This Week In Indians Baseball: Week 20

The Indians struggled as they opened a nine-game, ten-day West Coast swing. After taking the first of three from the Los Angeles Angels, they lost the next two of the series. The Oakland Athletics then swept the Tribe in a three-game series. Overall, the Indians were 1-5 in the 20^th week of the season.

Game 116: Indians 6, Angels 2

W: Justin Masterson, L: C.J. Wilson

A pair of singles from Jason Donald and Asdrubal Cabrera in the third scored Brent Lillibridge and Lou Marson for the first runs of the game. Lillibridge homered in the fourth to give the Tribe their third run. Then, in the ninth, the Indians loaded the bases when Ezequiel Carerra, Brent Lillibridge and Casey Kotchman opened up the inning with three consecutive singles. The Angels’ Jason Isringhausen issued a walk to Marson. Jason Kipnis pinch-hit for Donald, bringing home a run on a sac fly. Isringhausen allowed the final run to score on a wild pitch. Justin Masterson had a strong start, going six scoreless innings with six hits and three walks and four strikeouts. Chris Perez earned the save when he struck out three batters after replacing Esmil Rogers on the mound. Rogers had allowed two singles so open up the bottom of the ninth. Vinnie Pestano and Joe Smith combined for two scoreless innings. (full recap here)

• Game 117: Angels 9, Indians 6

W: Zack Greinke, L: Ubaldo Jimenez

Two big rallies paved the way for the Angels. In the first and fourth innings, Jimenez gave up four runs apiece. In the fourth, an Albert Pujols three-run homer fueled the Halos’ offense. The Angels added a final run in the sixth. The Indians brought out their bats, but were unable to erase the deficit. Michael Brantley had a two-run homer in the fourth. In the seventh, the Indians plated a pair of runs on an Ezequiel Carrera single that scored Micheal Brantley and a ground out from Jason Kipnis that scored Jason Donald. Casey Kotchman had a two-run homer in the eighth. (full recap here)

• Game 118: Angels 8, Indians 4

W: Ervin Santana, L: Roberto Hernandez

Hernandez resumed his career with a new name on Wednesday. After retiring the first three batters he faced, things unraveled for Hernandez in the second inning. A pair of errors from Brent Lillibridge and Carlos Santana didn’t help Hernandez, who was already trying to work himself out of a jam. In the second inning, five runs crossed the plate for Los Angeles; they would go on to add runs in the third, fourth and seventh innings. The Indians’ offense got started in the sixth with an AsdurbAl Cabrera double that scored Ezequiel Carrera. Shin-Soo Choo unloaded a three-run homer in the eighth. In his season debut, Hernandez went six innings, allowing eight runs, five of which were earned, on ten hits. (full recap here)

Game 119: Athletics 6, Indians 4

W: Jordan Norberto, L: Joe Smith

The Indians appeared to be in good shape when Shelley Duncan deposited a ball into the stands with the bases loaded in the fourth inning for the first grand slam of his career. Even when the Athletics scored three runs in the bottom of the inning, the Tribe was in line for a victory. Then the Athletics scored the tyring run in the fifth and completely erased the lead Duncan provided. The game remained tied until the eighth inning when Vinnie Pestano allowed two inherited runners to score. Zach McAllister got the start, going six innings and allowing four runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out six. (full recap here)

• Game 120: Athletics 8, Indians 6

W: Bartolo Colon, L: Corey Kluber

A familiar face dominated the Tribe batsmen for much of Saturday’s contest. A four-run fourth gave the Athletics the early lead. After the Athletics increased the lead to 5-0, the Indians responded. In the top of the seventh, Carlos Santana blasted a solo home run. The Athletics added another run in the bottom of the seventh and two more in the eighth. The Indians posed a threat in the ninth. Asdrubal Cabrera opened the inning with a single and Shin-Soo Choo followed with a home run. Later in the inning, with two outs and Michael Brantley on base, Brent Lillibridge delivered a home run and closed the gap to a two-run deficit. It was too late, however, as those were the final runs the Indians could score. Kluber allowed four runs on four hits and three walks over five innings. (full recap here)

• Game 121: Athletics 7, Indians 0

W: Jarrod Parker, L: Justin Masterson

The Athletics were able to complete a sweep over the Tribe on Sunday. The Indians couldn’t solve Parker, unable to muster a run. Masterson struggled on the mound, going 5.2 innings while allowing seven runs on nine hits and one walk with five strikeouts. Esmil Rogers and Chris Perez combined for 2.1 innings of scoreless relief. (full recap here)