The Tribe's run of epic failure reached eight straight games tonight with a 6-0 shutout at the hands of Doug Fister and the Detroit Tigers. With Chris Seddon set to take the mound on Sunday, the Indians are staring right in the face of an 0-9 road trip. It's been as ugly as it sounds, with the Tribe giving up over 60 runs in eight games and not even managing 20 of their own. Tonight was the latest chapter in a freefall that has made most people completely apathetic towards the Tribe, especially with Browns season right around the corner.
Ubaldo Jimenez put the good guys behind 2-0 in the second inning by giving up a leadoff walk to Prince Fielder, a RBI triple to Brennan Boesch, and a sacrifice fly to Delmon Young. Then, the heavens opened. It looked as though the fans and the players themselves might get a helping hand from Mother Nature, but it only delayed the game for around 40 minutes and then play resumed. By the time the Indians recorded their first hit, they were down 5-0. Fielder singled leading off the fifth, went to second on a wild pitch and was joined on the bases by Alex Avila who walked with two outs. Jhonny Peralta then tripled home two runs and scored on an Omar Infante infield single.
Five runs is an insurmountable task for the lifeless Indians. They managed four hits off Doug Fister, the first being a two-out triple in the sixth by Ezequiel Carrera. Carrera didn't score as Jason Kipnis flew out to end the inning. The Tigers scored another run in the sixth on a sac fly from Infante to put them up 6-0. There's not much to add to this recap since the Indians did nothing of consequence offensively for the majority of the night and looked about as bad as they've looked this entire road trip.
The Indians managed to avoid the shutout (!!!!) as Carrera tripled again in the ninth inning and scored on a Kipnis groundout. Despite the ninth inning offensive outburst, the Indians fell to 50-57, and nine games out of first place with the White Sox game still pending. Ubaldo Jimenez took the loss, his first against the Tigers this season, falling to 8-11. His final line was 5.1 innings pitched, allowing six runs on seven hits, walking four and striking out four. Doug Fister continued his domination against the Indians, picking up win number six and pitching his first complete game of the season. His career ERA against the Indians is now 2.33.
Until the Indians win, bag man over there will be the picture for every recap.
Stat of the Night: We lost our eighth straight game.
Player of the Game: Ezequiel Carrera tripled twice.
Tomorrow's Game: Chris Seddon makes his first appearance in the big leagues since October 1, 2010 and first start since September 29, 2007. He'll take on Max Scherzer at 1:05 p.m.