Indians Rally Capped By Swisher Blast, Defeat White Sox 9-8

After taking the first game of Friday’s doubleheader 19-10 the Cleveland Indians rallied in the 9th inning against Chicago White Sox closer Addison Reed to take the nightcap by a final score of 9-8. Matt Langwell (1-0, 5.06 ERA) earns his first major league win and Vinnie Pestano picks up save number 6 as the Indians improve to 42-38 on the year. Addison Reed (3-1, 4.00 ERA) takes the loss for the White Sox and their record falls to 32-45.

JMandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

After relinquishing leads of 4-0, 4-1, and 5-2 and eventually falling behind 8-5 entering the 9th inning it appeared as if the Indians were destined to split the doubleheader with the White Sox. They entered the 9th inning trailing 8-5 and the White Sox had their closer Addison Reed on the mound looking for his 22nd save on the year.

The Indians pecked away at Reed scoring their first run with 3 straight singles by Ryan Raburn, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Michael Bourn to begin the inning. With runners on the corners and nobody out Reed uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Cabrera to score cutting the lead to 8-7 and  Bourn moved up to 2nd base.

Jason Giambi, pinch hitting for Mike Aviles, hit a sacrifice fly to move Bourn to 3rd and he came in to score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jason Kipnis to tie the game at 8-8.

With the bases empty and 2-out Nick Swisher delivered a mammoth solo home run to right field to give the Indians the 9-8 lead.

Vinnie Pestano was summoned from the bullpen to protect the 1-run lead and struck out Jordan Danks for the first out of the inning before walking Casper Wells. He struck out Hector Gimenez for the second out of the inning to bring up Alejandro De Aza who was 3 for 4 with a walk 4 run scored, and 2-RBIs in the game. Pestano was up to the task and struck De Aza out to end the game.

What A Start:

Carlos Carrasco was staked to a 4-0 lead but was unable to hold the White Sox and departed the game with the Indians holding a 5-4 lead but with runners at 2nd and 3rd which were his responsibility.  The key moment of the game came at this moment. Rich Hill was called on to face Adam Dunn and after jumping ahead 0-2 Hill left a pitch up that Dunn laced back up the middle to plate both Hector Gimenez and Alejandro De Aza to give the White Sox the 6-5 lead.

After putting up 19 runs in the first game the Indians jumped on White Sox starter Jose Quintana  in the bottom of the 1st and staked Carrasco to a 4-0 lead. The Indians used 3 straight singles by Michael Bourn, Mike Aviles, and Jason Kipnis to score to take a 1-0 lead.

Quintana provided the Indians with their next three runs with a lack of control. He started by walking Nick  Swisher to load the bases and then walked Carlos Santana to force in a run. His erratic control did not stop there as he uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Jason Kipnis to race home with the Indians 3rd run and both Swisher and Santana moved in to scoring position. Michael Brantley followed with a sacrifice fly to plate Swisher and the Indians had a quick 4-0 lead.

The White Sox cut the Indians lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the 1st on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Connor Gillaspie and drew closer with a single tally in the bottom of the 5th on a RBI single off the bat of Jeff Keppinger.

The Indians answered the White Sox run in the top of the 6th with a run of their own on Mark Reynolds 15th home run on the year to push the Indians lead to 5-2.

Carrasco & Hill Falter: White Sox Come Back To Take 6-5 Lead

The White Sox rallied in the bottom of the 6th to take a 6-5 lead.  The White Sox loaded the bases with 1-out on singles by Gordan Beckham and Casper Wells and an 11-pitch walk to  Hector Gimenez. Alejandro De Aza stroked a double the opposite way to score Beckham and Wells and pitching coach Mickey Callaway paid a visit to the mound.

Carrasco retired Alexei Ramirez on a ground out back to the mound for the 2nd out of the inning and he was replaced by Rich Hill for the lefty-lefty match up against Adam Dunn. Hill quickly got 2-strikes on Dunn but left a pitch up and Dunn made him pay by lining a ball back up the middle to score both Gimenez and De Aza and give the White Sox the 6-5 lead.

The White Sox bullpen protected the lead as Nate Jones worked a scoreless 7th and Jesse Crain worked a scoreless 8th.

White Sox Tack On Two Insurance Runs Off Langwell: Lead 8-5

The White Sox added 2 insurance runs off Matt Langwell in the bottom of the 8th inning to push their lead to 8-5. Alejandro De Aza led off with a walk, stole second, and came in to score on a Alexei Ramirez double. Ramirez came in on a Jeff Keppinger triple that glanced off the glove of a diving Drew Stubbs. The White Sox needed the extra runs as the Indians rallied in the 9th inning.

Indians Rally Off Addison Reed 

The Indians mounted a ninth inning rally. Ryan Raburn and Asdrubal Cabrera to lead off the 9th against White Sox closer Addison Reed  with back to back singles and Micheal Bourn drove in Raburn to cut the lead to 8-6 and  Cabrera advanced to 3rd base.

Jason Giambi came in to pinch hit for Mike Aviles and with Giambi down in the count 1-2 Reed uncorked a wild pitch that scored Cabrera to cut the lead to 8-7 and Bourn moved into scoring position.  Giambi moved Bourn into scoring position with a sacrifice fly to center fielder Jordan Danks to bring Jason Kipnis to the plate. 

After a meeting on the mound the White Sox pulled the infield in and allowed Reed to attack Kipnis and Kipnis delivered a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 8-8. 

With the bases empty and 2-out Nick Swisher stepped to the plate and hit a no doubter to the seats in right to give the Indians a 9-8 lead.

Screen Grab: MLB.com

Pestano Slams The Door: Indians Sweep Doubleheader

Vinnie Pestano was called on to work the 9th inning and to protect a very important 1-run lead. The Indians had just rallied against White Sox closer Addison Reed and allowing the White Sox to tie the game or win in walk-off fashion would be demoralizing. Pestano did walk Casper Wells to put the tying run on base but struck out the side including Alejandro De Aza to end the game.

The Indians and White Sox meet again tomorrow at 4:10 p.m. The Indians will send Ubaldo Jimenez  (6-4, 4.58 ERA) to the mound and he will be opposed by Dylan Axelrod (3-4, 4.57 ERA).