Jose Ramirez hit two solo home runs in the Indians’ 5-4 loss to the Twins Monday night. The Indians stranded 6 men on base from the seventh inning on, and stranded 10 overall.
Jose Ramirez hit two home runs in Minnesota on Monday night to bring his season total to 32; tying him with J.D. Martinez for the most in baseball. Despite this fact, the Indians still managed to lose to the Twins 5-4 in a ninth inning walk-off. That’s because the Indians went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position, and stranded 10 men on base. Six of those 10 runners were stranded from the seventh inning on.
There were some brutal moments in this game, particularly in the late innings. For example, Francisco Lindor hit a one-out triple in the top of the seventh inning, but was unable to score after Michael Brantley grounded out and Edwin Encarnacion struck out (Jose Ramirez was walked). In the top of the ninth inning, Lindor once again made it to third base with only one out after a walk, stolen base, and another Brantley ground-out. This time, Jose Ramirez and Yonder Alonso struck out to end the threat (Encarnacion was walked).
The Indians and the Twins actually traded the lead back and forth through the first half of the game. Most of the Indians’ runs came from solo home runs though – the two solo shots from Ramirez and a solo homer from Yan Gomes. The Tribe tied the score at 4 in the top of the sixth inning when Edwin Encarnacion (on base due to a hit by pitch) scored on a Yonder Alonso double. The Indians got a little lucky on this though – if the Twins center fielder Jake Cave plays Alonso’s hit properly, it’s a single and the Tribe has runners on first and second. But Cave decided to attempt a diving catch, and the ball got past him, allowing Encarnacion to score from first.
Shane Bieber was better than his stat line may indicate. He was a victim of some very lucky hit placement by the Twins; a number of the hits barely left the infield. It was a solid start despite the four runs (three earned) that he allowed.
Even though Neil Ramirez may take some heat for surrendering the game-winning double to catcher Mitch Garver, the Indians should’ve scored multiple times before the bottom of the ninth inning. When you have as many missed opportunities as the Indians did late in that game, you sort of get what you get at that point.
I’m not sure if there is a bat the Indians will pick up before the trade deadline on Tuesday (or by the waiver deadline at the end of August) but the Indians could definitely use some help at the plate right now. There aren’t a ton of great outfield options out there, but the Indians would benefit from an upgrade in that regard. Although to be fair, every starter in the lineup Monday night, except for Brantley, got at least one hit. The Indians just lacked that one big hit with runners on base.