It was there for the taking. The Indians had a shot to sweep the series and get to .500 by the All-Star Break. The A’s were starting Chris Bassitt, a reliever more often than a starter, against Carlos Carrasco, who came oh-so-close to a no-hitter his last time out. These are the opportunities that Cleveland needs to take advantage if they’re going to keep their slim playoff hopes alive; tonight, they couldn’t do it.
In the sixth inning the Indians got help from unlikely sources as Giovanny Urshela and Roberto Perez joined forces to tie the game at 2-2, before the A’s put up 3 in the top of the eighth. Carlos Santana absolutely annihilated the ball in his eighth-inning two-run homer, but it wasn’t enough to bridge the gap.
This was a big opportunity for the Indians. Their hopes are slim, but they still have playoff hopes–but they need to take advantage of chances like these. They didn’t tonight, and it could really end up hurting them.
for whatever reason, this team has a lot of trouble breaking through to the 500 mark. It’s pretty difficult to see playoff hopes when this trend continues. It’s those April (and May and June) games coming back to haunt them.