Indians top Reds 10-3 behind big sixth inning

I’ve always liked double-digit run games.

Tonight the Indians defeated the Cincinnati 10-3 thanks to an explosive seven-run sixth. Six Indians had multiple hits and a key pinch hit from Yandy Diaz propelled the offense for the night.

Here’s how it all went down

The Indians and Reds took turns scoring through the first five innings of the game. Tucker Barnhart put the first number of the board with a home run in the second. This lead didn’t last for very long, as Jose Ramirez lifted his 35th home run of the season into the right field corner for a 2-1 lead. Scooter Gennett tied it with a home run and his 69th RBI on the season in the fifth, but the tie would melt down moments later.

In the top of the sixth inning, Greg Allen hit a “double”. In reality he hit a single, but with second base open Allen did what he does best and swiped the bag almost immediately. This sent Yandy Diaz to the plate with runner in scoring position. What did he do with his opportunity? He smoked a hanging slider on the eighth pitch of the at bat off of the wall in left-center field. It left that bat at 109 MPH and allowed Allen to stroll home for the go-ahead run. Diaz slid head-first into second, then scored when the Reds walked Lindor before Michael Brantley hit a double of his own down the right field line.

The Indians weren’t exactly ready to stop at this point. The Reds put Jose Ramirez on by intentional walk and struck out Yonder Alonso with the bases loaded. Melky Cabrera then put Amir Garrett on notice by scorching a single past his glove into center, which sent both Brantley and Lindor in to score. Cabrera advanced to second on the throw.

Ramirez and Cabrera scored when Jason Kipnis barreled a double over the head of Mason WIlliams, and Kipnis scored when Yan Gomes doubled down the line to right. Greg Allen lifted one to center in his second at-bat of the inning, but didn’t put enough into it. All told, the Indians scored seven runs on four doubles, two singles, two intentional walks, and some fancy baserunning.

Jose Ramirez added one more for fun in the seventh on an RBI single.

Didn’t Mike Clevinger do something?

Yes. While Clev only pitched five innings and needed 101 pitches to do it, he limited the Reds to two runs on five hits. The real issue tonight? Six walks. He managed to work his way out of a few different jams, but I doubt he’s going to make a career out of games like tonight. The good news is that we know Clevinger is much, much better than what we saw out there.

Andrew Miller, Oliver Perez, Neil Ramirez, and Dan Otero mopped up the rest of the way, with Ramirez allowing the only other Reds run.

Other Items of Note

• Homer Bailey... did this.

• It turns out that Brandon Dixon has a pretty nasty knuckleball. He pitched in the top of the 9th for the Reds and made a few Indians look silly. To be fair, no one is expecting to see a 67 MPH knuckleball from a center fielder, but that’s not going to undo Jose Ramirez’s crazy three-pitch strikeout.
• Evidently the Reds announcers were trying to figure out how and why Yandy Diaz has spent so much time in the minor leagues. Preach.
• Melky Cabrera is hitting .274/.338/.403 since the All-Star break, good for a wRC+ of 103. I’m not ready to declare him a solution to our outfield woes, but it’s certainly been nice to get production from him during this stretch.

Tomorrow Corey Kluber takes the mound. I hope that he can continue his recently resurged dominance.