Sometimes, the numbers are completely inconsequential. For the Indians, Jason Giambi’s experience and clubhouse presence might as well make him Yoda.

And tonight, Yoda carried a very loud lightsaber.

Pinch-hitting to lead off on the bottom of the ninth, all it took was three pitches from the White Sox’s Ramon Troncoso for the venerable greybeard to harken back to his younger years. The Giambino launched a no-doubter line-drive into the mini-forest behind the centerfield wall, which propelled the Tribe to a tough 3-2 win against the Pale Hose. It also brought the Tribe to just 2.5 games back of the Tigers in the division and just a half-game behind the Orioles for the second Wild Card spot.

Zach McAllister (7 INN/2 ER/2 SO/1 BB) was his usual steady self, as was long-time Tribe nemesis John Danks (6 INN/2 R (1 ER)/3 SO/4BB) who turned in one of his better starts of the season. Both men earned a no-decision for their strong efforts.

Don’t be fooled by the two errors on the Tribe’s line. Because defense played as big of a part in tonight’s victory as Giambi’s heroics did.

In the top of the ninth, Connor Gillaspie, a thorn in the Tribe’s side all season, lined a rocket that was snagged by Asdrubal Cabrera. This was a big out, because one batter later, Ryan Raburn, who shifted over from right- to left left-field at the top of the inning, played a liner from Dayan Viciedo into a triple. Only Michael Bourn’s hustle from center kept it from being a game-tying inside-the-park homer.

Gordon Beckham would then test Michael Brantley with a rocket over his head that somehow stuck in his glove.

Crisis averted. And mere moments later, a celebratory mob.

W: Chris Perez (3-1); L: Ramon Trancoso (1-3)

Player of the Game: Jason Giambi

 

11 Comments

  • Gvl Steve says:

    I can’t believe how good our starting pitching is. Statistically they are probably no better than middle of the pack for the season in the AL, but they are carrying this team to legitimacy right now.

    • Drew says:

      Early in the season, there was a lot of comparison of the 2013 Cleveland Indians to the 2002 LA Angels that won the WS. That team had only 1 Cy-Young candidate among the five and 4 of the 5 had ERA+ over 100. The Indians currently have 3 SP with ERA+ over 100 and the other 2 are in the 90s. If Kaz and Ubaldo continue their trends, this team could have 5 above average starting pitchers. Who would have thought that was possible in April?

      My desk at work is made of particle board and I am knocking on as softly as possible as to not draw attention to myself but hard and frequent enough to hopefully not jinx the success.

  • Jeremy says:

    What….A……Game? “How about that?” You know what’s funny, when Giambi was up they showed his stat line pinch hitting for the season and my initial thought: Throw those numbers outta the window. While I didn’t think he’d hit a homerun, I was betting he’d find a way to get on base. Amazing. Listening to the radio I guess a few guys in the Press box called it beforehand. Either way, what a moment?

    And I thought CP #54 looked great besides that one pitch to Viciedo and that wasn’t even a terrible pitch; just good piece of hitting and an even better defensive play to keep him at third.

  • Susan Petrone says:

    I was at the game with my kid and my nieces, and when Giambi came up as a pinch hitter, I just had a feeling something good was going to happen (and I had to get all those kids home, so I was happy we didn’t go to extra innings). The best part was right after the game, when Giambi was being interviewed. The in-house cameras trained on Aviles and Swisher carrying the Gatorade cooler through the dugout and out to the field, giving the entire stadium a second moment of delicious anticipation as Giambi got his Gatorade bath.

    • Swift says:

      I was watching the game on TV and the similar moment was around the 3rd inning, when they were doing an interview with Masterson in the dugout. For the entire interview he was just getting carpet bombed with seeds, popcorn, water, and yet he just calmly continued the interview like nothing was going on, except for a couple of jokes about “is it raining up in the booth, because it seems to be raining here”.

  • medfest says:

    My third Tribe game in three days and what a doozy!

    There were some truly great catches in the outfield and the infield,some really odious play in the infield,a whopper of a blown call on Ramirez’s second stolen base(I vented big time, hurling mucho invective,I believe ‘little weasel’ was used several times),great pitching all around and last but not least,actual baseball history as Giambi breaks Hank Aaron’s record of oldest player to hit a walk off tater(homage to the late, great George Scott there as he was the first player to use the term).

    Hokie Smoke!

  • Norm says:

    Does anyone know who is getting sent down now that we added Rzepczynski? Also I’m happy it looks as though we are trying to improve the team this year without mortgaging the future.