Keys to the game (6/2)

Keys to the game-

1.) Third time is a charm! We faced Jason Vargas for the first time this season back on May 6^th in Kansas City, where he pitched 6 innings of scoreless, 4 hit baseball. 6 days ago at Progressive Field we faced Vargas again, and managed to score just 2 runs on 9 hits off of him. We get yet another chance for some redemption tonight as Vargas will take the mound against us again, only this time we will be back at Kaufman Stadium. I know, I know…he is a lefty. I know, I know! So far this season we have struggle against lefties. And make no mistake; Jason Vargas is no subpar portsider. He is 6-3 on the year with a 2.39 ERA, so he has good stuff. But our offense has gotten two good looks at him now. We have to be able to make adjustments and figure out a way to beat him.

2.) When all else fails… work his pitch count up. Now in the Oakland series, one of their main weaknesses was their defense. But that is not the case for KC. In fact it is just the opposite, KC ranks #1 in the Majors when it comes to defense. The weakness that KC has that we can exploit is their bullpen. They rank 25th in the Majors, with a 4.67 combined ERA. . Our offense seems to have found a little bit of a rhythm as of late. That combined with the adjustments they hopefully make will lead to a better outcome against Vargas then what we have experienced in the past. But, if all else fails, we have to exploit their weakness.

3.) Whatever you did the last time… do it again. The last time Josh Tomlin took the mound was 5 days ago against these same Kansas City Royals. He was magnificent. Perhaps the best I have ever seen him pitch. He went a full 9 innings, giving up just 1 run on 6 hits, striking out 3. Tomlin took the mound one other time this season against KC, back on May 6^th. Yep, the same game as mentioned in Key #1. You see, I failed to mention that the Indians won that game one May 6^th in my first key because if you were to look at Jason Vargas’s stats from that game you would probably assume that that was a game we lost. Ah, but we didn’t. Josh Tomlin pitched 7 innings, giving up just 1 run on 3 hits. Once Vargas was out of the game, our offense was able to score 3 runs, and win the game. Tonight, we need Tomlin to do it again.