Murphy and Brantley Go Yard To Cap Sweep In Dramatic Fashion

Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

9th and 12th Inning Homers Lead to Walk-Off Win

On the day of his daughter’s 7th birthday, David Murphy wanted to provide his little girl with a birthday present she would never forget.  After ripping a double off the top of the right field wall in the 2nd inning, he was frustrated about narrowly missing the home run he wanted to hit for her.  Fortunately, he wound up getting his chance later in the game.  Murphy provided all of the Tribe’s offense during the first 9 innings of the game, including a game-tying 2-run homer off Neftali Feliz in the bottom of the ninth.  3 innings later, Michael Brantley did the rest of the work with a walk-off solo homer in the bottom half of the 12th.

Key Innings

Bottom of the 9th, Indians Trail 1-3
After Lonnie Chisenhall flied out to center field, Chris Dickerson pinch-hit for the ever-struggling Nick Swisher, who had struck out in all three of his earlier at-bats. Dickerson drew a walk, paving the way for Murphy to smack a 400-foot dinger over the right field wall. Jose Ramirez tried to follow suit, but missed by a wide margin and flied out to center for the second out in the inning. Yan Gomes slapped a pinch-hit single in place of Roberto Perez, but Kipnis popped up to shortstop Elvis Andrus for the final out of the inning.

Bottom of the 12th, Game Tied 3-3
Michael Brantley didn’t waste any time in driving a pitch from Phil Klein over the fence in right field for his 16th homer of the year and his second extra-inning walk-off shot.

The Positives

Michael Brantley seemed quiet for once, but showed a power surge by doubling and homering in his final two at-bats.  David Murphy capped a terrific series by going 2 for 3 with 6 total bases and 2 walks to boot.  And though Trevor Bauer struggled early, he ended up with yet another quality start in the longest outing of his career (7 1/3 innings)

The Negatives

Nick Swisher.  Is he ever not on this list?  Another pathetic performance included 3 strikeouts, and to top it off he strained his right wrist swinging at a pitch by Yu Darvish.  Jason Kipnis also went 0-for-5.  He’s shown two or three signs of getting hot in the second half, but it has always ended up being a tease as we watch him fall back into a slump the next day.  Mike Aviles also went 0-for-6 in the number 2 spot.  And Jose Ramirez was unable to come up with a hit, either.  He’s really been struggling in the big leagues, with a .163/.193/.182 batting line on the year.

Check It Out
-The last Indians player to have at least 2 extra-inning walk-off homers in the same season was none other than Jim Thome.
-Bauer has pitched quality starts in 5 of his last 6 outings.
–Cody Allen lowered his ERA to 1.89, while Kyle Crockett lowered his to 1.42.
–Scott Atchison is now 5-0 on the year