That came dangerously close to being the worst regular-season loss in franchise history.
In the last 100 years, only nine teams have managed to a lose a game in which their starting pitcher tossed nine innings of one-hit, shutout ball—a feat the Indians nearly accomplished on Tuesday night against the Angels.
Carlos Carrasco pitched one of the most brilliant games of his career—arguably more dominant than his near no-hitter against Tampa Bay in early July.
But thanks to a pathetic hitting performance (even by Indians standards) the Tribe was forced into extra innings, where Giovanny Urshella saved the day.
Urshela’s home run to break the 0-0 tie in the 12 inning was the first such extra-inning home run by an Indians hitter since Brook Jacoby hit a home run to give the Tribe a 1-0 victory in 13 innings against the Red Sox in 1992. Prior to Jacoby, it hadn’t been done since Jose Cardenal in 1968.
I’m tempted to say this victory could propel the Indians to a hot streak, but can the offense really gain momentum from a game in which hitters not named Giovanny went 7-38?
The offense was so inept, that in 12 innings of baseball they managed to take just five at-bats with runners in scoring position (they went 0-5 of course).
Realistically, it doesn’t matter whether or not the offense picks things up. The Tribe is out of it and they’re only playing to develop the youngsters at this point. So from that perspective, this was a nice win. Carrasco bounced back in a big way from an ugly outing against the White Sox, and Urshela provided a much-needed offensive spark. Focus on little victories like that, and these final two months might be bearable.