Indians vs. Dodgers recap: Tribe wins 5-4 after late rally

Game 84: Indians 5, Dodgers 4

Box Score

Tribe improves to 41-43

It wasn't easy, but the Tribe picked up a 5-4 win Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles, giving them an even 4-4 record on their second long and tough road trip of the last three weeks.

Trevor Bauer started for the Indians, and mostly did pretty well. He got through the first four innings on a fairly efficient 56 pitches, allowing only a pair of singles.

In the top of the 4th, after Yan Gomes singled, Ryan Raburn homered, which is a thing I'd forgotten could actually happen. It was Raburn's first long ball since May and only his second of the season.

In the top of the 5th Asdrubal Cabrera doubled, and with two outs Carlos Santana singled to right. I wouldn't have faulted Third Base Coach Mike Sarbaugh for holding Cabrera, but with two outs and the position of the involved parties, I don't fault him for sending him either. A good throw nailed Asdrubal at the plate, keeping the score at 2-0.

In the bottom half of that same inning, Bad Trevor reared his frustrating head. There were two outs with only a man on first, and with Hyun-Jin Ryu (LA's starting pitcher) at the plate, it seemed like it would be another routine inning. Ryu managed to poke a double into left field though, scoring the runner. Then Bauer lost his command, walking Dee Gordon and A.J. Ellis to load the bases. Andre Ethier singled in a pair to put the Indians behind.

Bauer got a couple outs in the 6th before being lifted, ending his day with 5.2 innings, 3 runs allowed on 6 hits and 2 walks. That's not the dominance we all want, but for four innings it was awfully close. Fans see guys like Jose Fernandez come up and run roughshod over the league right away, and lose track of the fact that such a thing is truly rare. Bauer is making progress, and I was happy with what I saw today.

The score remained 3-2 Dodgers until the 8th, when Michael Brantley walked and stole second (making him 10 for 10 on the year), Santana walked, David Murphy singled in a run to tie the game, Lonnie Chisenhall was intentionally walked (fear him!!!), and Mike Aviles drove in a pair with a base hit to put the Tribe ahead. Murphy and Aviles have really been struggling, so it was great to see them come up big.

Scott Atchison gave up a homer in the 8th to trim the lead to one run, but Cody Allen came for the four-out save. Sure, he allowed the game-losing run to reach second base in the 9th, but all's well that ends well, right?

Finally, I know some of you are probably sick of hearing about him from me, but today was probably the last time Vin Scully will call an Indians game. The two teams only face one another every five years or so, and Scully doesn't leave the West Coast, which means there's a good chance it'll be another decade before the Tribe play in Dodger Stadium again. It's always a pleasure to listen to him, today his commentary on Trevor Bauer and Bob Feller was especially enjoyable for me.

Win Expectancy chart:

Source: FanGraphs

Roll call:

Game Thread

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