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Last night
The Indians took an early lead, got good work from Danny Salazar, whose night was ended early by a 44-minute rain delay. That led to six relievers helping out, which means seven pitchers appeared in all for the Tribe. This is the 15th time the Indians have used at least that many pitchers in a game, which sets a new American League record (with a month to go still). The offense was highlighted by 3 hits from Michael Brantley, and 2 by Carlos Santana, including his record-tying 6th home run of the season at Kauffman Stadium.
The Indians won 6-1, giving them the 9,000th victory in franchise history.
Cleveland.com recap (Zack Meisel)
MLB.com recap (Jackson Alexander)
Other Tribe items
Rookie reliever Kyle Crockett sat down for five questions with Paul Hoynes. Crockett talks about being the baby of the bullpen, why he switched from starting to relieving in college, and more.
A number of Indians have decided to sport a mustache for a while. Lonnie Chisenhall started the trend, and he has the best line in the story:
"Once a year, I try to grow one and it's terrible every time. I want it to be awesome. It's never anything like I want it to be."
I know just how you feel, Lonnie.
Around MLB
Joe Posnanski on low attendance, and how it's never the fans' fault: A few days ago Royals manager Ned Yost complained about not enough fans being at Kauffman Stadium to watch the 1st place Royals. Pos says Yost's comments were misguided and incorrect, and say he knows that, because he's made the same mistake.
Jesus Montero and the Ice Cream Sandwich: If you haven't already heard about what happened in Boise with Montero, a Mariners cross-checker (guy who oversees other scouts), and a frozen dessert, you may want to catch yourself up. My two cents: While Montero handled things poorly, the cross-checker is most at fault, and should be out of a job.
Rangers tie record for most players used in a season: Injuries have ravaged Texas this season, and Friday night they put their 59th different player of the season in uniform. That ties a record held by the 2002 and 2008 Padres, along with the 2002 Indians (oh, 2002...). This is pretty remarkable, given that September hasn't even rolled around yet.
This week's off-topic topic:
Last week I listed my favorite big summer movies of this summer. This week I thought I'd expand the scope and rank the my favorite big ($150+ million) movies of the decade so far:
5) The LEGO Movie
4) Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
3) Gravity
2) Toy Story 3
1) Inception
How about you, what are your favorite blockbusters from recent years?