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The magic from Sunday did not translate into Labor Day as the Tribe dropped game 1 of a four game set to the Houston Astros in pretty disappointing fashion. But, despite that, the Indians find themselves 4.5 games in front of the second place Detroit Tigers, whose magic number is down to 22. The Indians aren't going to win out, so a loss here and there isn't the end of the world. And with Kluber on the mound tonight, anything is possible. And now, onto the news!
Astros 6, Indians 2
LGT Recap | Cleveland.com Recap | Box Score
It was a pretty poor game all around for the Cleveland Indians. Jason Kipnis made 2 errors, Mike Clevinger couldn't get out of the second inning, and the bullpen gave up 5 runs to put the game very much out of reach. On a positive note, Mike Napoli hit his 30th home run of the season, which matches a single season career best for him. I would hope that this would quell some of the incessant clamoring around the internet for a power bat, but I know it won't.
Indians news
The quartet of Kluber, Carrasco, Bauer, and Salazar is probably one of the best groups of starting pitchers in baseball. However, pitcher #5 is still a quagmire for the Tribe, and they'll need to figure out a solution for the remainder of the season in order to propel them into October baseball.
Hey man, whatever you have to do to keep mashing lefties, I'm all for it.
Around the League
- LGFT Bartolo "Big Sexy" Colon says he would love to come back and pitch for the Mets again in 2017. If it means another shot at this, I'm on board.
- After getting hit by a 105 MPH line drive, Los Angeles Angels' pitcher Matt Shoemaker underwent surgery to stop bleeding in his skull. Thankfully, Angels GM Billy Eppler says that the surgery was a success and Shoemaker is recovering.
- Zach Grienke made his return to Los Angeles, and the Dodgers welcomed him with five home runs.
- The ridiculousness that was the rally mantis is no more. Now Royals fans will have to come to grips with the fact that their team is not that good.