Before the Indians' 8-game trek to Baltimore and Minneapolis began, the idea of Luis Valbuena playing left field was utterly absurd.
However, Grady Sizemore's bruised knee, Travis Buck's head contusion, and Michael Brantley's upset stomach forced Manny Acta to insert Valbuena into the lineup as an outfielder.
And the results of playing a shortstop that far from home plate were disastrous on Wednesday afternoon.
In the bottom of the 8th inning, the 1st 2 Minnesota batters tested Valbuena's inexperience. Alexi Casilla lofted a fly ball toward the left-center gap, and it looked like Valbuena would be able to snag it. But Valbuena, as he neared the baseball, stopped to see where the center fielder, Ezequiel Carrera, was. When Valbuena hesitated, Carrera wisely decided to take charge, but Valbuena was thoroughly confused. Instead of yielding to Carrera, Valbuena continued to chase the ball, and the 2 players collided.
Valbuena's failure to communicate had resulted in a lead-off double.
The next hitter, Joe Mauer, dropped a single in front of Valbuena, who could have easily caught the liner had he displayed even the slightest desire to do so.
Locked in a 4-4 tie, the Twins now had runners at 1st and 3rd, but Tony Sipp managed to strike out Michael Cuddyer. After Sipp walked Jim Thome, Acta summoned Vinnie Pestano from the bullpen. Pestano promptly allowed Danny Valencia's RBI single and Tsuyoshi Nishioka's 2-run single.
Minnesota's 3-run rally, which Valbuena was largely responsible for, proved to be the difference.
Lonnie Chisenhall's solo homer in the 9th inning was impressive, but it mattered very little.
Both starting pitchers, the Indians' Josh Tomlin and the Twins' Nick Blackburn, surrendered 4 runs in 6 innings.
The Tribe's inability to produce even a single hit with a man in scoring position was yet another critical aspect of this frustrating defeat.
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| If Brantley or Buck had been patrolling left field, Sipp would not have suffered the loss |
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