Cleveland Indians Drop Slugfest to Texas Rangers 10-8; Streak Ends at Six

Rangers top Indians in battle of streaking teams

The Cleveland Indians came into this game with a six game-winning streak, while the Texas Rangers entered with a five-game streak. Something was going to give, and it was pitching for both sides. After hoping to have found a temporary fix for the rotation in

, he exited after only 2 2/3 innings while his opposite number

lasted just two plus. But in the end it was the Rangers who got the final say to end the Tribes streak with a 10-8 victory.

The biggest news for the Rangers (22-23) was the return of Josh Hamilton to the lineup. While he didn’t provide any of the fireworks for the Rangers offense, Prince Fielder and Adrian Beltre did with back-to-back home runs in the first inning off Marcum to jump out to an early 3-0 lead. But the Indians (20-24) didn’t wait long to respond. Carlos Santana continued to bounceback from his back issues with a solo home run to cut into the Rangers lead. In the bottom half off the second, Roberto Perez answered with a three-run home run to give the Tribe a 4-3 lead.

The Indians would extend the lead to 5-3 on an RBI-double from Jason Kipnis, but Marcum couldn’t hold the lead, as he allowed the Rangers to tie the game in the third inning on a two-run single by Mitch Moreland. Elvis Andrus would double in two more off of Ryan Webb to give Texas a 7-5 lead, as all seven runs were charged to Marcum. After coming back to tie the game in the bottom half of the third, both starters were out of the game and off the hook.

Michael Brantley gave the Indians their final lead of the day with an RBI-double to score Santana in the sixth, but the lead was short-lived. Marc Rzepczynski (1-2, 4.22) allowed two in the seventh as the Rangers took a 9-8 lead, and Andrus homered in the top of the eight for an insurance run and the last score for the 10-8 final.

What Stood Out:

After a successful start in his last outing, his first since 2013, Marcum imploded early allowing the long ball. Prior to his injury, he experienced moderate success as a starter but had issues keeping the ball in the yard. In his defense, neither pitcher was very successful with that as the ball was carrying nicely in Progressive today. Where the Tribe go from here is anyone’s guess. T.J. House was run out four times before he was yanked, so we’ll see if Marcum gets another chance.

What’s Next:

The Indians will look to jump back on their winning ways as Danny Salazar (5-1, 3.50) faces off against veteran Wandy Rodriguez (2-2, 3.38) in game two of the series tomorrow night at 7:10 pm ET.