Indians Get Much Needed Win Over Tigers

This is going to sound bizarre, but Fausto Carmona actually pitched well against the Tigers. He was on a 5 game losing streak, but was able to hold the Tigers to 4 runs. During the past month, this might have been to large a defecit for the offense to overcome, but they finally woke up.

Things did not look good from the start. In the bottom of the first, Carmona allowed 3 runs, all with two outs. It seemed like the team was headed to another loss, but the offense woke up in the fourth with 4 runs. The Tribe batted around in the inning, with Matt LaPorta, Orlando Cabrera, Lou Marson, and Grady Sizemore all driving in runs.

The Tigers added another run in the bottom of the fourth, but that would be all the scoring for them. The Indians added two more runs with the lead at 6-4 heading into the ninth. Chris Perez came in and struck out the first two batters on a combined 7 pitches. He then got Brennan Boesch to fly out, which gave him his 17th save of the year.

This win came at a perfect time for the Indians. They could not have afforded to fall another game back in the division. Confidence surely would have fallen, and Fausto might even have fallen out of the rotation had he pitched badly. Luckily, the offense woke up and scored 6 runs on 13 hits. Everyone except Michael Brantley had at least one hit, with four players having multiple hits.

The win also gave the bullpen a chance to pitch in a meaningful game. During the previous month, many of the the bullpen’s outings have come in games where an Indians loss was imminent. Last night, the bullpen were given a true test to their abilities. They responded with 4 scoreless and hitless innings. It was capped off by Chris Perez’s save.

The Indians will look to regain the outright lead in the division today in Detroit. The game will not be televised, which is absurd considering the magnitude of the game, but it will be on the radio as always. Hopefully the offense can continue to pour on runs and give Mitch Talbot some run support.