J.P. Out At The Ballgame
Cleveland Indians vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
This is Jason Pafundi reporting for Baseball Digest Daily live at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. Please be sure to visit www.baseballdigestdaily.com for all your baseball news.
Pre-Game Notes
- Rays CF B.J. Upton is not in the starting lineup for what manager Joe Maddon said was a lack of hustle (not running out a ground ball in last night’s game)
- Ben Zobrist returns from Triple-A Durham and will bat second and play CF for the Rays
- Indians C Kelly Shoppach is hitting .314 with 9 homers and 28 RBI in 40 games since taking over the regular catching duties
- Maddon said OF Rocco Baldelli, who has missed the entire season with a muscle fatigue disorder, will accompany the team on its 10-game road trip, and he expects he’ll be activated at some point during the trip
- LF Carl Crawford (hamstring) will miss his third-straight game but Maddon expects he’ll be ready in Seattle on Thursday
Top of the 1st
Leadoff hitter Franklin Gutierrez hits a 3-2 pitch just over the fence down the left field line for his fifth homer of the season. A two-out single by Jhonny Peralta goes for naught. Kazmir threw 18 pitches to open the game. 1-0 Indians
Bottom of the 1st
Zobrist singles to center with one out. Zobrist steals his second base of the season. Runner on second with one out. 1B Carlos Pena walks to put two runners on with one out. Zobrist moves to third but Pena is thrown out attempting to steal second. Longoria singles to center and advances all the way to third as Gutierrez misplays the ball (E8), and Zobrist scores easily. C Dioner Navarro slaps a two-run homer to left field, his sixth of the season. Willy Aybar strikes out looking to end the inning. Sowers threw 29 pitches. 3-1 Rays
Top of the 2nd
DH Ryan Garko grounds out to start the inning. After a walk to 1B Andy Gonzalez, C Sal Fasano doubled to deep center, putting runners at second and third with only one out. SS Asdrubal Cabrera strikes out swinging for the second out. Gutierrez grounds out to shortstop, allowing Kazmir to escape the jam. Kazmir has thrown 39 pitches through two innings. 3-1 Rays
Bottom of the 2nd
DH Jason Bartlett doubles to the gap in right center to lead off the inning. LF Eric Hinske lined to center, RF Gabe Gross flied to left and 2B Aki Iwamura flied to left to end the inning. Sowers has thrown 46 pitches through two innings. 3-1 Rays
Top of the 3rd
3B Jamey Carroll strikes out swinging to start the inning, followed by a groundout 4-3 by LF Ben Francisco. Peralta hits his 19th homer of the season to center. RF Shin-Soo Choo singled to right with two outs. Pinch hitter Andy Marte singles to left. Runners on first and second with two outs. After retiring the first two in the inning, Kazmir has allowed three straight hits. Gonzalez pops to left to end the threat. Kazmir has stranded two runners in each of the last two innings. He’s thrown 62 pitches through three innings. 3-2 Rays
Bottom of the 3rd
Zobrist grounds out to start the frame. Pena walked for the second time. Longoria flies to left field, leaving Pena at first with two outs. Navarro grounds into a force out to end the inning. Sowers has thrown 65 pitches through three innings. 3-2 Rays
Top of the 4th
Fasano strikes out swinging to lead off the inning, the third K for Kazmir. Cabrera pops to first for the second out. Gutierrez grounds out giving Kazmir his first 1-2-3 inning of the game. Kazmir has thrown 72 pitches through four innings. 3-2 Rays
Bottom of the 4th
Aybar grounds out to shortstop to lead off the inning. I would estimate a crowd of around 24,000, which on a Wednesday afternoon against a bad team like Cleveland, is a good thing (it’s also a “park and rec” day, so there are children everywhere). Bartlett gets his second hit of the day, so he’s at first with one out. Hinske grounds into a 4-6-3 double play to end the innings. Sowers has thrown 72 pitches through four innings. 3-2 Rays
Top of the 5th
Carroll walks to lead off the fifth. Francisco strikes out swinging, the fourth strikeout for Kazmir. Peralta hits a ground-rule double to left field. Second and third with one out. Choo smacks the first pitch for an RBI single to right, putting runners on the corners with one out. Kazmir is having another rough inning. Marte rips a double down the left field line, scoring two runs. Marte advances to third on the errant throw to home by Longoria (E5). Kazmir isn’t long for this game, with J.P. Howell warming up for the Rays. Gonzalez walks to put runners on the corners. That’ll be all for Kazmir. He leaves after 4 1/3 innings. Fasano strikes out swinging for the second out of the inning. Cabrera flies to left to end the inning. Kazmir threw 97 pitches, allowing five earned runs on nine hits, while striking out four and walking three. He also gave up two home runs. 5-3 Indians
Bottom of the 5th
Gross grounds out to start the inning. Kazmir has now struggled in his last two outings, something that has to concern Joe Maddon and the Rays. Zobrist was almost robbed of a base hit by third baseman Carroll, but Gonzalez couldn’t hold onto the ball while applying the tag at first. Zobrist advanced to second on the error (E3). Pena walks for the third time, putting two runners on with two outs. Longoria rips an RBI single to right, keeping two runners on with two outs. Navarro grounds into a force out to end the inning. Sowers has thrown 89 pitches through five innings. 5-4 Indians
Top of the 6th
A walk sandwiched between a couple of ground outs leaves a runner at second with two outs. Peralta doubles to the gap in left-center, scoring Carroll. Choo strikes out to end the inning. 6-4 Indians
Bottom of the 6th
Aybar flies to center to lead off the inning, followed by Bartlett lining to center for the second out. Hinske strikes out to end the sixth. 6-4 Indians
Top of the 7th
Marte strikes out swinging to open the seventh inning. Gonzalez follows with a ground out to third for the second out. Fasano goes down swinging, making it only the second time the Indians have been retired in order. 6-4 Indians
Bottom of the 7th
LHP Rafael Perez now in the game for the Tribe. Gross goes down looking to start the inning. Iwamura beats out a roller to first with one out. Zobrist pops to center field for the second out. Pena strikes out swinging to end the inning. 6-4 Indians
Top of the 8th
LHP Trevor Miller in the game for the Rays. C Kelly Shoppach, who entered the game defensively in the sixth, strikes out swinging to start the eighth. Gutierrez doubles to the gap in right-center with one out. Two groundouts end the inning. 6-4 Indians
Bottom of the 8th
Longoria strikes out swinging to start the bottom of the eighth. Combined, the teams have left 26 runners on base (16- Indians, 10-Rays). Navarro pops to second for the second out. Aybar strikes out to end the inning. 6-4 Indians
Top of the 9th
Peralta gets his fifth hit of the game. Choo grounds into a fielder’s choice, leaving him on first with one out. Veteran righty Troy Percival now into the game, replacing Miller. Choo steals second. A groundout to short puts Choo on third with two outs. Choo scores on a wild pitch by Percival, giving the Indians an insurance run. Gonzalez flies out to left to end the inning. The Rays have lots of work to do if they are going to win this game. 7-4 Indians
Bottom of the 9th
RHP Edward Mujica in the game to try and close it for the Tribe. Bartlett starts the inning with a double to left, his third hit of the game. Hinske doubles down the line at first, scoring Bartlett. The tying run is at the plate (Gross). Gross hits a tying, 2-run homer off the back wall in right field, his eighth homer of the season. RHP Masahide Kobayashi replaces Mujica for the Indians. Top of the order now with nobody outs. Iwamura beats out another roller to first, putting the winning run on with nobody out. Zobrist walks, so the winning run is at second base with no outs for Pena. A first-pitch fastball sends the crowd into a frenzy, as Pena hits a three-run walk-off homer to center. The Rays score six runs in the bottom of the ninth to win 10-7.
WP: Percival (2-0)
LP: Kobayashi (4-5)
S: none
Time of Game: 3 hours 22 minutes
Attendance: 27, 533
Post-Game Notes
- Indians DH Ryan Garko was replaced for failing to run out the grounder in the second inning. Andy Marte took over and went 2-3 with 2 RBI.
- Indians 2B left the game before the bottom of the sixth with a sprained ankle. He is listed as day-to-day
