The Tribe's series finale against the Tigers appeared to be slipping away. Detroit had scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 8th, and the Indians were suddenly on the verge of losing their 1st home game since April 2nd.
However, the magic that coursed through Progressive Field on Friday and Saturday nights returned in the bottom of the 8th. Joaquin Benoit, the victim of Carlos Santana's dramatic walk-off grand slam, returned to the mound and promptly yielded a base-hit to Shin-Soo Choo. Benoit was able to exorcise one of his demons by retiring Santana, but he hit Shelley Duncan to put runners on 1st and 2nd base with only 1 out. Benoit's wildness would come back to haunt him. Orlando Cabrera shot a grounder off the glove of 3rd baseman Brandon Inge. The baseball kicked into shallow left field, and Choo never broke stride, enabling him to beat the throw to the plate. At this point, Benoit was severely shaken. Michael Brantley lined a RBI single to left, and Matt LaPorta's sacrifice fly provided some added breathing room.
 |
| Choo scores the tying run |
Miguel Cabrera's RBI single in the 9th did pull the Tigers to within 1, but Chris Perez recorded the final out to seal the win.
When the day began, Justin Masterson was in search of his 6th win. Yet Masterson, despite allowing only 2 earned runs in 7 innings, merited nothing more than a no-decision.
LaPorta's 2-out, 2-run double in the 2nd set the stage for the late rally and the Tribe's 13th consecutive home victory.
No comments:
Post a Comment