Josh Tomlin impresses again in Cleveland Indians 8-1 victory

Indians 8, Tigers 1

box score

Indians improve to 65-68

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Josh Tomlin was supposed to have the night off.  A Corey Kluber hamstring strain during a mound session forced Tomlin to move a day up and face a Tigers team that has hit him well in the past (10.38 ERA against Detroit last year).  So . . . no Kluber and a lousy track record for Tomlin means bad news, right?

Absolutely not!  Tomlin brushed last year's struggles aside and was fantastic, going the distance in the Indians 8-1 win over the Tigers.  The right hander gave up just one run in his nine innings of work, allowing four hits and striking out six. With the win, Tomlin improves to 4-1 on the year and the Indians move to within three games of that magical .500 mark.

Tomlin's command was sharp, as he pounded the zone with four-seam fastballs and cutters all evening long.  Of Tomlin's 104 pitches, 74 were four-seamers or cutters, with a maximum velocity of just 90.8 mph.

Tomlin's only blemish was in the sixth, when Dixon Machado led off the inning with a double to left and scored on a Miguel Cabrera (big shocker) RBI single.  Tomlin got J.D. Martinez to line out to center to end the inning and cruised through the last three innings to secure the complete game win.

The Indians offense had a night as well, racking up 11 hits and plenty of loud at-bats.  Jerry Sands got the scoring started by absolutely golfing a ball out to left field for a two run homer in the third.  The Tribe scored four in the fifth; with Sands tripling, followed by a Giovanny Urshela single, Francisco Lindor double, and Michael Brantley double.  Lindor scored on Yan Gomes' painful RBI (hit by a pitch) and Abraham Almonte rounded out the fun with a bases loaded walk.  Lonnie Chisenhall doubled in the seventh to plate Carlos Santana and Gomes and put the Tribe up 8-1.

Sands, Lindor, Brantley, and Urshela all finished with two hits for the Indians, with while Santana reached base three times (hit and two walks).  Brantley now has four straight seasons with 150 or more hits, a great feat for a player who is so easy to take for granted.

The two teams face off again tomorrow night, with the Indians turning to Danny Salazar.  The flame thrower has been excellent lately, including a ten strikeout performance Monday in Toronto.  Alfredo Simon is scheduled to start for the Tigers and owns a 5.09 ERA on the year.  Let's Go Tribe!

Win Probability Chart

Source: FanGraphs

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