Cleveland Indians: A whacky game somehow results in a Tribe win

It’s a good thing college football was on today, because it hid the fact that the Cleveland Indians played in a really sloppy game of baseball this afternoon.

Sloppy baseball can be fun baseball I suppose. I don’t even know what to say about this outing, but  it just feels like the dog days of summer are never-ending for the Cleveland Indians. These teams combined for nearly 30 hits and the scoreboard shows it.

A wild 9-8 game somehow resulted in a Cleveland win, no matter how hard they tried to lose this game. At one point the Indians were up 8-3 and they surrendered that lead as quickly as they got it.

The box score is perhaps the strangest part of this game. Roberto Perez, who has struggled mightily all season had perhaps the biggest game for the Indians. He went 2-4 with 4 RBI’s, getting his second homer of the year. The Indians would go through seven pitchers in this game, included a perfect outing from Josh Tomlin in the eighth inning. Oliver Perez actually pitched a full inning, and Jose Ramirez remains in a slump.

The Indians went just 1-10 with runners in scoring position, but they managed to get a 7+ run inning for the sixth time this year, the most of any team in the majors. That inning looked like the nail in the coffin, but credit the Blue Jays who never did quit. Their young gave the Indians everything they could handle.

Adam Plutko continues to deal with the struggles later in games. He allowed three runs between the second and third innings but the fifth inning was his undoing as he allowed two more runs to keep Toronto in the game.

Cody Allen closed the game and as you would expect, it was not without its stress. He allowed a runner to reach second before securing the win. If the Indians play this bad tomorrow, we have football Sunday to distract us. Enjoy a Labatts after this one. If you watched it you’re a trooper.