Fresh off the All-Star break, the Indians trounced the Orioles, the American League's worst team, to tie the Detroit Tigers atop the AL Central Division.
A pair of big flies gave the Tribe an early cushion. In the top of the 1st inning, Asdrubal Cabrera belted a solo home run, and, 2 batters later, Carlos Santana cranked a 2-run homer.
Santana's RBI double in the 3rd extended the Indians' advantage to 4-0.
A 4-run lead should have been enough for Justin Masterson, but the Tribe's ace was not quite as sharp as he had been in recent starts. Masterson allowed 2 tallies in the bottom of the 3rd before wriggling out of a 2 on, 1 out jam in the 5th.
Baltimore's failure to score in that 5th frame would prove to be the game's turning point. The Indians scored 4 times in the 6th to bury the Birds. Following Travis Buck's sacrifice fly, Michael Brantley, Asdrubal, and Travis Hafner hit 3 consecutive 2 out, RBI singles.
Masterson yielded 2 more runs in the last of the 6th, but the overabundance of offensive support enabled the big right-hander to win his 8th game of the campaign.
The Tribe bullpen hurled 3 hitless innings to complete the triumph.
 |
| On Thursday night, the Indians stopped a 3-game skid |
No comments:
Post a Comment