUN.  I’m sorry, but by the mere laws of mathematics, that can’t continue for much longer.

Which of course doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it while it lasts.  Thank you Smitty, may I have another? Here’s to blind allegiance!

9:22: Dan Haren is like the Terminator.  No matter what we do, he’s going to kill us.  I seriously went to the bathroom (number one, I swear), and the inning was over.  Granted, most of this is due to the ineptitude of our offense, but still.  He’s scary good.  We have no business winning this game.

9:25: Chisenhall is out of the game for Hannahan and Vinnie Boy P is in to replace Joe Smith.  This is smart.  It’s also obvious, but I’m not going to poo-poo minor victories.  Good job, Manny.

9:26: Uh-oh.  Kipnis can’t make the play to his right, and Macier Izturis ends up on first with no outs.  2-3-4 coming up for the Angels.  I feel this game will be decided in the next few batters.

9:27: Tori Hunter flies out to deep center on a hanging slider. One down.  Bobby Abreu up.  A bit nervous: Vinnie Boy not locating well.

9:29: Well, I’m not nervous anymore: Bobby Abreu just hit the snot out of a ball to right for a home run.  2-1 Angels.  It was pretty clear on the at bat to Hunter that Vinnie didn’t have his good stuff tonight.  Sad trombone.

9:30: Of course Vinnie gets the next two batters.  Damage done.  This feels utterly hopeless.  Is there a team in baseball with legitimate playoff hopes that stands such a small chance of scoring a run with six outs to play?  Double sad trombone.

The Terminator’s thrown 112 pitches, so we might get the bullpen.

9:32: I was wrong. He said he’d be back and he is.  Haren back out for the eighth and he promptly strikes out Jason Kipnis for his tenth of the night.

9:36: Matt LaPorta pinch-hits for Lou Marson.  This is roughly equivalent to ditching your grease-stained overalls for a leisure suit, because, well, you have to look good for Bingo night, right?  My point?  People will laugh at you either way, so does it really matter?

LaPorta flies out to center and Haren is done.  We have four outs left.

9:40: Austin Kearns pinch hits for Ezequiel Carrera.  I have no analogies for this.  Rather, I’d like you to imagine an existence where these two players constitute your best corner OF bats.  Welcome to hell, ladies and gentlemen!

Kearns lines out to the pitcher.  Three outs left.

9:47: Tony Sipp is pitching now, but I’m getting bored and distracted: in our last five games (counting this one), the Indians have scored 2 runs or fewer four times, including two shutouts.  That stinks.  Even worse?  In three of those five games we allowed three runs or fewer, meaning we really should have won based on our pitching.

If this game holds up, of course, we’ll have lost all five.  I don’t want that to happen.

9:50: OK, enough of this pessimism. Top of the order.  Cue the Animal House clip.  Germans and Pearl Harbor and all that.  I’m in.

9:52: Leadoff single from Brantley.  You think he steals?

9:54: Jordan Walden thinks he will.  He’s throwing to first a lot.

9:55: And after the requisite sissy pitch-out, Brantley swipes second.  3-1 count on Asdrubal, still no one out.

9:57: Asdrubal strikes out swinging.  It should be noted that Jordan Walden throws harder than God.  Hafner coming up.

9:58: Hafner’s got some of the beast in him, doesn’t he?  Pronk just pounded a double off the left-center field wall to score Brantley.  It’s a tie game.

I love watching Travis Hafner try to slide, by the way.  Poetry in motion.

9:59: Manny Acta has no feel for the kinesthetics of poetry.  Obie in as a pinch runner.  Santana up.

10:02: Santana walks.  Walden wanted nothing to do with him, given Hannahan is due up.  Quickly down 0-2.

10:03: Holy Moly.  Jordan Walden did NOT mean to do that, but he did it anyway.  He just hit Hannahan on the knee.  Bases juiced for Travis Buck.

10:04: Mike Scoscia is trying to be tricky.  He wants to field five infielders and two outfielders now.  Also making a pitching change.  Still only one out.  All Buck needs is a flyball anywhere to the outfield.

10:08: Nope.  Chopper to second, where Tori Hunter is playing, who comes home with it for the force.  Two down.  Time for Jason Kipnis to walk this off.

10:09: Ballgame!  Kipnis with a base hit to right.  First Big League hit for the kid, and he drives home Uncle Obie.  Good for him.  I hope Obie gets used to this pinch-running thing: I see a real future for him there.

A quick check of the scores.  Holy cow.  The Twins are losing 17-1 to Texas and Detroit’s losing 5-2 to the White Sox.  This was a good night for the Indians all around.  Anytime you can pick up a game in the division when facing a legitimate ace, you’ve got to be happy with that, offensive problems aside.  Is this a flawed team?  Of course it is.  Very.  But I wrote several weeks back that the Tigers are particularly flawed too.  We have a chance to win the division, and that’s a darn good thing to be thinking in late July.

And yes.  For the record, this is my second consecutive live-blog that has ended with a walk-off win for the Indians.  No.  I will not do this every night.  Unless, of course, there are Home Depot gift cards involved.

Photo credit: Matt Burton MiLB.com