Cleveland Indians Fall Again as Bullpen Coughs up Late Lead
By Matt Bretz
The Cleveland Indians fell to the Kansas City Royals again Tuesday night by a score of 3-2 after the bullpen coughed up the lead in the bottom of the 8th inning. The crushing loss drops the Indians to 35-29 on the season while the Royals move to 34-30 with the win. The Indians remain atop the Central division but the lead drops to just one game over the Royals.
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Tribe starter Josh Tomlin was superb on the night. His lone blemish was a 3rd inning solo home run to rookie Whit Merrifield, his second in as many days. Tomlin worked seven strong innings allowing seven hits and walking none. He also struck out five and worked around some shaky outfield defense in the 6th inning when centerfielder Tyler Naquin was unable to catch a popup off the bat of Salvador Perez. It went as a double and put runners on second and third with two outs; however, Tomlin was able to get Kendrys Morales to ground out, ending the threat.Tomlin would leave the game with a 2-1 lead and a chance at his ninth win of
Tomlin would leave the game with a 2-1 lead and a chance at his ninth win of the season; however, reliever Bryan Shaw would not be able to hold the lead in the 8th inning. After a popup to start the inning, Shaw got Eric Hosmer to hit a weak tapper to the left side of the infield. However, third baseman Jose Ramirez was unable to field it cleanly and Hosmer was safe. Ruled a hit, the play turned out to be crucial as after Shaw got Lorenzo Cain to strike out for the second out of the inning, Perez hit a two-run home run on the first pitch he saw making it 3-2 Royals. It was Shaw’s third loss of the season and second on the road trip as he falls to 0-3 on the year.
Offensively the Indians struggled yet again. They were able to get two runs off Royals’ starter Chris Young and knock him out of the game after just 4 1/3 innings, but that was all they’d get on the night. The Tribe got their first run in the top of the 3rd inning on a solo home run by Carlos Santana, his 13th of the year and 13th of his career at Kaufmann Stadium. The blast gave the Indians a temporary 1-0 lead.
The Tribe would regain the lead in the top of the 5th thanks to the speed of Rajai Davis. After Davis stole second base and Santana walked (following a misplayed popup by Perez behind the plate), Jason Kipnis smacked an RBI single back up the middle to score Davis and give the Tribe a 2-1 lead. Unfortunately, though, that was the lone hit the Indians would get with runners in scoring position. They went just 1 for 8 with men in scoring position and left nine on base. The Indians had a chance to tie, or possibly take the lead, in the 9th inning but with two outs, Jason Kipnis popped out to end the threat with runners on first and second. Joakim Soria (3-2) picked up the win for the Royals in relief, working a scoreless 1 2/3 innings. Dillon Gee also worked three scoreless inning of relief, giving up just three hits and a walk.
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The Indians will look to avoid the sweep tomorrow night as they take on the Royals in the final game of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 8:15 pm with Tribe ace Corey Kluber (6-6, 3.65 ERA) taking the hill against Ian Kennedy (4-5, 4.06). The Indians will also conclude their 10-day, 10-game road trip tomorrow night. They’ll return home to take on the Chicago White Sox Friday at Progressive Field. A win tomorrow and the Indians would return home with a greater lead in the division (two games) than they had entering the trip (1.5 games). A loss and the Indians and Royals would be tied atop the division…