The Indians haven’t won consecutive games against the same team since July 3rd and 4th against the Angels. How’s that for a slump?
What makes this second-half disaster so frustrating is the fact that the Indians aren’t even playing all that poorly right now. Ubaldo Jimenez had one of his better starts of the season on Sunday afternoon, allowing just three runs and one walk through five innings. And the offense managed seven hits, but couldn’t scrape together more than two runs against Freddy Garcia.
The one thing that frustrated me most about this game was Matt Laporta. Why is he in the lineup? After another 0-4 against the Yankees, he’s 3-19 in the majors this season. Every time he steps into the batters box it’s just another reminder how the front office failed miserably in the Sabathia/Lee deals. I think it’s time to just admit the mistake and cut him loose.
A few other notes on the game…
- Jason Kipnis became the first Indian with 3 hits and 3 stolen bases in a game since Coco Crisp in 2004 against the Braves.
- With Saturday’s win, the Tribe avoided the worst month in franchise history. But they’re still on pace for the worst August ever. The Indians have never won fewer than 8 games in August. They’ve won only 5 so far this year.
- In fact, the Indians haven’t won 5 or fewer games in a full month (min. 20 games) since going 4-20 in September, 1928.
The season ticket holders event was unbelievably fantastic