Indians lose 4-1 to Orioles as offense struggles again

Game 123: Orioles 4, Indians 1

Box Score

Tribe falls to 62-61

The Orioles are one of the best teams in baseball this season, so taking two of three from them is a solid result, but not as solid as a sweep would have been. Danny Salazar (back with the team after one start with Columbus because the Tribe had multiple days off in the last week) pitched very well for five innings. He wasn't dominant, the way we've seen him be at time in the last 14 months, but he kept the ball in the park, issued only one walk, and didn't allow any runs. He needed 85 pitches to make it that far, and with the Baltimore lineup coming up for the third time, it was fair to wonder if maybe it was time to go to the bullpen.

I said I'd leave him in, but have someone ready, and as soon as anyone got on base, I'd pull him. He gave up a leadoff double that didn't miss clearing the field by much, and he was left in to hit the next batter, before being pulled with two on and no outs. Scott Atchison retired the first two men he faced, then allowed a pair of hits that drove in the two runners Salazar had put on, leaving Danny with a less impressive 2 runs in 5 innings.

If the Indians had been able to hit, those two runs wouldn't have mattered so much, but the Tribe had only two hits at that point, a double by Carlos Santana in the 4th inning, and a single by Jason Kipnis that scored Carlos. Five innings later, the lineup still had just those two hits, and a 4-1 loss.

Like I said at the top, two of three from a good team is a nice result, but with only six weeks in the season, the Indians are 5 games out of a playoff spot, with multiple teams standing between them. If they're going to make the postseason, they're going to need a sweep or two somewhere, and today was a good chance at one that they just couldn't capitalize on.

Win Expectancy Chart:

Source: FanGraphs

Roll Call:

Game Thread

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