Trevor Bauer did not have the best start of his career but the Cleveland Indians offense was able to bail him out and get the victory.
Trevor Bauer allowed seven runs over five innings, not necessarily the best performance for the Indians right hander. Not to be lost is the fact that Trevor Bauer struck out his 1,000 batter Thursday night.
Although Bauer did not perform up to his skill level, the Cleveland Indians were still able to come away with a victory.
Jason Kipnis hit his first home run of the season, in fact he hit two. A solo shot in the bottom of the first and a three run home in the bottom of fourth. This could be just the performance that Kipnis needs to get his bat going. Cleveland needs Kipnis to hit, especially since he is in the two spot.
Overall the Cleveland offense was excellent Thursday, the only starter to finish without a hit was Jake Bauers. Carlos Gonzalez went 3-4 with an RBI single in the third inning. Jose Ramirez went 1-4, his only hit drove in a run in the bottom of the third. Carlos Santana went 2-4 with two RBI’s, driving in runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Leonys Martin went 2-4 and drove in a run in the seventh. Francisco Lindor was 2-4 and drove in the 14th and final run in the bottom of the eighth. The five run seventh inning is what put the game away for the Tribe.
Perhaps the most noteworthy play of the day came on what appeared to be a routine groundout, but some crafty base running by Francisco Lindor allowed a run to score and prevented any outs.
This was the second consecutive good offensive performance for the Indians as they have scored 23 runs in their past two games. Cleveland will look for a third straight Friday at 7:10 P.M.
