The Night That Would Be Ours
June 5, 2015Jon Barry: Cavs think Kyrie Irving is done for the series
June 5, 2015While the Cavs were forced to play five minutes too many, the Indians got to play one inning fewer than usual tonight, beating the Royals in the rain-shortened rubber match of a three game set in Kansas City, 6-2. Trevor Bauer was Mr. QS yet again, protecting an early 4-0 lead en route to 6.2 innings of 2-run ball, earning him his fifth win of the season. Every Tribe batsman tallied at least one hit, and Ma Nature got the unofficial save, as the game was called with one out in the bottom of the eighth. The Indians (26-27) are now one measly game behind mighty Detroit, five behind KC, and six in back of the first place Paul Molitors. Depending on a Kyrie MRI, they might also have the best odds among all Cleveland teams of winning a championship in 2015.
Re-Capping
If a 26-27 record at the one-third mark of the season doesn’t strike you as the look of a pennant winner, I need only direct your attention to the Kansas City Royals club in the opposing clubhouse. They were stumbling around at 25-28 at this same stage one year ago, and were still 50-50 by late July. In an American League where no top dog truly exists, great pitching—which the Indians have—can only be trumped by the wild cards of luck and health. If pitching, luck, and health converge, you are just as likely as anybody to wind up in the World Series.
Right now, the Twins are certainly playing better than expected, and the Tigers have begun underachieving (as usual), losing seven straight. The Royals, meanwhile, remain confusing. One night after impressively pin-balling a cascade of early doubles off the Klubot, the vaunted, versatile KC lineup went dormant again, managing just four hits against the now almost weirdly consistent Trevor Bauer (5-2, 2.94 ERA). Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer each whiffed twice, and the only runs came—much as in Bauer’s last start—on a single mistake; a two-run homer by Lorenzo Cain in the third inning. After a 28-14 start that had them looking like they’d crossed the threshold into greatness, the Royals have lost seven of nine, averaging a paltry 1.29 runs scored in those seven defeats.
Then you have the Indians, winners of 12 of their last 16, allowing just 2.25 runs per game in those 12 wins. The offense has clearly played its role in the turnaround, as well, averaging 4.68 runs over that full 16-game stretch. And while Jason Kipnis has rightfully earned the lion’s share of the attention (he jump-started the Tribe’s four-run rally in the third inning tonight with an RBI single), the Indians bats as a whole are quietly producing a solid 4.4 runs per game on the season—good enough for ninth in the Majors, and a wee up-tick from last year’s 4.13 RPG average.
Michael Bourn and Brandon Moss, in particular, have been sneaky hot of late. Bourn, who singled and stole second (!!!) ahead of Kipnis’s RBI knock in the third, has raised his slash line from .225/.306/.292 (on May 19) to .259/.331/.321. Those numbers aren’t exactly going to get you a free elevator ride back to the leadoff spot, but it’s progress.
Brandon Moss, on the other hand, has been pretty much exactly what the front office must have envisioned from day one. He’s just going through the process of converting more believers in the bleachers. Since just May 26, Moss—who crushed his team-best 10th homer of the season tonight—has elevated his numbers from .219/.295/.425 to .253/.321/.494. That puts him now essentially dead-on with his career slash line of .248/.326/.463. So please, stop complaining about how the Indians did “nothing” to bring in talent over the off-season. If the addition of 30 HR and 95 RBI isn’t worth mentioning just because it was purchased at a bargain price, I hope you don’t have a degree in business or economics.
C-Cap Recap Custom Box Score
June 4, 2015
Indians 6, Royals 2
Green Highlight (as in “Great”): Trevor Bauer has pitched into the seventh inning and allowed two runs or fewer in five straight starts dating back to May 14. He walked four batters tonight and got into some hot water in the third inning (the Cain home run was followed by a Hosmer walk and a Morales single), but for a guy who is supposed to be notorious for getting lost in his own head, Bauer has looked mighty chill in dicey situations lately. He induced an Alex Gordon groundout to end the threat in the third and pretty much cruised from there on out. Through 11 starts, Trevor ranks 12th in the AL in ERA (2.94), 9th in K/9 (8.96), and 7th in WAR (1.9). And the argument could still be made that he’s been the Indians’ fourth-best starter.
Yellow Highlight (as in “Almost Green”): David Murphy had a great first half last season when he was getting a lot more at-bats (he had 38 RBI by June 5). By late summer, though, he had worn down and pretty well erased much hope of being the everyday rightfielder this season. What he has become, instead, is an extremely effective platoon man. Tonight he manned left field while a slightly nicked up Michael Brantley DHed. Murph only produced one hit, but it was the biggest of the game—a two-run double that expanded the lead to 4-0 in the third. He now has an OPS of .805, and if you combine his efforts with veteran benchmate Ryan Raburn, the resulting creature—Dayan Murphburn—casts a formidable shadow: .313 BA, 6 HR, 31 RBI, .890 OPS.
Red Highlight (as in “Stop, You’re Bad”): The 6-foot-10, 36 year-old Chris Young had a 0.78 ERA through his first 10 appearances (four of them starts). He’s surrendered 10 runs in his last two outings combined. While Danny Duffy and Kris Medlen are currently rehabbing and offering the Royals some hope of helpful reinforcements, their rotation—sans James Shields—still looks fairly, well, meh. Their combined starting pitcher ERA is 4.47, 24th in baseball. New ace Yordano Ventura has struggled to take the next step. Edinson Volquez has been a nice surprise but has a notorious tendency for forgetting how to throw strikes. And then there’s Jeremy Guthrie and Jason Vargas—veteran soft tossers who will “survive” six innings more than they’ll ever “dominate.” With the Royals’ pen, though, six innings remains more than enough.
13 Comments
Every Tribe batsman tallied at least one hit
Happening a bunch lately and is one of the bigger reasons for optimism.
Thanks, I needed that.
aye
Chisenhall’s OBP… WOOF!
That is a great win though… for whatever reason the Royals seem to have the Tribe’s number lately, so this series win is the hotness.
I prefer Ramurph…
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/11114010_10204157690051127_1302680380962887078_n.jpg?oh=4f29ea7e33781cac6cf4328fa0a19395&oe=56053E93
But, Murburn sounds like he’s the uncomprimising captain in a cop movie.
Oh I meant the picture. Murphburn is the greatest nickname ever.
“Yesterday I accidentally sat on the stone and got the WORST Murphburn of my life!”
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