The Tribe has found a new recipe for success as we near the halfway point of the 2015 season: Great starting pitching, clutch homeruns, and baseball in dome ballparks. That secret recipe led the Indians to a 6-2 victory Tuesday night and back-to-back wins in Tropicana Field. Facing Tampa Bay for the first time since his loss in the 1-Game Playoff in 2013, Danny Salazar got his revenge, dominating the Rays for nearly eight innings.
Salazar (7.2 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K) was elite, carving up hitters with an eclectic repertoire of pitches and mixing speeds very effectively; he spotted his fastball well and the Rays had trouble squaring the ball up all night. This was a key start for the young fireballer, as he found a way to dominate the opponent without relying on the strikeout as his top weapon, as has been the norm in the past. This approach helped Salazar to get some easy groundball outs, keep his pitch count down, and pitch deep into the game. Defense was superb behind him, with highlight real plays by Francisco Lindor and Gio Urshela.
For the second consecutive night, the Tribe relied on the long ball, scoring all six runs via the homerun with taters from David Murphy and Jason Kipnis, and a huge 3-run bomb from Urshela.
Tribe Tidbits: Key Stats and Notes
*The Indians have created the ultimate lefy-righty platoon tandem in 2015, with Murphy and Ryan Raburn combining to hit .307 with a .378 OBP, 9 HR, 41 RBI, 21 Doubles, and a .315 average with RISP.
*On the final day of June, the Tribe earned back-to-back wins for the first time during the entire month.
*With the victory Tuesday night, Danny Salazar set a new career high with seven wins in a single season.
*Cody Allen has seen an incredible improvement in his ERA, in returning to dominate form on the mound:
-April 30th: 11.57 ERA -May 30th: 5.85 ERA -June 30th: 3.58 ERA
*With Tuesday’s victory, the Indians are now an incredible 9-3 in games played in dome ballparks this season.
*The Tribe will look to keep the streak going Wednesday night when Carlos Carrasco (9-6, 4.16) toes the rubber against Alex Colome (3-3, 4.50).
My guess is that the Tribe will soon lobby for a dome on the Jake!