Cleveland Indians’ Split Squads Each Get Win

Friday’s split squad gave Tribe fans the opportunity to see a number of their favorite vets and more than a handful the team’s top prospects see considerable playing time.

Cleveland Indians vs. Arizona Diamondbacks

We begin in Goodyear, where Zach McAllister, and a starting lineup that closely resembled a midseason option, took on Jeremy Hellickson and the D-backs.

Tribe hitters started the onslaught of the Diamondbacks early, scoring one in the first, two in the second, and three in the third.  In the first, Jason Kipnis, who was 2-3 on the day, scored on a Michael Brantley line drive.  Jose Ramirez and Michael Bourn both hit their first Spring home runs in the second, and the pair of solo shots put the Tribe up 3-0.  Catcher Brett Hayes hammered a three run home run off Daniel Hudson in the third.  It was Hayes’ first home run and it raised his average to .400 this spring.

McAllister had one of his sharpest outings of this early season, pitching 4.0 innings and allowing just three hits and one walk.  He struck out three and allowed no runs.  Five Cleveland relievers preserved the win for McAllister.  Dustin Mollekan, pitching in the eighth for the Tribe, allowed Arizona’s sole two runs, both unearned thanks to a Yandy Diaz error.

Besides appreciating the exciting on the field effort, Tribe faithful had a unique experience to interact with one of the team’s most colorful players.  The Cleveland Indians turned their Twitter feed over to Trevor Bauer, who live tweeted the contest.  Bauer produced some pretty great tweets, including these:

For more on the Bauer takeover, check out this piece Jordan Bastian’s piece on MLB.com.

Cleveland Indians vs. Chicago Cubs

As MLB’s Jordin Bastian tweeted earlier in the day, this Tribe starting lineup featured five of their top 30 prospects, including Francisco Lindor, Clint Frazier, Tyler Naquin, Erik Gonzalez, and Jesus Aguilar, and their bats were just as hot as the vets in Goodyear.  The Indians beat the Cubs 7-4.

T.J. House took the mound for the Tribe and provided 4 2/3 innings of great baseball.  House, who is battling for the fifth spot in the rotation, made a good case against the Cubbies, striking out six and walking none while allowing just one earned run.  House’s dominant performance dropped his Spring ERA to 2.79.

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However, the story was the play of the Indians’ youth.  Frazier led the way with three RBIs, all of which came off his third inning, three run bomb off Cubs pitcher Jeff Lorick.  2014 Tribe draft picks, Bradley Zimmer and Mike Papi also had opportunities to also get into the game, and Zimmer picked up a hit in his lone AB.

It was a good thing the Tribe brought a few vets, as Yan Gomes added a solo shot and Mike Aviles went 3-4 with a run and RBI.

The two squads will meet back up on Saturday to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers on the road.  The Dodgers are playing well this Spring, accumulating a 5-2 record thus far, and will run Brett Anderson out to start the game.