Heading into tonight’s game, Indians fans were most likely breathing a sigh of relief with Justin Masterson taking the mound.  The Tribe’s number one starter has actually been pitching like an ace should, and we needed an ace after witnessing Ubaldo Jimenez’s abysmal outing on Tuesday.

The game started off the opposite way most fans had hoped, with the Red Sox jumping out to a three run lead in the first.  Singles by Mike Napoli and Daniel Nava scored Jacoby Ellsbury, Shane Victorino and Dustin Pedroia.  The game looked like it could take an ugly turn after these quick three runs, however, Masterson went on to tip toe through danger in the following innings.

In the top of the second inning, Masterson would load the bags, but was able to escape without surrendering any runs.  He would do the same in the fourth inning, and it seemed that if the offense could get going, the Tribe could have a shot at winning.  This was a big “if”.  In the previous two games combined, the Indians were only able to muster out three runs against Chicago and Boston.  Masterson would go on to give up another run in the fifth inning, and would exit the game after this having gone over 100 pitches.

The offense showed signs of life in the bottom of the fifth inning when Nick Swisher belted his second homer of the season, a two run shot to Cleveland’s bullpen.  Following up Swisher’s homerun, 42-year-old Jason Giambi connected for his first hit, and homerun as an Indian to make it 5-2 Red Sox.  A sloppy top of the eighth tacked on another run for the Red Sox after a wild pitch and throwing error by Joe Smith.  After this, the Tribe wasn’t able to get the four runs needed to get the win.  One thing is for certain, this Cleveland offense needs to catch fire and start producing some runs if they want to compete.

The Tribe looks to avoid the sweep tomorrow against the Red Sox, then heads to Houston for a three game set against the Astros.

Notes:

-Carlos Santana took a rocket of a foul ball off his facemask in the top of the fourth that prompted Francona to come out and check on him.  Santana would remain in the game.

-Indians offseason target Shane Victorino had a good night, going 3-3.

-Jason Giambi is the 3rd oldest Indian to homer, behind Sam Rice (44) and Dave Winfield (42).

5 Comments

  • The Doctor says:

    The trend of playing from behind after the 1st or 2nd inning is already getting really frustrating.

    I recognize we have some players out (Bourn, Kipnis, various minor injuries to other folks), but the offense is starting to concern me. If we can’t hit bums like Doubront or Aceves, that’s a problem.

    Cabrera should either be riding the pine or dropped lower in the order – is there anyone that doesn’t expect either a strikeout or a weak rollover to 2nd every time he comes up? He is absolutely killing us. Stubbs and Chisenhall are the worthless out machines I expected them to be.

    But, because I hate myself, I’ll keep watching!

    • Dalek says:

      I agree wholeheartedly. This homestand has been disappointing to say the least. Our offense is stagnant, only mustering a few hits against guys who aren’t anywhere near elite. Yes, we beat up Sale, but other top of the rotation guys like Peavy, Kuroda, and Pettitte held us to seven runs in three games. Thinking of facing Verlander and the Tigers or Shields and the Royals just makes me cringe.

      The thought of how good we can be is the only thing I can hang my hat on at the moment. Once Droobs, Chizzy, and Kipper all remember how to hit the ball we’ll be a fun team to watch. The question has become, “How long will we be waiting?” In the meantime, there’s always the NBA playoffs we could watch…anyone?….Bueller?…Bueller?

    • Drew says:

      Stubbs and Chisenhall are not playing terribly below expectations offensively. Both are about 1-2 hits below expectations. Drew Stubb’s defense on the other hand has been a mixed bag. Last night, he chased down a double and turned it into an out, but on 2 occasions, he misplayed hits by Matt Carp, one resulting in a triple for Carp. I do like his speed but I think Michael Bourn would not had as much difficulty with the ball bouncing off the wall.

      • The Doctor says:

        Haha yeah I mean, that’s kind of what I’m saying – I expected Stubbs and Chisenhall to be bad. I just can’t help but dislike a guy (Chisenhall) who’s openly said multiple times he doesn’t care about walking and just wants to hit the hell out of the ball – we’ll see how far that gets him. Reminds me way too much of Dusty Baker arguing about high-OBP guys “clogging up the bases”.

        As far as Stubbs’ defense goes, I’m not sure what’s going on with him – he looked absolutely lost on those 2 Carp shots, and playing RF, he’s let 5 or 6 balls drop in front of him for singles that (to me) it appears he could have easily caught.

  • Sean Porter says:

    I hope I’m wrong, but I have this nagging feeling that Chisenhall is going to have a mediocre career. He has some pop, but he doesn’t walk, doesn’t hit lefties, doesn’t field all that well.

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