Reaction: Zach McAllister struggles in Cleveland Indians home opener

The Cleveland Indians first home game of the season came in a loss today as Zach McAllister struggled from the beginning. McAllister pitched four innings and gave up thirteen hits while striking out five batters.  For Detroit, Alfredo Simon pitched five and one third innings with three runs given up in his debut with the club.

Key Moments

Fourth Inning

With a 1-0 lead, Miguel Cabrera drove in Alex Avila on a RBI single.  Following Cabrera’s hit, Victor Martinez followed suite with his own RBI single when Ian Kinsler crossed the plate giving the Tigers a 3-0 lead. Thanks to a strikeout to end the inning, McAllister did not have to get pulled.  Otherwise, the scoring in this inning could have been much worse as his pitching was not on par today.

Fifth Inning

Nick Castellanos hit a two run home run off increasing the lead to 5-0.  All five runs Detroit scored were earned for Zach McAllister.

Apr 10, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians left fielder Michael Brantley (23) hits an RBI double during the sixth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Sixth Inning

Michael Brantley drove in Michael Bourn on an RBI double, which let Jason Kipnis move to third.  Carlos Santana continued with the offense as he knock in Kipnis.  The runs did not stop as Brandon Moss came to the plate.  There, he got his first hit, a single, as an Indian, which Brantley scored on closing the lead to 5-3.

Seventh Inning

Detroit continued to pile on runs as Yoenis Cespedes scored on a Jose Iglesias single.  The Tigers were able to get hits in the luckiest ways today.  Iglesias scored on when Marc Rzepczynski made an error. Anthony Gose finished the scoring for Detroit when he scored on an Ian Kinsler triple, increasing the lead to 8-3.

Eight Inning

The Indians started to make things interesting but was only able to score one more run when Bourn scored on a Carlos Santana  double, making the final 8-4.

Positives

Michael Brantley was back in the lineup today as he has not played the last two games due to back stiffness.  He played good defense today, while driving in a run and scored once.  Carlos Santana continued his nice start on offense to start the season as he drove in two more runs.

Though Brandon Moss was unable to do anything on offense prior to today, it is good to see Moss getting hits in important situations and I would expect him to get back in the comfort zone like he was in Spring Training. 

Negatives

Today was not McAllister’s day as his stat line was a disappointment. His command was off and with Detroit getting lucky while they were at bat, it was inevitable that it was not going to be a pitching performance like it was in Houston.  McAllister is a talented pitcher who should have no problem giving a solid pitching performance next time.

Check it Out

Tomorrow on Sports Time Ohio, Cleveland takes on Detroit in game two of the series at 4:10 PM.  Detroit has David Price taking the mound in his second start of the season.  Price pitched a complete game shutout last time out while his counterpart is reigning CY Young award winner Corey Kluber.  Kluber lost his only start of the season against Houston on Opening Day.

Next: Series Preview: Detroit Tigers @ Cleveland Indians