Reaction: Memorial Day Weekend Starts With Bang as Cleveland Indians Defeat Cincinnati Reds

On a night tailor-made by Mother Nature for a pitchers’ duel, neither starter was as crisp as the fall-like air on Friday as the Cleveland Indians downed the Cincinnati Reds 7-3.  The win was the Tribe’s seventh in the last ten games, and it improved them to 18-23 on the year.  They improved to 7-12 at home.

The Indians trailed 1-0 following Billy Hamilton’s run-scoring ground out in the second.  However, the Tribe quickly regained the lead after four walks by Reds starter Mike Leake plated one and a subsequent Jason Kipnis single knocked in another.  Brandon Moss supplied much of the rest of the Tribe’s offense, blasting a first-pitch home run in the third and a two-run double in the fourth.

The Indians countered Leake with Carlos Carrasco, who notched his third quality start on the year.  Carrasco, besides the second inning run, allowed a double to Todd Frazier in the third which plated former Indian Brandon Phillips.  Carrasco finished with seven strikeouts, two walks and surrendered four hits and two earned runs in six innings.  He put an exclamation point on the night by striking out the side in his sixth and final inning.

The Good

• The Reds entered the night leading the majors in stolen bases, successfully swiping 43 bases in 50 tries. However, Roberto Perez was throwing bullets from the crouch, eliminating both Reds which attempted to swipe second on the evening.
• Besides having a great game behind the plate, Perez also had a good day at the dish, including a seventh-inning triple. It was Perez’s first career triple.
• Leake had faired pretty well against the Tribe in his previous four games, going 1-0 with an ERA of 3.28 and striking out 25 in 24.2 innings. However, the Tribe chased Leake after four innings on Friday.
• Carlos Santana ended his 0-25 streak at the plate with a 7^th inning double off of Reds’ pitcher Jumbo Diaz. The double knocked in Jason Kipnis who continued to scorch the opposition, finishing 3-4 with a walk, two RBI, and two runs.

The Bad

• Hard to place Carrasco in the negative section, but he was inconsistent throughout the evening. He needed 110 pitches to finish the night, and without those three Ks in the sixth, his line would have been much less impressive.

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• Jose Ramirez, who has been the subject of much debate on this site (see Wroundtable: What to Do with Jose Ramirez), went 0-3 on the evening, lowering his average to .195 on the season.
• Lonnie Chisenhall made his mark on the box score via error, contributing no hits and the lone error of the evening in the fifth.

What’s Next

• Yan Gomes is expected to rejoin the big league club on Sunday for the finale against the Reds.
• Game two of three against Cincinnati will be tomorrow at 4:10. Corey Kluber (1-5, 3.79 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Tribe against Anthony DeSclafani (2-4, 3.80 ERA) of the Reds.
• Saturday’s holiday weekend festivities include a 1975 replica jersey giveaway, a celebration of Rick Manning, an auction for game worn jerseys sponsored by the Cleveland Indians Wives Association, and alumni autograph opportunities with Len Barker and Joe Charboneau in Heritage Park from 3:00 – 3:30 PM.

Next: Pregame Notes Cleveland Indians Battle In State Foes