Jimenez Shuts Down Royals, Tribe Wins 9-0

By: Stephen Parsons
 
The Tribe bounced back well in the night cap of the double header yesterday against Kansas City.  Tonight they picked right up where they left off, but Ubaldo Jimenez wanted to get in on the action.

The Indians were flat out dominant from the 1st pitch till the 27th Royals out recorded.  Jason Kipnis hit a solo home run in the Top of the 1st inning off Wade Davis, giving Cleveland the early 1-0 lead.  Davis would get into more trouble in the 1st, with runners on 2nd and 3rd he struck out Carlos Santana escaping with no further damage.

In the Top of the 3rd Kipnis had another opportunity to drive in a run.  He was unable to, however Asdrubal Cabrera would single driving in Michael Brantley making it 2-0 Cleveland.

In the Top of the 5th the Indians blew it wide open.  It started with Asdrubal Cabrera lining a double down the right field line, scoring Michael Brantley again making it 3-0.

Nick Swisher was unable to drive in any runs.  Mark Reynolds did hit a single following Swisher’s at bat, scoring Kipnis, making it 4-0.

Carlos Santana would get his turn, he lined a double down the right field line as well, scoring Cabrera making it 5-0.

Ryan Raburn would then drive a ball over the left field wall for his 1st home run of the season.  This was a 3-run home run extending the lead to 8-0.

In the Top of the 8th, Raburn drove a ball over the right field wall this time for a solo home run, his 2nd of the night making it 9-0.

Ubaldo Jimenez was dominant tonight.  Jimenez pitched 7 innings allowing no runs on 3 hits.  He struck out 4 and only walked 2 Royals batters.

Nick Hagadone and Cody Allen each pitched scoreless innings in the 8th and 9th to seal the win 9-0.

Ubaldo Jimenez picked up the win improving to 1-2 with a 7.13 ERA.  Wade Davis took the loss falling to 2-2 with a 5.55 ERA.  Davis only lasted 4 and 2/3 innings allowing 8 runs on 12 hits.  He struck out 3 and walked 3.

Cleveland’s win split the 4-game series and ended the road trip 5-4.

Time of the game was 2 hours and 37 minutes.  Game attendance was 14,255.

Kansas City falls to 13-10.  Cleveland improves to 10-13.

My Thoughts:

Just when you are ready to give up on Ubaldo he does this.  Something about Jimenez having more than 5 days rest, he just pitches better.  It’s still a long season, but this was a step in the right direction.  I need to see more from Jimenez to trust him, but great start by him on a day where it was needed.

Great job by Indians bouncing back after dropping first two games of the series.  Cleveland improves to 5-4 against AL Central opponents.

Coming Up Next:

Cleveland comes back home for a home stand.  They start with a 2-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Tomorrow night Cleveland puts Zach McAllister who is 1-3 with a 3.52 ERA this season against Roy Halladay who is 2-2 with a 5.08 ERA this season.

First pitch will be at 7:05 PM ET at Progressive Field.

This has been the Parsons Report.