Tribe Bats Held Silent by Mark Buehrle
By Brian Heise
Apr 19, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Mark Buehrle (56) reacts in the eighth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Former Nemesis Mark Buehrle Pitches a Gem in Jays Win Over Tribe
Mark Buehrle might not be a member of the Chicago White Sox anymore, but he continues to foil the Indians every chance he gets. Saturday afternoon was no different as the veteran left hander shut the Indians offense down. He was aided by his own offense, which posted five runs off of Tribe starter Corey Kluber. The 5-0 victory was Toronto’s second straight victory. For the Indians, the loss was their third in a row and dropped them to 7-10 on the season.
In seven shutout innings of work, Buehrle limited the Indians offense to just four hits and three walks. He worked in his typically quick style, forcing the issue and keeping Indians hitters off-balance all afternoon long. The longest Buehrle spent on the mound was 8 minutes. It’s no surprise then that the game took less than three hours to play, 2 hours and 42 minutes to be exact.
Toronto got their scoring started early. In the top half of the first innings, Melky Cabrera tripled to right field, just out of the reach of David Murphy, who crashed into the wall attempting to make the catch. He was driven in on an RBI single from Jose Bautista. It wasn’t so much a single as it was a pop-up that Nick Swisher lost in the sun behind first base. A tough luck run is there ever was one.
Following a past ball by Yan Gomes, Bautista scored on an RBI single by Dioner Navarro. Only one of the runs in the first inning was earned. In the second, the Blue Jays went up 3-0 when Jose Reyes singled home Brett Lawrie.
The Indians tried as they might to get something going, but each and every time they even began to start a rally, Buerhle was able to squash it through either a double play or strike out. And while Saturday’s offensive black out was more a result of Mark Buehrle than anything else, it does continue the alarming trend of the Indians not being able to drive in runs in key run scoring situations. With seven men left on base, they had more than an ample amount of opportunities to get something going offensively.
As for the rest of the game, the Blue Jays added two insurance runs late, also coming off of Kluber, who when 6.2 innings and allowed 5 runs on 9 hits and three walks. After walking Jose Bautista and serving up a double to Edwin Encarnacion, Dioner Navarro singled them both home on a line drive to center. That made it 5-0. Former Indian Esmil Rodgers then entered the game for Buehrle and shut the door on the Indians over the final two innings of play.
With the Indians facing a potential sweep at the hands of the Blue Jays, they will look to get back on the winning track tomorrow afternoon. In the finale of this three game set, the Indians will send Carlos Carrasco to the mound. The Blue Jays will counter with former top prospect, Brandon Morrow. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05.
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