The first half of this game was an offensive see-saw battle; the last half a tense bullpen standoff. No runs were scored after the top of the sixth, and with just a one-run lead, the Tribe bullpen had to be perfect to preserve a victory.
Josh Tomlin lasted only five innings. He allowed just hits, but three of those were for home runs. Three times he pitched with a lead, and three times he gave up the lead. When the Indians pulled ahead in the sixth, he was taken out of the game, so he got the win despite the awful WPA.
Manny Acta first tried to squeeze some outs from Chad Durbin in the sixth, and he might have gotten a full inning from Durbin if not for an Asdrubal Cabrera error. Rafael Perez got the last out of the sixth by inducing Felix Pie to ground out; Pie was Perez's only batter of the game. Joe Smith retired right-handers Robert Andino, J.J. Hardy, walked left-hander Nick Markakis, and struck out right-hander Adam Jones to end the seventh. Vinnie Pestano retired the side in order in the eighth, and Chris Perez worked around a leadoff walk to get the save. That's four holds and a save with a one-run lead, a tough test for both the depth and quality of a bullpen.
Highest WPA | Lowest WPA | ||
Sizemore | .238 | Tomlin | -.345 |
C. Perez | .201 | Hafner | -.133 |
Pestano | .142 | Buck | -.109 |