Chicks dig the long ball

by Suckatsports

The Indians all but put away the Detroit Tigers in the first two games of a crucial 3-game home stand. Going into the game, even with a 4.5 lead, the cities of Cleveland and Detroit viewed this as a make or break series for both teams. If the Tigers were to sweep the Indians, they would be 1.5 games out of the division, and something similar in the wild card (depending on what the Yankees did in that time). At worst, they needed a series win to get back into things, and things didn't go their way in the first two.

The Indians won the first game in an 11-winning thriller 6-5 on Blake's walk-off home run, in what seemed to be a back breaking loss. The following day, we know it was back breaking, as the Indians used the home run to get back into the game, and bury their divisional opponent 7-4. It was make or break, and it turned out just like that, in favor of the Indians. The Tigers are now 6.5 games back in the division (Indians magic number down to five), and 4.5 games back in the wild card. Certainly, there's still games to play, but they need a lot of help, and the results are somewhat out of their hands.

Jake Westbrook struggled once again, in his third straight start, after being so dominant for the last month. He got into a jam early, and even though he minimized the damage, the Tigers went ahead 4-1 in the third after a litany of base hits and bases-loaded situations. He was bailed out, however, by the loss of control by Verlander when he walked Sizemore and Cabrerra. He then tried to sneak a change up by Hafner, who sneaked it out of the park. > > In the bottom of the inning, Grady Sizemore and Asdrubal Cabrera both drew walks from Verlander, and Travis Hafner smacked his 1-1 changeup deep into the seats in right-center field for a three-run blast that tied it up at 4. > > "That was a very big part of the game," manager Eric Wedge said of Pronk's blast, "because it got us right in that ballgame. That's what you need when you're down early."

Westbrook battled from then on through the 5th inning, leaving the game tied at 4 and giving way to Jensen Lewis. On any other day, Lewis would have given up 10 hits in his three innings of work, but things seem to be break right for the Indians lately, as Lewis pitched three shutout innings for his first major league win. In that span, Victor Martinez put the Indians ahead for good with his own long ball on a fastball by Verlander, and Gutierrez hit a 2-out 2-run shot to put the game away for good. And just like that, the Tigers chances were going, going, gone.

Kudos to the Indians for putting teams away when they need to be put away. Maybe this is the year when things change and they make some noise in the playoffs. This is the second divisional opponent that came to Cleveland on a hot streak, and with a sweep in their mind, hoping to get back into the AL Central race. About a month ago, the Twins came in riding an 8ish game win streak playing well, but the Indians sweep of Minnesota in that series (and the one following) nailed the coffin for a long off-season. Now, the Tigers came to Cleveland a tenuous 4.5 games out and also on a 4ish game win streak only to lose the first two games of a crucial series. The nail in that coffin has been proverbially nailed. C.C. Sabathia goes in the third game, and now he's only working for his Cy Young resume.

Homers rescue Tribe in opener [MLB.com] Indians widen gap with homer barrage [MLB.com] Photo: Chuck Crow [The Plain Dealer]

Like what you read? This post is cross-published from Ohio Misery Sports.