Masterson’s Plummet Continues in Loss to Yanks

Jul 7, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Justin Masterson (63) delivers in the first inning against the New York Yankees at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Masterson’s 3 Walks and Hit Batter Death Sentence for Tribe in 5-3 Loss

Masterson basically handed the Yankees a win on Monday night within the first two innings, providing a deficit that the Tribe could not recover from.  Another weak effort against a rookie starter didn’t help matters, as the Indians were only able to pound out two runs over six innings against Shane Greene, who took a no-hitter into the fifth.  Homers from Nick Swisher and Yan Gomes helped matters, but the early deficit proved to be too much as the Indians dropped the series opener.

The Positives

The bullpen was solid all night, and in particular Carlos Carrasco was dynamite in long relief.  Vinnie Pestano continues to impress in his second stint of the 2014 season, striking out two more batters in yet another scoreless inning.  Michael Brantley had two hits to raise his batting average to .323, fourth among league leaders and just .014 points behind first-place Jose Altuve.  Carlos Santana’s defense at first tonight was incredible, as he made at least two highlight-reel-worth plays.

The Negatives

Lonnie Chisenhall went 0-for-4 to drop his average to .332.  He’s now 0-for-7 in the past two days.  The league may be starting to figure him out, and that may require an adjustment.  He’s also swinging at a lot more pitches outside the zone.  Justin Masterson continues to struggle like an overweight giraffe with cerebral palsy on the mound.  In his past 3 starts he’s allowed 13 earned runs over 9 innings, causing his ERA to balloon to 5.51 for the season.

Check It Out

-Corey Dickerson got his first hit as an Indian in tonight’s game
-In his recent return to the majors, Vinnie Pestano has pitched 5 scoreless innings while allowing only three hits. He’s also struck out eight and hasn’t walked a batter.
-Tonight marked Michael Brantley’s fourth consecutive multi-hit game