This week in 1995: Tribe takes on Red Sox and Yankees on the road

Last week, the Indians had a breather as they took two of three from both the Twins and White Sox at home. This week, they go on the road to take on the hated Red Sox and Yankees, including a rare five-game series in New York (which included a rare start by Mariano Rivera!).

Also today, we review how the Tribe fared against the AL West batting wise. Plus a review of the batting splits versus the AL West.

August 8-9, 1995

August 8: Indians 1, Red Sox 5

August 9: Indians 5, Red Sox 9

The Indians got off to a decent start in Fenway as Eddie Murray homered off knuckleballer Tim Wakefield to open the second frame. But Mark Clark gave it right back in the bottom half when Lee Tinsley singled. Tinsley singled again in the fourth, this time driving in two. It stayed that way until the eighth when with Tinsley batting, Julian Tavarez balked in a run. Tinsley then proceeded to double making it 5-1. The offense could do nothing with the breaking ball as Wakefield pitched a complete game with just six hits and one free pass.

Ken Hill got off to poor start the next day as the Sox scored thrice in the first. The offense finally broke open in the third as Omar Vizquel singled in Sandy Alomar. Carlos Baerga followed by singling in Kenny Lofton and Albert Belle crushed one overt the Green Monster to make it 5-3. It stayed like that until the sixth when a Baerga error and Hill wild pitch narrowed it by one run. Tinsley tied it in the seventh. And then Eric Plunk was cuffed around for four runs, with Chris Donnels' two run triple the big blow. The Tribe had been swept in a short two game series.

August 10-13, 1995

August 10: Indians 10, Yankees 9, Game 1

August 10: Indians 5, Yankees 2, Game 2

August 11: Indians 5, Yankees 4, 11 innings

August 12: Indians 2, Yankees 3

August 13: Indians 1, Yankees 4

With very little rest, the Tribe arrived at Yankee Stadium for a doubleheader. Neither team got a baserunner until the third, when Paul Sorrento and Alomar singled of starter, yes starter, Mariano Rivera. Lofton then plated Sorrento with a fly ball. Charles Nagy was perfect until the fourth when Bernie Williams singled in Wade Boggs and Don Mattingly singled in Ruben Sierra. Mike Stanley added a solo shot in the fifth. The Tribe offense finally got to Rivera in the sixth. A Belle single, a Manny Ramirez sac fly and a Sorrento double chased him in his second to final start. Another run scored when a Stanley passed ball on Bob Wickman pitch. The 5-3 lead was short lived and Stanley hit a grand slam in the bottom half. Stanley hit his third bomb of the day in the eighth off Jim Poole and the score was 9-5. Ramirez and Sorrento singled off Wickman to start the ninth and closer John Wetteland was summoned. Alomar doubled and Lofton tripled to make it a one run game. Baerga tied it up with one out and then Belle doubled and Murray was walked to load the bases. Jim Thome hit one to the gap to score Baerga and the Tribe had come back. Jose Mesa got into trouble with Paul O'Neill and Sierra singling, but recovered as Don Mattingly hit into a 4-6-3 double play.

A half hour later the nightcap started. The Tribe loaded the bases in the first against Sterling Hitchcock, but didn't score until Lofton singled in the second, plating Herb Perry. Cad Ogea went unscathed until the fourth when Darryl Strawberry homered and Tony Fernandez singled in Jim Leyritz. Baerga tied it in the fifth with his own sac fly. Another sac fly in the seventh, this time by Omar got the lead. Perry doubled in Dave Winfield in the eight and Tony Pena singled in Perry. Paul Assenmacher and Jose Mesa finished off the game.

On Friday, Baerga singled in Lofton in the first off Andy Pettitte.  Then Pettitte and Orel Hershiser put up a bunch of zeroes until the sixth when a grand slam by Sierra got the Yankees a 4-1 lead. Baerga and Belle doubled in the eighth off Pettitte and then Belle singled off Wickman to make it 4-3. Wetteland walked Lofton and Sorrento with one out. Baerga came through again singling in the tying run. Plunk and Poole left the bases juiced in the bottom of the ninth and Poole and Tavarez stranded two more in the tenth. Wetteland stuck around through the eleventh. Alvaro Espinosa singled to lead off and Alomar bunted him over. Lofton greeted lefty Steve Howe with a double fo the lead and Mesa had a perfect bottom half to make it three straight.

Sadly there were still two more games to play. Dennis Martinez and Jack McDowell traded zeroes most of the night. O'Neill had a solo shot in the fourth, but an RBI double by Murray and a RBI single by Espinoza in the sixth gave the Tribe a 2-1 lead. Williams tied it with a solo shot of his own in the sixth and he also got the lead in the seventh. McDowell finished off his complete game and the short winning streak was over.

The fifth game in four days started with a two run shot by O'Neill in the first off Clark. Randy Velarde added RBI singles in the fourth and sixth. The only offense off of David Cone was a solo shot by Belle in the sixth. Cone, like McDowell pitched a complete game.

Splits Review: Facing the AL West

Belle and Ramirez flat out loved the AL West in 1995 with 9 homers apiece. Alomar also was superb in his limited playing time, while both Omar and Lofton didn't seem to like our west coast compatriots. The team averaged 5.8 runs per game in these 30 matchups. Impressive.

Summary

Playing the AL East behemoth Red Sox and Yankees on the road, the Tribe finished 3-4. Normally that would be a reason to rejoice, but this week included those four losses sandwiching an impressive three game winning streak. Next week they finish off this trip in Baltimore and then return home for four games with the Brewers.