This week in 1995: Tribe sweep Royals, take three of four from Twins, end AL Central race

With the Indians having been swept (for the first time all season) in their previous series, the divisional lead had dropped to 5.5 games. The Tribe's road trip continued with their closest competitor, the Kansas City Royals, and then with the worst team in the league, the Minnesota Twins.

Also today, we review how Indians pinch hitters fared against the rest of the AL.

June 26-June 28, 1995

June 26: Indians 2, Royals 0

June 27: Indians 7, Royals 1

June 28: Indians 5, Royals 2

Chad Ogea was provided the opportunity to stop the four game losing streak as he took on Tom "Flash" Gordon. Both pitchers had fantastic starts. The Indians plated one in the first on a Carlos Baerga double and another in the second when Kenny Lofton drove in Jim Thome (who had stolen second base!). The offense never threatened Gordon again as he pitched a complete game. But Ogea was even better as he scattered six hits in 6.2 innings. Jim Poole got the final out in  the seventh with the bases loaded and Junlian Tavarez and Jose Mesa pitched scoreless frames.

The offense got to a quick start in the next game as well, scoring three in the first on a ground rule double by Eddie Murray and a two run single by Manny Ramirez. Manny singled in Albert Belle in the third to make it 4-0. Tony Pena drove in two with a solo shot in the fourth and a single in the fifth. Alvaro drove in one in the fifth as well. Mark Clark managed to only give up a single run in the third on five hits in eight innings as the Tribe won easily.

The offense again teed off on a Royals starter early, this time it was Kevin Appier that was the unfortunate Royal. Thome hit a two run blast in the second. Baerga had an RBI double and Murray had a two run shot as well in the third. That was all Charles Nagy needed. Nagy gave up a two run shot to Gary Gaetti in the fourth. He got into a jam in the seventh, but Paul Assenmacher needed just two pitches to induce a double play. Mesa got his nineteenth save and the Tribe lead was back to 8.5 games.

June 29 - July 2, 1995

June 29: Indians 10, Twins 5

June 30: Indians 4, Twins 1

July 1: Indians 5, Twins 6

July 2: Indians 7, Twins 0

The offense continued to roll early and often as Scott Erickson gave up seven in the first three innings. Belle singled in one, Murray hit a two run homer, Baerga had a two run shot as well, and Paul Sorrento scored twice on a grounder by Wayne Kirby and an Omar Vizquel single. Bud Black pitched six good innings, leaving after six allowing just two runs. Sorrento drove in another in the sixth, Belle doubled in Baerga in the seventh, and Kirby had a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

Dennis Martinez and Mike Trombley dueled on Friday night. Baerga had an RBI double in the third, but the Twins scored right back on a double play grounder by Chuck Knoblauch. Belle scored on a Manny grounder in the sixth to take the lead. Kirby hit a solo shot in the seventh to chase Trombley and Belle added another insurance run off Dave Stevens in the same frame. Martinez pitched eight, with just five hits and seven strikeouts. Mesa again pitched a scoreless ninth for save number 20.

Belle doubled in Baerga in the first on Saturday and Manny hit a two run bomb in the second to make it 3-0 quickly. But Ogea was not as sharp as the Twins scored five in the second. Pedro Munoz and Marty Cordova both took him deep, and a two run double by Rich Becker did the damage. Belle cut the lead to one with another RBI knock in the fifth. The Teins added another in the sixth off Jason Grimsley and it would be needed as Murray homered in the eighth. But the Tribe went quietly in the ninth to Rick Aguilera and the five game win streak was done.

The finale was Mark Clark against Greg Harris. It was scoreless until the third when the Indians scored four on six hits. Belle scored two with a single and Murray doubled him home and Thome knocked in Murray with a single too. Manny led off the sixth with a solo blast to make it 5-0. Clark pitched five solid frames with five hits, no walks and six strikeouts. Tavarez pitched three scoreless and Gregg Olson did the same in the ninth.

Pinch Hitter Splits Review

With the lineup Mike Hargrove had to work with that season, I was a bit surprised that there were that many pinch hitting opportunities, especially since interleague play had yet to start. Kirby got the most chances and hit fairly poorly. Both Sorrento and Alomar also did poorly. The only player who did any real damage was Giles, who singled and homered in his two appearances. As a whole, the Indians fared very poorly compared to the league, but again with a dominant lineup, that really meant nothing.

Summary

The Indians responded to their longest losing streak of the year by ripping off five straight of their own. The 6-1 week essentially ended any real race in the AL Central as they lead ballooned to 10 games. It would not go back to single digits the rest of the year. Next week they return home to finish off the first half with the Rangers visiting for the Fourth of July and the Mariners.