Jason Kipnis hits a home run in the 8th inning. (Photo Credit: H Rumph Jr/AP Photo)

Jason Kipnis hits a home run in the 8th inning. (Photo Credit: H Rumph Jr/AP Photo)

I have to be honest, I wasn’t too optimistic about the Tribe’s chances today. The offense was coming off their worst 3-game stretch (3 runs total across three games) since the early season, and struggled mightily Tuesday night to get anything going. In addition to that, this would be Corey Kluber’s first start since the abject disaster that happened in Detroit. This game would also represent the 4th game played by the Indians in a 48-hour span, so it would be easy to chalk another offensive dud up to fatigue.

Kluber and the Indians offense, however, must have missed the memo.

Kluber (3-2) looked fantastic today, and was a couple of 2-out hits away from a much cleaner stat line than the respectable 6 IP 3 ER that he posted this afternoon. Kluber allowed six hits and did not walk a batter (Hooray!). I still don’t think he’s long for this rotation, but I can definitely appreciate the pitching effort that Corey put out there today. This team needed it, he needed it, and I’m happy for him. In addition to his pitching success, Kluber worked a couple of really good at-bats today, going to a full count twice, and working a walk that started a 2-out rally.

The Indians offense, which has looked befuddled and impotent over the last two days, roared back to life under the Philadelphia sun. The heart of the Indians order, silenced recently, did all the damage today. Jason Kipnis collected two doubles and smacked a 3-run home run in the 8th inning to give the Indians a 10-3 lead (his first non-first-inning dinger of the season). Asdrubal Cabrera, still swooning a bit to start the season, had two hits of his own, including a 2-out, 2 RBI knock in the 6th inning to extend the lead. Nick Swisher hit another home run, a deep fly ball that just wrapped around the foul pole in left field, and Mark Reynolds shook off a cranky elbow of his own to knock in a 2-run double to open the scoring.

The Indians go into the off day and the weekend series with the Mariners at 22-17, poised to be tied with or only a game behind Detroit if Houston can hold on (Update: They did!), so I anticipate a good crowd ready to welcome their Tribe back home after a much-needed day off. Ubaldo Jimenez will take the hill looking to post his 4th-straight good start, and it’s dollar dog night, and there are fireworks. What are you doing? Make sure you have tickets right now!

As we say on the Twitters, #RollTribe

6 Comments

  • Jeremy says:

    You gotta have faith Adam. I knew the offense would wake up. I asked Jobu to come…take fear from bats. I offered him cigar, rum….and He came.

    Go Tribe!

  • Sean Porter says:

    Are you implying that Jesus Christ can’t hit a curveball, Jeremy? haha!

    • Jeremy says:

      My favorite line of the entire movie! That..and Harris’s other classic: “Hey bartender, Jobu needs a refill.” lol…

  • darilla says:

    the Cleveland Indians are going to surprise us all. by the end of the weekend they will be in first place by a game. go tribe

  • Steve Alex says:

    Our team is anything but predictable. The better the opposing pitcher, the better they play. Then they frustrate you by getting blanked by a rook just up from the minors. But the bottom line is what counts, and they are five games over .500 despite lots of injuries and bad weather.

  • DaveR says:

    They beat up on a solid Detroit staff so I didn’t see the concern with mediocre Phillies pitching. Someone sees a 6-2 box score the other day and thinks they stunk it up but it was 4-2 in the 8th. And Cabrera tripled with no outs. Man on 1st and 3rd with one. Needed to do something there but those things happen. At this point, if the offensive squad is healthy the Indians have a shot to win any game that doesn’t get away from our starters.

    Seattle at home for 4. King Felix vs Masterson should be a good one.