Tag Archives: James Karinchak

Cleveland loses in extras to Rays 5-4

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Baseball Club lost to the visiting Tampa Bay Rays by a score of 5-4 after the a blown save leading to extra-innings.

There have been several times this season when the Cleveland bullpen has not completed the task at hand. Thursday night was one of those times. Staked out to a 4-1 lead over the Rays, the Cleveland bullpen proceeded to allow three runs over the final four innings. Phil Maton allowed one in his lone inning of work while James Karinchak blew his third save of the season by allowing two runs in the 9th. Tampa would manage to score one run in the 10th which ended up being the game-deciding run in the 5-4 final score. 

Prior to the late collapse, there were some positive signs. Cal Quantrill started the game allowing one run on four hits while striking out two and walking three in 6 innings. Franmil Reyes drove in three of the four Cleveland runs with a three-run bomb in the 3rd. 

Two players who have been slumping recently came up hitless in the loss, Jose Ramirez and Bobby Bradley. While Ramirez walked twice and Bradley once, they were 0-3 and 0-4 on the night respectively. If Cleveland is going to come away with much needed wins this cannot happen. 

Cleveland now trails the White Sox by 9 games and Oakland by 6. Time is running out for the team to get things right and contend for the playoffs.

Cleveland manages to hold on for 5-4 win over Astros

Posted on by
Advertisements

After losing the first two games and facing a sweep, the Cleveland Baseball Club managed to salvage a win Wednesday against the Houston Astros.

After a 9-3 drubbing Tuesday night, the Cleveland Baseball Club was staring a sweep right in the face. Cleveland and Houston traded runs back and forth from the 3rd through 6th innings. It was then that Cesar Hernandez stepped up to the plate and delivered with what ended up being a game-winning solo home run.

It was the 16th home run of the season for Hernandez, which is a single-season high for the second baseman. Hernandez would finish the game 2-4 with two runs driven in, including a RBI double in the top of the 3rd which got the scoring started.

Houston would fire back after Cleveland’s first run with solo home runs from Jose Altuvve in the 4th and Kyle Tucker in the 5th. The 6th inning set up an epic moment for Ernie Clement. Big Ern stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and drove in Oscar Mercado, Franmil Reyes, and Bobby Bradley to give Cleveland a 4-2 lead. The Astros would again answer with RBI hits from Altuve and Yuli Gurriel. This all led to the solo shot from Hernandez in the top of the 7th.

Eli Morgan was the starter for Cleveland and it was one of the better starts of his young career. Morgan allowed three runs on three hits over 3 innings while striking out five. Bryan Shaw would relieve Morgan in the 6th, allowing the game tying single from Gurriel. Phil Maton was the last Cleveland pitcher to allow a baserunner, an infield single to Myles Straw. The combo of Emmanuel Clase and James Karinchak handled the 8th and 9th, earning a hold (5) and save (11) respectively.

With the win Cleveland trails Chicago by 8.5 in the division while trailing Oakland by 5 for the second wild card spot. A trip home awaits the team as they begin a huge series with the Tampa Bay Rays Thursday.

Cleveland bounces back, wins 3-2 in Oakland

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Baseball Club bounced back from Friday’s loss to the Oakland Athletics.

After losing a heartbreaker Friday night, the Cleveland Baseball Club was able to rebound and come away with a 3-2 win Saturday afternoon.

After trailing by a run early, it was Cesar Hernandez and Amed Rosario who came through in the 5th. It was a RBI double from Hernandez that tied the game and a sacrifice fly from Rosario to give Cleveland a 2-1 lead.

Then in the 8th it was Franmil Reyes who came up big, clobbering a solo shot to extend the lead to two.

That run would come in handy as Oakland was able to come within one in the 9th. Luckily this time the bullpen was able to hold onto the lead. While James Karinchak did give up a run, it didn’t come at the expense of a win.

Cleveland got 5 impressive innings from Cal Quantrill. Quantrill allowed just one run on four hits and two walks while striking out five. The trio of Nick Sandlin, Bryan Shaw, and Emmanuel Clase would follow, allowing just one base runner, a hit off of Sandlin.

Cleveland has a chance to come away with a huge first series win after the break. They still trail by 8 games in the division and are 4.5 back of Oakland. A win today could make some headway in the Wild Card race while a loss would bring them closer to what has seemed to be inevitable, a sell off.

Cleveland Baseball Club at the All-Star Break

Posted on by
Advertisements

Where do things stand with the Cleveland Baseball Club as they trail by eight games in the division?

Looking at the injured list for the Cleveland Baseball Club one would think that this team is without a doubt a below .500 team, but somehow the Fighting Francona’s are 45-42 on the year despite a rash of injuries and underwhelming offense. So, where do things stand with the Cleveland Baseball Club at the All-Star Break?

Injuries

Josh Naylor is out for the season after suffering a gruesome injury not too long ago. That is only the most recent major injury for the team. Cleveland has also dealt with injuries to two other prominent outfielders on the roster, Eddie Rosario and Jordan Luplow. Additionally, the club was without both Roberto Perez and Austin Hedges for a time, forcing them to rely on the combo of Rene Rivera and Ryan Lavarnway. That is before even discussing the injuries to their pitching staff. Shane Bieber has been shelved for quite some time as well as Aaron Civale. Cleveland just saw the return of Zach Plesac after he got hurt in a strange series of events.

The key players who have played a role in the team staying afloat

This conversation obviously starts with Jose Ramirez. Ramirez is having a down year from the slash line perspective up to this point (.260/.346/.524/.870), but the counting stats seems to be right on track. The 2021 All-Star has 19 home runs, 18 doubles, 1 triple, 52 RBI, 8 stolen bases, and 35 walks in 82 games.

Franmil Reyes has been another key factor for Cleveland as he seems to have finally become comfortable since being traded in 2019. The slugger has 14 home runs, 10 doubles, and 2 triples with 38 RBI and 14 walks in 47 games. Reyes did miss some time due to injury so considering that into the mix his production is fairly impressive.

The one player that everyone has been clamoring for, Bobby Bradley. Bradley finally has been given his chance and seems to performing as expected. Bradley has 10 home runs, five doubles, and 20 RBI in 31 games. The one issue that everyone was aware of prior to his call up was strikeouts as Bradley has struck out 36 times in 119 plate appearances. As long as Bradley is hitting the ball over the fence and into the gap the strikeouts are palatable, if not it is a different story altogether.

While Cesar Hernandez has struggled in areas that he is usually proficient in (batting average, on-base percentage), the unexpected power production has been a welcome sight. Hernandez has 15 home runs and 13 doubles with 38 RBI in 85 games. The 15 home runs from Hernandez ties a career-high from 2018, a season which also saw the second baseman focus on power.

Opponents after the break will dictate what the team does

There is a lot that will be learned after the All-Star Break as the Cleveland Baseball Club embarks on a tough schedule. Cleveland will travel to Oakland and Houston before returning home to face Tampa and St. Louis with two games in Chicago against the White Sox taking place before the trade deadline. If Cleveland is going to actually stay in contention they will have play above expectations during this stretch. Closing the gap between themselves and Chicago and Oakland will be crucial if they are going to avoid selling.

Trade candidates

If things do not go their way and Cleveland needs up selling, there are some pretty obvious names the team can move at the deadline. As far as position players are concerned, Eddie Rosario and Cesar Rosario come to mind. Both players are on one-year deals and could be of interest to contending teams looking to add another bat to their lineup. It would also give Cleveland the chance to get a good long look at some of their younger players in their farm system at those positions.

Also worth noting is that there are a couple of relief arms that could be moved as well. When it comes to the trade deadline teams are always looking to add another arm to the bullpen. There are three names that Cleveland could end up moving if things do not go their way. Those arms would be Bryan Shaw, Blake Parker, and Nick WIttgren. While none are elite arms by any means, teams are always looking to add to their bullpen and adding one of these three could make a huge difference for a contender.

Rest of season outlook

This is really tough to predict considering the wide range of outcomes that could occur for Cleveland. The team has mostly overachieved considering the talent level of some of their players and the injuries that have occurred. Somehow they are not completely out of it in the division, but that is mostly due to the White Sox dealing with their own rash of injuries. One bad week could send the team from contention to selling while one good week could keep the team in the playoff hunt. Their best bet is most likely a soft sell of sorts, moving pieces that would provide the biggest return and see how the rest of the season plays out.

Franmil Reyes walks off Royals with three-run homer

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Baseball Club slugger came up in the 9th inning and launched a walk-off three-run home run.

Things did not seem like they were going to end up well early on Thursday night as the Cleveland Baseball Club was trailing by three runs early. Add in the fact that after a a three-run home run from Roberto Perez in the 8th that Kansas City tied the game back up in the top of the 9th it appeared that the losing streak might continue. That was not the case as Franmil Reyes came up to the plate in the bottom of the 9th with two men on and proceeded to hit an absolute bomb to secure a 7-4 walk-off win.

This is the type of heroics that Cleveland needed at this time and Franmil Reyes was the perfect man for the job. Perhaps this win can provide a jolt into what has been a underwhelming offensive effort all season long. A nice finish at home before the All-Star break could be just what gets Cleveland back into the playoff hunt.

The return of Plesac

Zach Plesac made his highly anticipated return from the injured list Thursday and was a on a strict 60-pitch limit. Plesac threw 55 pitches in his return, but was not necessarily fooling the Royals batters. Kansas City managed three runs on five hits in just 4 innings against Plesac.

The only other Cleveland pitcher to allow a run was James Karinchak who gave up a solo home run to Carlos Santana, his second of the game.

Cleveland will look to win their second straight game against the Royals Friday at 7:10 P.M.

Three runs in 8th leads to 4-1 win for Cleveland

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Baseball Club utilized a three-run 8th inning to propel themselves to a 4-1 win against the Minnesota Twins.

The ability to score runs when it matters most is a trademark of good teams. With the game tied at 1, the Cleveland Baseball Club scored three runs in the 8th to come away with a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Minnesota and Cleveland traded runs in the 1st and 2nd innings as the Twins scored first with Cleveland answering in the next half-inning. Austin Hedges drove in Bobby Bradley to level the score when it was their turn in the 2nd. What this really showed was that both J.C. Mejia and Jose Berrios were extremely impressive Thursday night. The final pitching lines for both players were incredibly similar as Mejia allowed just one run on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts in 6 innings while Berrios allowed one run on four hits with two walks and nine strikeouts in 6.1 innings.

The difference in the game came down to the bullpen. Cleveland deployed Blake Parker, Bryan Shaw, and James Karinchak for the final 3 innings with the trio allowing just two hits. Minnesota turned to Jorge Alcala in the 8th and allowed three runs on two hits in just two-thirds of an inning. Eddie Rosario drove in Amed Rosario and Austin Hedges to give Cleveland a 3-1 lead. Bobby Bradley would follow with a RBI groundout which allowed Jose Ramirez to score.

Coming away with a win in the first of four games in Minnesota is a huge win. Cleveland is still hanging around in the AL Central as they trail the Chicago White Sox by just two games. Cleveland can draw closer with a win on Friday and the Mariners coming away with an unlikely victory in Chicago.

Game two in Minnesota will take place at 8:10 P.M. at Target Field.

Cleveland avoids sweep in Pittsburgh with 2-1 win

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Baseball Club managed to avoid being swept in Pittsburgh by defeating the Pirates by a score of 2-1 Sunday.

The trip to Pittsburgh was not going well for the Cleveland Baseball Club as they dropped the first two games against one of the worst teams in baseball. Facing the possibility of being swept by the Pirates, Cleveland made sure that did not happen with a slim one-run victory.

The game was scoreless until the 5th inning when Harold Ramirez came up and launched a solo home run to give Cleveland a 1-0 lead.

It was the third home run for Harold Ramirez in two games as the former Marlin appears to be quite comfortable at the plate as of late.

After the Pirates tied the game at 1 in the 6th, it was Josh Naylor who came to the rescue with a RBI single which drove in Eddie Rosario.

Cleveland only managed four hits and two walks in the contest, not necessarily a dynamic offensive output. The team really needs some answers to fix the offense if they plan on competing this season. Luckily Cleveland was able to get an impressive outing from their pitching staff to come away with a win.

Sam Hentges started the game for Cleveland, pitching five shutout innings and only allowing two hits and one walk with four strikeouts. This was by far the best start of the season for Hentges, even though he did not come away with a win.

Sam Hentges started the game for Cleveland, pitching five shutout innings and only allowing two hits and one walk with four strikeouts. This was by far the best start of the season for Hentges, even though he did not come away with a win.

Phil Maton pitched the 6th, giving up the only Pirates run of the game on a Jacob Stallings RBI single. Maton struck out three batters and allowed three hits in his one inning of work.

Trevor Stephan relieved Maton and allowed just one hit and one walk in the contest. This was the last Pittsburgh hit of the game.

The 8th inning belonged to Emmanuel Clase and he kept the Pirates off the base-paths. This was the third hold of the year for Clase.

James Karinchak struck out one batter in the 9th as he came away with his eighth save of the season.

Cleveland continues their road trip on Monday as they take on the Cubs in Chicago at 8:05 P.M.

Cleveland wins third straight against Baltimore 8-7

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Baseball Club used another five run inning to defeat the Baltimore Orioles 8-7.

Baseball can be funny sometimes as things seem to repeat themselves. Wednesday’s game between the Cleveland Baseball Club and Baltimore Orioles certainly gave everyone an intense feeling of deja vu. This is due to Cleveland using another five run inning to get out to a big lead and win the game.

This time it was the 3rd inning that saw Cleveland scoring a bunch of runs. Down 3-1, RBI hits from Amed Rosario, Jose Ramirez, Harold Ramirez, and Eddie Rosario had Cleveland jump out to a 6-3 lead. The hit from Jose Ramirez was the most entertaining as he avoided being tagged out between first and second, managing to make his way to a vacant third base when it was all said and done.

Aaron Civale was on the mound against Baltimore and while he did manage to go 5 innings, it wasn’t easy. The Orioles collected five runs on nine hits and really shortened Civale’s outing. Due to the hits that Baltimore got off Civale and his early high pitch count, Cleveland was lucky to get five innings out of him.

Bryan Shaw was the only other pitcher that the Orioles were able to do anything against. Shaw allowed two runs on three hits in just one inning. James Karinchak and Emmanuel Clase did their usual things in the 9th, shutting the door and striking out a batter each.

Cleveland has a chance to complete the four game sweep Thursday at 1:10 P.M.

Cleveland uses five run 4th to defeat Orioles 7-2

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland baseball Club used a five run 4th inning to propel themselves to victory.

There’s something special about one of those innings when a team looks unstoppable for a brief moment. That is exactly what happened for the Cleveland Baseball Club Tuesday night when facing Orioles starter Matt Harvey. Entering the bottom of the 4th with the game tied at one, Cleveland rallied and scored five runs in the inning to send Harvey to an early shower. This was more than enough for Cleveland to put the game away, claiming the second win in a row over Baltimore, a team that has now lost 17 straight road games.

It was RBI hits from Ernie Clement, his first major league hit, Bradley Zimmer, Amed Rosario, and Eddie Rosario which led to the runs being scored in the decisive 4th inning. Somehow, someway, this team is managing to score runs and continues to win games.

There were also two runs driven in other innings in the contest, both by Bobby Bradley. It was a RBI single in the first and a solo homer in the 7th. Since being called up Bradley has been on absolute tear and has been a welcome addition to the Cleveland lineup.

Pitching wise it was a pieced together effort from multiple arms. Cal Quantrill handled the first 4 innings, allowing one run on three hits with four strikeouts. Blake Parker took the 5th inning and was the only other Cleveland pitcher to allow a run. Phil Maton pitched the 6th and was the final pitcher to allow a hit. Nick Wittgren manned the 7th and was the only pitcher to issue a walk in the contest. James Karinchak and Emmanuel Clase did their usual things in the 8th and 9th by keeping Baltimore off the base-paths and striking out four batters combined.

Cleveland hangs on to defeat Baltimore 4-3

Posted on by
Advertisements

It was some early offense for Cleveland as they came away with a close victory over the visiting Baltimore Orioles.

The Cleveland Baseball Club managed to hold on to a slim one-run victory over the visiting Baltimore Orioles Monday. This was a huge win for the club as they are in a state of flux at the current moment. The recent placement of Shane Bieber on the injured list was a huge blow to their pitching staff, so coming away with a win with Jean Carlos Mejia on the mound is a huge boost.

Mejia started the game and allowed two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out three in 4 innings of work. This type of performance was exactly what Cleveland needed in order to come away with a win Monday night.

The only other run scored by Baltimore came across to score in the 7th with Bryan Shaw on the mound. This was the first run allowed by the resurgent reliever since June 4th with three scoreless appearances in between.

Cleveland’s back end of the bullpen tandem of James Karinchak and Emmanuel Clase proved to be lethal yet again. The duo did not allow a hit in 2.1 innings and combined for five strikeouts. The only base runner that reached was on a walk by Karinchak.

Cleveland did the bulk of their damage offensively in the 1st inning. Jose Ramirez got things started with a RBI single to drive in Cesar Hernandez. Eddie Rosario would follow with a sacrifice fly allowing Amed Rosario to score. The third and final run of the inning came on a Bobby Bradley RBI single which drove in Jose Ramirez.

Jose Ramirez would drive in what would be the game deciding run in the 6th with a RBI double. It was Hernandez who would come around to score again on a hit from Jose.

Game 2 of the four game series with Baltimore will take place Tuesday at 7:10 P.M.