Another night, another dramatic win for the surging Indians. Now winners of six straight and sitting at a season-high ten games above the break-even mark.
Tonight’s lucky bat? Ryan Raburn, who was called to pinch-hit in the bottom of the eighth inning for last night’s hero, Jason Giambi. With Asdrubal Cabrera and Drew Stubbs in scoring position, Raburn went right up the middle off Sox reliever Matt Lindstrom, erasing every bit of unwarranted frustration in an otherwise trying evening.
Lonnie Chisenhall would follow with a single, and Yan Gomes would clean it all up with a two-run double for good measure.
White Sox rookie Andre Rienzo (7 INN/5 H/3 UER/6 SO/3 BB) sparkled in his Major League debut. The first Brazilian pitcher to ever pitch in the Bigs, the young hurler impressed with excellent control and an alien 12-6 curveball that completely baffled Tribe hitters. In fact, the only damage inflicted against Rienzo was every bit of fluky. Aided by a tough error by Alexi Ramirez, the Tribe went to work. A bases-loaded walk got the Indians on the board.
What happened afterwards had everyone holding their breath. As Michael Bourn was speeding down the line to beat out a double-play, Rienzo narrowly avoided getting seriously hurt in a fashion that wasn’t all that different than the Braves’ Tim Hudson’s broken ankle. The Tribe would score two on the groundout, tying the game in the process.
Scott Kazmir (5 INN/9 H/4 ER/3 SO) struggled early, but managed to get his bearings as the game wore on. But as I implied earlier, the Tribe dealt with some adversity that was mostly not of their doing.
Home-plate umpire Bob Davidson gifted the Sox a third run in the first, and Kazmir also appeared to have Paul Konerko struck out. Konerko would then reach in on an infield single that both Kazmir and Gomes misplayed. Of course, the gaffe came around to score. Davidson also squeezed Rich Hill in his appearance facing Adam Dunn, who had the big slugger clearly struck out (on strike three and four), but it’s not a baseball game these days unless the umpires get their TV time, too.
But the unsung hero tonight was Matt Albers, who settled the White Sox offense down by going 2.2 innings of scoreless baseball. Setting the stage for tonight’s party.
The bad news? The Tigers, Red Sox and Orioles all won, so no advancement in the standings tonight. But the Indians did their part.
The Tribe will try to clinch the series tomorrow as Corey Kluber goes for the Tribe. Jake Peavy, a big name in the rumors at the moment, is scheduled as of now to pitch for Chicago.
UPDATE: The Red Sox apparently have a deal in place for Peavy, so tomorrow’s starter for Chicago is TBA.
W: Bryan Shaw (2-2); L: Donnie Veal (1-2); S: Chris Perez (15)
Player of the Game: Andre Rienzo
I was at the game, down near the left field corner, so my view of the umpire’s calls were shaky at best of course. Rich Hill definitely had something to say to the ump as he walked off the field, though.
For the 100th time, let me sing the praises of our bench…
I opened my last bottle of Biotta beet juice to toast Yan’s big night (single, double, walk, 3 RBI). This guy might be the best low ball hitter on the team. Serious man crush.
This umpiring crew hasn’t had a very good series so far.Besides Davidson’s strike zone and apparent blindness on the call at home ,Hirschbeck almost got drilled by a routine double play ground ball that led to the Ramirez error.
Our bullpen did their job and the white Sox didn’t,nice win!
“but it’s not a baseball game these days unless the umpires get their TV time, too.”
You nailed it. I was watching the Tigers game on Sunday on MLB Network when Miggy got tossed. He just turned his head and said something and he got the thumb. It was totally bogus. The only thing I can think of that got him run that fast was… well, remember in Bull Durham when Crash Davis used ‘a certain word that’s a no-no with umpires’?
MLBN was showing the Tigers broadcast feed, and the color guy said of the home plate umpire, “hey, people didn’t pay to watch you today.”
Where did MLB find all these divas, anyway?