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The Indians fell behind 2-0 to the White Sox Friday afternoon, came back to tie the game, but couldn't push the go-ahead run across, and had to settle for a tie. If some Little League parents were in charge, all spring training games would end in a tie, because it doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's how you play the game that matters.
Josh Tomlin rolled for 4.2 innings, then he got rocked. Tomlin, who was scheduled for 5 innings, was one out away from accepting congratulations and high fives in the dugout, with a line of 5 strikeouts, 0 walks, and only 2 hits allowed. Before he could call it a day though, he allowed back-to-back home runs and a line-drive single. He finished the inning, and it wasn't a bad day for him, but we could all feel a whole lot better about the outing if he'd been able to get that last out a little sooner.
Still, he's got a 14:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 14 innings this spring, and today's 2 home runs are the only ones he's allowed. It's a small sample, but throw in his solid work at Triple-A last season (after returning from Tommy John surgery he underwent late in August of 2012), and he's done a lot to make himself look like a viable option for the backend of an MLB rotation. His ceiling isn't as high as that of some of the Tribe's other options, so I hope Carlos Carrasco and the others higher up in the current pecking order pitch well enough to keep Tomlin as the 6th man, but no team gets through a season with only 5 starters, so it's nice to have Tomlin performing well.
Bryan Shaw, Cody Allen, David Aardsma, and Mike Zagurski each pitched a shutout inning after Tomlin departed.
The offense never got much going. The Indians had only one extra-base hit all game (a double by David Cooper), and the team didn't score until many of the starters were out of the game. Michael Bourn, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Yan Gomes each had a single, if you're looking for something from the guys expected to make the team. One of the Tribe's runs came on a wild pitch, the other on a sacrifice fly. Like I said, the offense never got much going.
The Indians will host the Diamondbacks Saturday afternoon at Goodyear Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 ET.