The Aftermath: Three Takeaways from the Indians’ 10-7 Loss to Chicago

The Indians fell to the White Sox in a wild game on Wednesday night. Before the series rubber match tonight, let’s take a look at what we learned.

Wednesday night’s game between the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox did a pretty great job of summing up the unpredictability of this game of baseball we all love so much. There were highs, there were lows, there was anticipation, and ultimately there was despair for Tribe fans.

When Sox left fielder Adam Eaton shot an 0-2 breaking ball from Indians closer Cody Allen into the seats for a go-ahead ninth inning grand slam, it was the culmination of a strange inning that had barely seen a ball leave the infield, and once the game had ended marked the first time this season that Cleveland had lost a game when leading after eight innings.

For the second straight night, the Indians got on the board first, this time thanks to a Lonnie Chisenhall two-run home run in the second off Chicago starter Anthony Ranaudo. But unlike Corey Kluber on Tuesday night, Carlos Carrasco was unable to hold the lead.

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White Sox rookie shortstop Tim Anderson tied the game in the top of the third with a two-run jack of his own that bounced off the foul pole in left. Then after the Tribe retook the lead on Carlos Santana’s two-run homer in the bottom of the frame, the Pale Hose got a two-run double by Todd Frazier to knot things up once again, and went up 5-4 after a Jason Kipnis error on a J.B. Shuck grounder resulted in a rundown that allowed Frazier to score.

A sacrifice fly by Kipnis in the bottom of the fourth scored Brandon Guyer to retie the game, and Guyer came through with a two-out, two-run single in the fifth to give Cleveland a 7-5 lead.

All was quiet until the weirdness of the ninth, where a pair of infield hits, a walk, and a bloop single set up Eaton for the late-inning heroics. The Tribe fell to 68-50 on the season, though still maintained their six-game lead in the Central Division, while the Sox improved to 57-62.

Cleveland still has an opportunity to get a series win on Thursday night, and will have right-hander Danny Salazar making his return to the mound from a stint on the disabled list. But first, here are a few takeaways from a wild one at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

Cookie didn’t crumble

The first four innings of this game for Carrasco felt like deja vu. Much as in his start at home on August 2nd against the Minnesota Twins, the man they call Cookie came out throwing smoke and looking virtually unhittable through the first two innings. And just like that start against the Twins, the wheels came off a bit in the third inning. The difference on Wednesday was the 180-degree turn Carrasco took after running into trouble. In the Minnesota game, he allowed eight runs in 3.2 innings of work, but last night he righted the ship, going 6.2 innings, striking out 11, walking no one, and leaving the game with the lead. It’s no secret how important Carrasco is to the Indians postseason aspirations, and the team will need him to gut out performances when he doesn’t have his best stuff.

A heck of a Guy(er)

The reaction of most Cleveland fans at the trade deadline when the trade for Guyer was announced was, “Who?” While the 30 year old acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays was not the big name many had hoped for, he has proven to be a smart pick up, fitting seamlessly into his role with the club thus far. After a 3-for-5 night that included that big two-run single, Guyer is now slashing .462/.533/.654 with eight RBIs in a Tribe uniform, and has played competent defense in left field. That last bit cannot be understated, as it has allowed Jose Ramirez to take over the everyday third base job while still giving Terry Francona plenty of platoon options.

Pump the brakes

Given the way this ballgame ended, it’s easy to second guess and overreact. A good deal of the social media reaction after Eaton’s slam was of the “Where was Andrew Miller?” variety, and when you have a bullpen arm as dominant as Miller, that’s understandable. But the fact is that Cody Allen is the closer on this team, and with good reason. Not only does it set Miller up to be a high-leverage fireman and Bryan Shaw to be used less frequently, Allen has been nearly automatic at the end of games, and one bizarre outing shouldn’t change that. Consider these stats from T.J. Zuppe of 92.3 The Fan that Allen had entering Wednesday night’s game:

Last 7 appearances: 5.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K

Last 18 appearances: 18.1 IP, 0.49 ERA, .150 BAA, 25 K

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So, while losing a ballgame in such dramatic fashion is certainly not something that Cleveland fans want to make a habit, the numbers say that this was an anomaly. The Shaw-Miller-Allen back end of the bullpen has been utterly dominant in the month of August, and should continue to be a weapon for the Indians down the stretch run of the season.