Indians Hang On For Crucial Win in Oakland
It was a nail-bitter in Oakland as the Cleveland Indians were able to defeat the Oakland Athletics by a score of 3-2. A bounce-back victory from Friday’s 4-3 lead that was blown in the 9th inning by a 2B Jed Lowrie two-run home run to win it, 5-4.
SP Cal Quantrill went five innings, gave up four hits, five strikeouts and a single run. RP RP Nick Sandlin, RP Bryan Shaw, RP Emmanuel Clase and RP James Karinchak each went an inning of relief on order to seal the victory for the Indians.
The only relief pitcher to give up a run was James Karinchak, yet the right hander was able to keep enough command to win the ballgame.
On the offensive side, DH Franmil Reyes hit an absolute monster shot to deep center field for a solo home run. 2B Cesar Hernandez, SS Amed Rosario each had additional runs batted in.
The Athletics had runs batted in by DH Mitch Moreland (RBI double) and Sean Murphy (pinch hit sac-fly).
Today, the Indians will play the Athletics in another day game starting at 4:07 PM Cleveland Time. Next is the Houston Astros for three games on the road against a team currently at 56-36.
What a challenge that series will be. The Tribe then returns home for four games against the Tampa Bay Rays at 54-37 right now. Another difficult battle.
After Saturday's win, the Indians are 7.5 games behind the Chicago White Sox for the lead in the AL Central. In regards to the American League Wild Card, the Tribe sit at 4.5 games behind Oakland for the second slot.
Additionally, the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners have a lead over the Indians for the wild card. The New York Yankees are only a half game behind the Indians and the LA Angels a 1.5 games back.
Lots of teams in the mix…
Certainly, getting back to winning was crucial for the Indians against the Athletics.
However, the team is going to need a jolt on both sides off the baseball, hitting and pitching, for any type of chance at a playoff run.
Seven games against very good teams heading down the stretch of the season. The Tribe better play its best baseball to stay in a race that’s filled with a plethora of teams.
Making the playoffs was not meant to be easy…
