So, after three innings, did anyone expect this to be a competitive contest? The Indians eventually stranded the tying run on first base in the top of the eighth, as Toronto Blue Jays closer Casey Janssen picked up the final four outs for the save.
This was Ubaldo Jimenez’s worst outing of the season, as he failed to get past a miserable third inning. But Cleveland later rallied back, as led by three-hit-and-a-homer days from Michael Brantley and Shelley Duncan. Reliever Esmil Rogers also deserves some kudos for his final two innings of shutout baseball.
Let’s just hope now that the White Sox and Tigers don’t gain a game tonight. Derek Lowe (8-6, 4.43 ERA) will be on the hill tomorrow afternoon as the Tribe looks for the series victory at the Rogers Centre.
| Scoring Summary |
| Bot 1st: Toronto |
| - A. Lind doubled to right, C. Rasmus and J. Bautista scored |
| Top 2nd: Cleveland |
| - S. Duncan hit by pitch, J. Lopez scored, C. Santana to third, M. Brantley to second |
| - C. Kotchman grounded into double play shortstop to second to first, C. Santana scored, M. Brantley to third, S. Duncan out at second |
| Bot 3rd: Toronto |
| - E. Encarnacion homered to deep left, J. Bautista scored |
| - Y. Escobar homered to deep left, A. Lind scored |
| - J.P. Arencibia doubled to deep right center, K. Johnson scored |
| - B. Lawrie doubled to right, J.P. Arencibia scored |
| - A. Lind singled to center, B. Lawrie and J. Bautista scored, E. Encarnacion to third |
| Top 4th: Cleveland |
| - S. Duncan homered to deep left, M. Brantley scored |
| Bot 5th: Toronto |
| - E. Encarnacion homered to deep left center |
| Top 8th: Cleveland |
| - M. Brantley homered to deep right, C. Santana scored |
| - C. Kotchman homered to deep right, S. Duncan scored |
| - T. Hafner singled to shallow left center, A. Cabrera scored, J. Kipnis to second |
| Cleveland | |||||||||||
| AB | R | H | RBI | HR | BB | K | SB | LOB | Season Avg | ||
| S. Choo rf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .295 | |
| A. Cabrera ss | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .279 | |
| J. Kipnis 2b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .275 | |
| J. Lopez 3b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .267 | |
| T. Hafner ph | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .237 | |
| J. Hannahan pr-3b | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .239 | |
| C. Santana dh | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .221 | |
| M. Brantley cf | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .299 | |
| S. Duncan lf | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .235 | |
| C. Kotchman 1b | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .241 | |
| L. Marson c | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .293 | |
| Totals | 37 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 11 | ||
|
| Toronto | |||||||||||
| AB | R | H | RBI | HR | BB | K | SB | LOB | Season Avg | ||
| B. Lawrie 3b | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .290 | |
| C. Rasmus cf | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | .253 | |
| J. Bautista rf | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .242 | |
| E. Encarnacion 1b | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .295 | |
| A. Lind dh | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .232 | |
| Y. Escobar ss | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .254 | |
| K. Johnson 2b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .247 | |
| R. Davis lf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .243 | |
| J.P. Arencibia c | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .230 | |
| Totals | 37 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 15 | ||
|
|
| Cleveland | ||||||||||
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR | WHIP | Season ERA | ||
| U. Jimenez (L, 8-8) | 2.1 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1.58 | 5.09 | |
| S. Barnes | 1.2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.85 | 8.31 | |
| J. Accardo | 2.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.38 | 3.55 | |
| E. Rogers | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.59 | 1.76 | |
| Toronto | ||||||||||
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR | WHIP | Season ERA | ||
| A. Laffey (W, 1-1) | 5.0 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1.16 | 3.38 | |
| A. Loup | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |
| J. Chavez | 0.0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1.57 | 8.85 | |
| A. Carpenter | 0.2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 | 9.00 | |
| C. Janssen (S, 13) | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.87 | 2.21 | |
