This has been a trying month for first baseman Nick Swisher, as the Tribe’s cleanup hitter and vocal leader has battled a shoulder issue that has taken a toll on his offensive performance and forced him to miss a handful of games.
Sitting in the visitors’ dugout at Camden Yards prior to Monday’s 5-2 victory over the Orioles, manager Terry Francona was quick to remind that one or two subpar months do not define a player’s season. That might be true, but Cleveland can hope that one good game might trigger a turnaround.
“We have so much confidence in him,” Francona said. “Nobody wants to see him struggle, just because we care about him, and when he produces he helps us win. He’ll be just fine.”
Swisher played a key role in a three-run outburst in the sixth inning on Monday, helping swing the game in Cleveland’s favor in the first tilt of this daunting, 11-game road trip. Michael Brantley matched a career high with four RBIs, starter Ubaldo Jimenez put on a clinic in damage control and and the Indians claimed their ninth win in the past 12 games.
Cleveland’s bullpen sealed the victory with 3 2/3 shutout innings in relief of Jimenez. Interim closer Vinnie Pestano rounded out that showing by inducing a game-ending lineout off the bat of Manny Machado with two runners onboard in the ninth, picking up his fourth save of the year.
“Our bullpen took over,” Swisher said. “We had a lot of contributing parts tonight. That’s the way we have to have it.”
The game-swinging push was ignited by Cleveland’s hottest hitter.
In the sixth, Jason Kipnis pulled a pitch from Orioles lefty Zach Britton into the right-field corner for a leadoff double. For Kipnis, who has reached base in 26 consecutive games and is now hitting .392 in June, it was his fifth extra-base hit in the last three games (39-36).
That set the table for Swisher, who slashed a 90-mph fastball up the middle and into center field for an RBI single that scored Kipnis to cut Baltimore’s lead to one run. Carlos Santana followed with a double and — after a brief mound visit to go over the situation — the Orioles opted to have Britton intentionally walk slugger Mark Reynolds to load the bases with no outs.
“Obviously, they’re playing strategy,” Brantley said. “There’s a lefty on the mound, I’m a left-handed hitter, and I just want to make sure I can do what I can for my team — get that run in from third base however I can do it.”
Brantley, who has been a specialist with runners in scoring position this season, made the Orioles pay by sending a sharp chopper up the middle for a two-run single. That pushed Cleveland in front, 3-2, and improved Brantley’s average with RISP to .357.
That’s where the breakthrough ended, but it was enough to send Britton to the showers and the Indians on their way to the win. Britton had been brilliant through the first five frames, holding the Indians to just a pair of singles, before falling apart in the sixth and being hung with the loss.
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