Indians Finish Off Sweep of Detroit with a #Balkoff
By Evan Vogel
In a series that had large implications on where the Cleveland Indians could wind up when the trade deadline arrives, the Tribe showed up. Well, some of the Tribe showed up, as it is questionable if Zach McAllister was aware of his surroundings in his poor effort on Wednesday. With the three game sweep completed, the Indians are now 7.5 games out of first with only 115 games left to play. In other words, if you’re worried and throwing in the towel…simma down!
Michael Brantley wins the star of the game for filling up the boxscore, going 4 for 7 with two runs scored, two stolen bases, and three RBI. He continues to go #beastmode all over the opposition in his early season breakout. However, the true hero of the game was David Murphy, who ripped a one-out, two-run home run off of Tigers’ closer Joe Nathan to tie the game at nine and force extra innings. Murphy is hitting .383/.423/.702 over his last 11 games, including 18 hits (three home runs), and 12 RBI.
Al Alburquerque‘s balk in the bottom of the 13th gave Phil Coke the loss for the Tigers (0-1), while Tomlin earned the win with three solid innings, including six strikeouts, to improve to 3-1 on the season.
As mentioned before, McAllister was not good, but he wasn’t alone. Indians’ pitchers walked 10 in the game, while allowing three home runs on the afternoon. Josh Tomlin, Thursday’s scheduled starter, was forced into action due to the use of seven relievers prior to his entrance. Look out for several roster moves prior to the game, as the Tribe will need some fresh arms when they begin their series in Baltimore.