Brooks Baseball PitchFX - Corey Kluber
At least this time the Indians scored some runs.
The scoreless streak finally ended when Jason Donald homered in the third inning. That gave the Indians the lead, and they'd score another run to push the lead to 2-0. But a Josh Donaldson three-run homer the next inning pushed Oakland ahead, and they wouldn't relinquish their lead.
Before the game, the Indians designated Shelley Duncan for assignment because they needed an extra roster spot for a pitcher, so Cleveland was playing with a three-man bench. And they'd use everyone on it tonight, starting in the first inning; after taking a third strike on a ball well out of the strike zone, Asdrubal Cabrera snapped, and before Manny Acta to get out to separate him from home plate umpire Gary Darling tossed the Tribe shortstop. That brought Jack Hannahan into the game to play third, and moved Brent Lillibridge to shortstop.
Then Carlos Santana was removed in the top of the sixth inning by Acta for not running out a ground ball. From Acta's perspective, this represented a message to not only Santana but the rest of the club. The Indians are in a tailspin of epic proportions, and there's still a month to go. Before the last couple weeks, I didn't think it very likely that the Indians would fire Acta, even after the 12-game losing streak. But this recent streak of losses seems much different than the one at the beginning of the month, from the play on the field and the motivation of the players making the plays. Acta's going to have to regain the clubhouse before the season ends, and the Santana benching looks like the first public step in his attempt to do so.
Oakland would score four more runs off the Cleveland bullpen and win 8-4. Oakland is as hot as any team in baseball despite having a team full of rookies and young veterans. Cleveland has a team full of rookies and young veterans, and has as much momentum as a lead safe on a level floor.
Source: FanGraphs
Comment of the Game Thread:
Couple Things:
1. I like horns. They make me smile regardless of lyrical content.
2. The track names remind me of this team:
- Punisher
- [Indians] Not the End of the World
- Don’t Let Me Down Gentley
- I Know You Too Well To Like You Anymore
- I Date You To Break My Heart
- Famous Last Words
- I Love, You Suck
- P.S. I Hate You
- Lost Causeby gte619n on Aug 29, 2012 8:26 PM EDT up reply actions
Game Thread Stats
Roll Call: gte619n, johnf34, kennesawmountainwahoo, Joel D, palcal, The Grimace, Ryan, millionairesrow, emd2k3, JRontherim, themadlibs, APV, ahowie, supermarioelia, jhon, JulioBernazard, westbrook, woodsmeister, mcrose, drerikbrady, 7foot3
Total Users: 21
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Name # of Posts gte619n 64 JRontherim 48 Ryan 34 APV 29 johnf34 27 kennesawmountainwahoo 18 themadlibs 12 jhon 11 palcal 10 millionairesrow 10 The Grimace 7 ahowie 7 westbrook 6 woodsmeister 6 mcrose 4 drerikbrady 3 emd2k3 3 JulioBernazard 2 Joel D 2 7foot3 1 supermarioelia 1