Josh Tomlin was at his best, and the offense did just enough to take a lead into the late innings. Thankfully this season a late lead usually means a win.
The Indians activated Travis Hafner from the DL a day earlier than expected, and Hafner paid immediate dividends. With the game 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth, Hafner just missed a three-run homer, hitting the ball off the top of the right field wall. Just one run scored, but the Indians would add additional runs thanks to a Carlos Santana single and Orlando Cabrera sacrifice fly.
The Pirates hadn't faced Tomlin before, but they knew that he was a strike-thrower. Tomlin was hitting his spots, though, and getting outs on those aggressive swings:
"They were taking swings early for the most part," Tomlin said. "So I was just trying to locate a fastball down and away, or a pitch down and away, to get them to roll over or just get a quick out."
Travis Hafner's back, but the Indians will probably have to live without Matt LaPorta for a while. In the third inning, Matt tried to go to third on a grounder to the shortstop. He didn't make it, and tried to get in a rundown, but while changing directions, he caught a spike and appeared to roll his ankle. Afterwards, he couldn't put any weight on his right leg, and had to be helped off the field. An X-Ray revealed no broken bones, so the injury has been diagnosed as a sprained ankle. He'll have an MRI on the ankle today to see if there's ligament damage. LaPorta has at times been frustrating to watch, but he was hitting .244/.311/.426, good for a 108 OPS+, and the Indians don't really have a healthy replacement. Nick Johnson is playing in Columbus, but he's not ready yet. Jason Donald has just started to play after returning from his second injury of the year. I think Shelley Duncan may be the best short-term solution if LaPorta goes to the DL, with Carlos Santana playing there more as well.
Tomlin left in the seventh inning (with the score 2-1) with runners on first and second, and Vinnie Pestano was called on to get the final out of the inning. Pestano struck out Michael McKenry, then pitched a 1-2-3 eighth. The Indians then broke open the game in the bottom of the inning. Pestano struck out two in 1.1 innings, bumping his total for the season to 61 in 47.2 innings 32 in 25 innings. Chris Perez was not needed in the ninth, as Tony Sipp finished things up.
Later, the Tigers lost in Colorado, so the Indians are back in a first-place tie.
Highest WPA | Lowest WPA | ||
Tomlin | .235 | Brantley | -.099 |
Pestano | .200 | Everett | -.075 |
Santana | .139 | A. Cabrera | -.052 |