Royals Offense, Erik Kratz’ Acting Fall Short vs. Tribe

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Ramirez’ Triple Covers for 8th Inning Mistakes, Indians Win 3-2

There are bound to be some growing pains for all youngsters figuring themselves out in the major leagues.  But for talent, that price is usually worth the frustration in the long-term.  Rookie Jose Ramirez showed both sides of the coin in Saturday night’s victory over the Royals.  In the 8th inning, the shortstop cost the Indians dearly when he got in the way of Jason Kipnis trying to turn a double play at second base.  He allowed the Royals’ first run to score later in the inning when he fielded a ground ball and threw to second base instead of home plate with the bases loaded.  But he led off the 11th with a triple, and came home on another well-timed Michael Brantley RBI a few pitches later, putting the Indians up for good (they would later score another run when Carlos Santana knocked Brantley home with a base hit.

The bottom half of the inning got a bit complicated for Josh Tomlin.  After Salvador Perez doubled home a run to make it 3-2, Erik Kratz tried to get aboard by faking getting hit by a pitch.  The umpire wasn’t fooled, and Tomlin ended up painting the lower part of the strike zone with a fastball on a 3-2 count.  Kratz tried walking towards first in the hopes that he could somehow ignore strike three, but he was rung up to end the game.

The Positives

Trevor Bauer got himself into trouble, but always managed to find his way out (even if the home plate umpire made things more difficult for him in the first inning).  Although he walked five, he struck out six and managed to escape with no runs allowed in 5 2/3 innings.  Lonnie Chisenhall continued his hot streak, smacking a pair of singles and extending his hitting streak to 6 games.  Brantley had another multi-hit game, showing us that he may be putting his late-August slump behind him.  And of course, the bullpen was solid as usual.

The Negatives

Zach Walters had another ofer at the plate.  His batting average dropped to .175 with the Tribe, although he did hit a ball hard.  There may be some talent there, but we’re sure to experience some growing pains along the way.  Tomlin got through two innings on 54 pitches, but it certainly wasn’t pretty.  And Nick Hagadone wasn’t as sharp as he’s been lately, walking the only batter he faced on four pitches.

Check It Out
-Chisenhall is hitting .500 during his hitting streak with a homer and a double.
-Bauer lowered his ERA to 3.99. He’s now under 4.00 for the first time since the beginning of the month.
-Santana has driven in a run in five straight games against the Royals.