Game 76: Orioles 9, Indians 8

The things the Indians have mostly been good at were their downfall tonight, but the big news of the evening was Lonnie Chisenhall's injury.

In the midst of a rather ugly game, Lonnie Chisenhall got hit just above his right wrist by a pitch by Baltimore reliever Troy Patton. Chisenhall left the game, and x-rays revealed a fracture in his right ulna (or forearm). He'll be down at least 6 weeks, which puts his return perhaps in the middle or end of August. Though Lonnie wasn't starting at third base, he was quickly working his way towards that, as Jack Hannahan hadn't been hitting well since he came back from the DL.Travis Hafner should be back in a couple of days, so there won't be a lot of roster shuffling aside from perhaps a stopgap callup. But the Indians will still miss Chinsenhall, as he was just getting locked in at the plate.

As for the game itself...

Derek Lowe did give the Indians a good first couple months, which was needed because Jimenez and Masterson were both struggling. But as those two have started to come around, Lowe has done the opposite. The 39-year-old has how given up at least 7 runs in a game four times in the most month; in other words, those were almost automatic losses. Tonight his defense did let him; in the first inning, he allowed 3 runs (all unearned), and had to throw at least 15 more pitches than he would have had the two errors not occurred. Throwing that many pitches that early given the brutally hot conditions may have contributed to his demise in the middle innings.

The Indians jumped on Baltimore starter Jake Arrieta, scoring a run in the first, another in the third, and three in the fourth inning. The Indians were patient, something that lately they haven't been, and it culminated when the Orioles had to go to their bullpen in the fourth inning. Troy Patton, Baltimore's only left-handed reliever, would allow a run, but got the game to the sixth inning, buying enough outs for the Orioles to not only get back into the game, but to take the lead and have an excellent chance to win the game.

For Lowe, even though handed a 5-3 lead, would give up four runs between the fifth and sixth innings. With a deeper bullpen Manny Acta might have pulled Lowe before he gave up the three-run blast that cost the Indians the lead, but he was left in, and so Lowe would be pulled having blown the lead.

The Indians' offense would mount a comeback, scoring two runs in the seventh to tie the game, though a double play short-circuited the possibility of an even bigger inning. That missed opportunity would come back to haunt the Indians, even though they now could use their three key relievers. But tonight those relievers would let the Indians down, with Joe Smith allowing the go-ahead run in the seventh, and Chris Perez, pitching in a non-save situation, allowed a crucial insurance run. The Indians would score a run off Jim Johnson in the ninth, but because Perez's run the inning before, Choo's RBI single didn't tie the game. Asdrubal Cabrera popped up to end a frustrating night both on and off the field.

Source: FanGraphs