The Cleveland Indians are the hottest team in all of baseball. They entered Saturday's game winning their last 5 games, getting back to the .500 mark after a walk off hit by Andrew Stubbs last night in Cleveland.
Scott Kazmir took the hill today looking for his 2nd quality start in 3 attempts. He would be opposed by right hander Kevin Correia. The Indians would strike 1st, something that has been common during the winning streak. Jason Kipnis hit a solo home run in the Bottom of the 1st inning giving Cleveland a quick 1-0 lead.
Nick Swisher returned to the lineup serving as the team's designated hitter today. He wanted to make sure no one forgot about him, so he also hit a solo home run in the Bottom of the 1st inning. Just like that it was 2-0 Cleveland, but Minnesota would not wait to react.
In the Top of the 2nd inning, Pedro Florimon hit a line drive to left field, scoring Trevor Plouffe.
Cleveland would again retaliate, it would be Michael Brantley hitting a line drive to left field. This would score Lonnie Chisenhall, and advanced Ezequiel Carrera to 2nd base.
Jason Kipnis, who has been heating up since returning to the 2-hole, drove in the Tribe's 4th run on a bloop pop up to short stop. Pedro Florimon was unable to make the grab as Ezequiel Carrera was able to score giving Cleveland a 4-1 lead.
Minnesota would claw back into the game in the Top of the 5th. Aaron Hicks hit his 1st home run of the season making the score 4-2 Cleveland.
In the Bottom of the 7th the Indians would effectively put the game away. Asdrubal Cabrera hit a double scoring Jason Kipnis and Mark Reynolds hit a single scoring Asdrubal Cabrera giving Cleveland a 6-2 lead.
In the Top of the 8th Ryan Doumit hit a single to center field, this scored catcher Joe Mauer and cut the deficit to 6-3.
In the Bottom of the 8th inning Ezequiel Carrera hit line drive to center field scoring Andrew Stubbs, extending the lead to 7-3.
In the Top of the 9th, Chris Perez came in a non-save situation and closed the door on the Twins. 7-3 Final, Ballgame!
Scott Kazmir gets the win, he is now 1-1 with a 6.28 ERA after 3 starts this season. Kevin Correia gets the loss, he falls to 3-2 this season with a 2.83 ERA.
Time of the game was 2 hours and 51 minutes. Game attendance was 17,830 at Progressive Field.
Player of the game was Jason Kipnis. After a 4-rbi game last night, Kipnis went 3 for 4 with 2 runs batted in and 2 runs scored. His batting average now sits at .229.
The Indians are above .500 for the 1st time since they started 2-1.
My Thoughts:
Somebody break up the Indians, what has been the reason of this 6-game winning streak? Consistent pitching, quality hitting? Fact: This is the 1st time the Indians have scored at least 6 runs in 6 straight games since 2005. Maybe it's the blue uniforms? What ever it is, it is working and everyone is playing well.
It also seems that both Jason Kipnis and Asdrubal Cabrera are batting much better since switching spots in the batting order.
Coming Up Next:
It's Cinco de Mayo!! Tomorrow Corey Kluber takes the mound for the Indians. Kluber is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA this season. He will be opposed by Mike Pelfrey who is 2-3 with a 7.66 ERA this season.
The Tribe will have the brooms ready, as they attempt to go for the sweep and their 7th straight win.
First pitch is at 1:05 PM ET at Progressive Field.
This has been the Parsons Report.
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