Game Thirty-Five: Indians 6, Blue Jays 1

by Ryan on May 10, 2008 10:59 AM EDT in Game Recaps

Highest WPA		Lowest WPA
CC Sabathia	.264	Jhonny Peralta	-.118
Travis Hafner	.174	David Dellucci	-.092
Casey Blake	.138	Franklin Gutierrez	-.086

What a fun game to watch, with two pitchers at the height of their powers dueling. CC Sabathia struck out nine but gave up a fifth inning run, meaning that he trailed exiting the field in the seventh. There was a good possibility that CC would lose his sixth game of the season, for Roy Halladay again had Indian hitters in his thrall. Jhonny Peralta especially looked clueless against him, striking out twice, both times on three pitches. Halladay also struck out nine, but the Indians made him work just enough so he was approaching his end of the night in the seventh inning. For baseball's best horse (4 CG already in 2008), this was an accomplishment.

The crucial seventh started with something unexpected: a Travis Hafner line drive single. The hit was the second of the night; he'd only had two multi-hit games in the past three weeks. Ryan Garko was next up; earlier in the game he wasn't able to go the other way with Hafner on second and nobody out. But this time he got Hafner over the Garko way - via a single. Now was an obvious bunt situation, and up came a good bunter in Asdrubal Cabrera. But Roy Halladay in an effort to prevent the bunt, missed with his first couple pitches, and then missed twice while trying to throw a strike. Now the bases were loaded, and Casey Blake, the clutchiest hitter on the team, came up. He gave the Indians the lead with a two-run double that probably would have been a grand slam on many other nights.

Now came a tactical error on the part of John Gibbons. He pulled Roy Halladay, which certainly looked like the right move, in favor of left-hander Jesse Carlson. Carlson took care of Grady Sizemore, getting him to pop out to third base. Gibbons then ordered Franklin Gutierrez to be walked, re-loading the bases. Eric Wedge countered by pulling David Dellucci in favor of Ben Francisco. Gibbons reacted by bringing in Jeremy Accardo, a right-hander to face Francisco, which would normally be the correct move. But Francisco has historically been much better against right-handed pitchers, and his short stint in the majors has shown the same trend. So why bring in Accardo when (a) Carlson looked very good against Sizemore, and (b) there's no matchup advantage to exploit. Francisco got on top of an Accardo fastball and hit a double off the wall in left-center, breaking the game open, and making sure that the Indians beat Roy Halladay for the first time in 10 starts.

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“Casey Blake, the clutchiest hitter on the team”

I just had to repeat that again. Amazing.

Despite all of my best intentions, I have not, in fact, grown up to be a debaser.

by zempf on May 10, 2008 11:34 AM EDT reply actions

and Cy Cliff Lee.

by oxforddave on May 10, 2008 11:53 PM EDT up reply actions

This game reminded me a little of how the Tribe beat Santana in the past - they didn’t really hit him hard, but they worked him and tired him out, which is what seemed to happen to Halladay. I wish the Indians hitters would concentrate that well against journeyman pitchers and guys just up from the minors - we’d win a lot more games if they did!!

Hafner looked a bit better, but the single wasn’t hit hard (the double was) and he looked lost on his last at bat. Maybe a little success will snowball for him and get him driving the ball again.

The STO guys noted that the Indians have had a very high (relative to other teams) number of innings in which they scored 5 or more runs. Yesterday was one more. They still haven’t developed a consistent, sustained offense, the kind in which they score multiple times in a game. The Blue Jays have good pitching, so the Indians hitters need to work on not slipping back into that 3 runs or fewer, 7 hits or fewer a game pattern we’re all tired of.

The pitching continues to be incredible—team ERA under 4, I think. When Byrd’s start in NY is their worst start in several weeks, that’s strong stuff. If that persists, and it’s hard to see why it wouldn’t, we might have the old Atlanta Braves on our hands (the teams with Glavine, Maddox, Smoltz and an OK bullpen and an inconsistent offense). Now, if we could only play the Cleveland Indians in the World Series!

by peter m on May 10, 2008 11:59 AM EDT reply actions

but they worked him and tired him out

ultimately this is how we succeed against any pitchers. when we’re doing it, we usually end up scoring runs.

by Brick. on May 10, 2008 1:09 PM EDT up reply actions

Yep. But, we haven’t been consistent about doing it this year, especially when we’ve faced off-brand starters (or at least it seems that way).

by peter m on May 10, 2008 5:10 PM EDT up reply actions

when we’re doing it,

by Brick. on May 10, 2008 5:11 PM EDT up reply actions

I think the stupidity of the Gibbons move has less to do with Francisco’s splits than it has to do with Accardo’s struggles against righties both this season and especially last year. Last season held lefties to a .203 clip while righties hit .281 off of him.

by supermarioelia on May 10, 2008 12:28 PM EDT reply actions

I missed this game. I went to a Nebraska-Texas A&M baseball game instead. It featured the two best teams in the Big 12 and two of the ten best teams in College Baseball. The game started at 6:35….and I left the stadium at 12:01. The teams battled for a 16 inning game. Nebraska was 0-for in RISP…

Because of that I was making Casey Blake jokes right and left. Low and behold….Casey Blake was a hero of last nights game….

by mjschaefer on May 10, 2008 12:44 PM EDT reply actions

Halladay on walking Cabera:

With Asdrubal Cabrera trying to put down a sacrifice bunt, Halladay walked the .183 hitter on four pitches to load the bases. "The walk killed me," Halladay said. "I got caught up in trying to field the bunt and I never made a quality pitch. It was a dumb mistake. That’s what changed the game."

(emphasis mine)

by Fiddlesticks on May 10, 2008 12:52 PM EDT reply actions

i think this game again underscored how francisco adds just enough extra felxibility to allow a few guys to play in there intended roles as jay pointed out a few days ago when dellucci had the bomb off of joba timberlake.

by Brick. on May 10, 2008 1:07 PM EDT reply actions