Just two days after suffering a tough early-season sweep at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Cleveland Indians played their first home game of 2017 in front of a sold-out Progressive Field crowd of just over 35,000. After all the ceremonies and fanfare of an Opening Day baseball game in Cleveland, Tribe fans didn't have much to cheer about for most of the day. That is until Michael Brantley delivered in the bottom of the 10th.
Welcome Back, Dr. Smooth!
In one of his first games back since being out for most of 2016, some might have wondered if Michael Brantley had lost the smooth swing after being away from baseball for so long. Those doubts were emphatically put to rest when Brantley lined a 3-2 pitch down the third-base line with two outs in the 10th. The base hit rolled all the way to the wall and allowed Francisco Lindor to race home all the way from first base. Dr. Smooth sent the Tribe and their fans home happy, as he delivered in the clutch for Cleveland's first walk-off win of the year!
Opening Day Duel: Carrasco vs. Shields
The crowd was quiet for a good part of the game, thanks in large part to two solid pitchers going back and forth on the mound for most of the day. Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco built on his first start of the year by tossing a gem. Minus a bad pitch in the 5th that led to the White Sox' only run via the solo shot, Cookie was very sharp! Carrasco logged seven innings, allowing just the one run on four hits while striking out seven. His Chicago counterpart, "Big Game" James Shields was solid as well. Aside from allowing a home run to Francisco Lindor in the bottom of the 1st, Shields went 5 1/3 innings, allowing one run on two hits while fanning six and walking two. Both received a no-decision since the game went into extra innings, even though this was a very entertaining pitching duel!
Struggles at the Plate
After they swept the Texas Rangers to open the year, The Indians seem to have struggled quite a bit at the plate. According to ESPN's MLB Team Batting Stats page, the Tribe came into the game batting .229 as a team, while they were batting just .212 with runners in scoring position. Even though we're only seven games into the season, if this develops into a consistent habit, it could become a very concerning stat. Especially since the lineup includes sluggers like Carlos Santana, and big offseason acquisition Edwin Encarnacion. Hopefully, the Indians can shake this early "mini-slump" and produce runs like they are capable of doing. In this game against the White Sox, the Tribe was an ugly 5-31 at the plate, which translates to a .161 average. But, at the end of the day, a win is a win! And no matter how ugly this one was at the plate, the Tribe finally got that clutch hit when it mattered most!
What's Next?
The Indians look to win the series behind righty Danny Salazar, who went 5 2/3 innings while striking out nine in his last start on April 5. He was rolling along until an unfortunate defensive error forced him from the game. In my opinion, he could've gone at least six, if not seven innings last time out. I expect him to go deeper into the game tomorrow night if his defense backs him up.
The White Sox counter with southpaw Derek Holland. Holland had spent the past eight seasons with the Texas Rangers before signing with the Pale Hose in the offseason. In his debut for Chicago, Holland went six innings, allowing two earned runs. This could be another interesting pitching duel!
Tune into Fox Sports Ohio tomorrow evening for the second game of this early-season AL Central clash. First pitch is set for 6:10 p.m.
Fun Stat
Tuesday's walk-off win marked the fourth time the Indians won a home opener in walk-off fashion at Progressive Field. The other walk-off wins were in 1994, 1998, and 1999.
WP: Bryan Shaw (1-0)
LP: Tommy Kahnle (0-1)
Player of the Game: Carlos Carrasco
Sources:
MLB Gameday on Cleveland Indians team site
wkyc.com/sports
www.espn.com
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