Browns trade up to select Washington State DT Xavier Cooper at No. 96
May 1, 2015Browns select Northwestern safety Ibraheim Campbell with No. 115 pick
May 2, 2015Sort of like Rocky training with Apollo Creed in order to beat Mr. T, the down-and-out Indians needed the familiarity of an old rival to get them back in shape at the start of a new month, and Mark Buehrle was just the man for the job. Dating all the way back to the year 2000, this was Buehrle’s 25th appearance as a visiting pitcher at Jacobs/Progressive Field, and he’s generally enjoyed the ambiance (9-7, 3.95 ERA, 1.27 WHIP coming in).
Not so much Friday night, however, as the Tribe blasted the grizzled southpaw to the tune of 8 runs in 4.1 innings, overcoming an early 3-run deficit to beat the Blue Jays 9-4. It was Buehrle’s worst effort at the Jake since Opening Day, 2008, when—as a member of the White Sox—he coughed up 7 runs in an inning and two thirds. Grady Sizemore homered off of him in that one, and the leadoff hitter for Chicago was a young, speedy Nick Swisher*.
*Nick Swisher was never actually speedy.
Re-Capping
The long ball was the Indians’ friend tonight off Buehrle and his immediate successor Andrew Albers, as Jason Kipnis set the tone with a leadoff blast in the first, followed by a go-ahead two-run shot from Michael Brantley in the fourth (his first of the season), and a much appreciated three-run insurance tater from backup catcher Brett Hayes in the fifth. Those swings will all take up the majority of the video highlight reels, but this game’s greatest intrigue easily came in the third inning.
When you’ve only won two of your first nine home games and half the people in the stands are migratory Canadians, it’s all too easy to feel pessimistic, waiting for a scuffling Carlos Carrasco to collapse in on himself and go full supernova against a lumber-toting Blue Jay offense. In the third inning, with the game tied at 1, all signs seemed to support this premonition. Facing a weirdly reconfigured Toronto lineup with power hitters Josh Donaldson and Jose Bautista hitting first and second, respectively, Carrasco surrendered a one-out single to Donaldson, then walked Bautista after Hayes failed to squeeze a two-strike foul tip. Edwin Encarnacion followed with a double, and Kevin Pillar tripled over the heads of Bourn and Moss in right-center, clearing the bases. It was now 4-1 Jays, and for all intents and purposes—based on what we’ve seen through the first month of the season—the game was over.
That’s when Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway (career ERA of 6.27 in 130 MLB innings) jogged out to the mound. It was a purposeful jog, as much as any jog can look determined. Flanked by Hayes and Lonnie Chisenhall, Mickey then proceeded to read Carrasco the riot act, presumably peppering in a compilation of Venezuelan inspirational quotes as he literally jabbed his index finger into the pitcher’s sternum. To conclude the speech, Callaway appeared to channel the great Roger Dorn by imploring Cookie to “strike this mother #%@^% out!” And Carrasco obliged, whiffing Michael Saunders and basically cruising through the next three innings as the Indians battled back.
A similar reversal of fortune swung the game in the bottom half of the third. After Buehrle loaded the bases with a walk to Kipnis and back-to-back singles by Aviles and Brantley, Carlos Santana came to the plate with the tying run on first and nobody out. He then squibbed a chopper back to the mound, which Buehrle tossed plateward for a force out. There was an audible moan of disapproval and a strange sense of resignation—“of course they’re gonna find a way to blow this.” But, as if to spite your subconscious, they didn’t blow it. With the bases still loaded, Brandon Moss doubled to right field, driving in his team best 15th and 16th runs. And after a Chisenhall grounder scored Santana, the game was suddenly re-tied. The Indians had answered the bell!
Yet another bait and switch moment played out in the next inning, as an apparent RBI double from Mike Aviles was overturned when a replay challenge from Toronto reversed a call and ruled Michael Bourn out on a play at the plate. “That’ll be the run that costs us the game.” But nope. Michael Brantley stepped up next and went yard, putting the Indians up for good. It’s games like this that keep you foolishly coming back for more.
C-Cap Recap Custom Box Score
May 1, 2015
Indians 9, Blue Jays 4
Green Highlight (as in “Great”): Jason Kipnis didn’t hit a single homerun after July 31 last season. He’s hit two in the past three days. Maybe we’ve set our standards a bit low, but even a temporary visit from 2013 Kip would sure go a long way.
Yellow Highlight (as in “Almost Green”): Once the Yanimal returns (which, to the surprise of no one, may be sooner than expected), Brett Hayes will likely be quietly sent away under the cover of night. This is why we should savor any moment to tip our cap to a very serviceable journeyman backstop. Hayes jumped all over a hovering breaking ball from Andrew Albers, a lefty reliever making his season debut. Albers, incidentally, spent all of 2014 in the Korean League, where he posted a 5.89 ERA in 28 starts. He didn’t lose his left-handedness, however, so another job in the Major Leagues was always his to claim.
Red Highlight (as in “Stop, You’re Bad”): After starting the season 3-0, the 36 year-old Buehrle has given up 24 combined hits in his last two starts. It should be noted, however, that he is also left-handed.
3 Comments
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F***ing Indians. Leaving this here