There are countless mistakes throughout a baseball season that are soon forgotten. Then there are blunders that can torture a fan base and are remembered years later as moments that cost a club dearly.
Indians fans can only hope that is not the case with Asdrubal Cabrera’s gaffe on Wednesday night.
In a critical situation, in the midst of this crucial stretch of games, Cabrera committed a game-changing mental error in a 3-2 loss to the Braves at Turner Field. On the cusp of a rally in the eighth inning, Cabrera got caught in a self-created rundown that tripped up the Tribe and helped Atlanta claim the first two tilts of this three-game Interleague series.
“That was really bad for the team,” Cabrera said. “It was my fault. That’s it.”
There were plenty of players shouldering blame in a subdued visitors’ clubhouse after this loss.
Cabrera made no excuses for his miscue in the eighth inning, when he stopped dead in his tracks thinking Michael Brantley fouled off a pitch. On the other side of the room, starter Justin Masterson said the defeat was his responsibility, considering he walked the pitcher shortly before the Braves scored two runs in the second.
Then, there was reliever Joe Smith, who ultimately allowed the walk-off single to Chris Johnson in the ninth, creating a roar from the home crowd as Atlanta’s players celebrated on the field. Smith also accepted fault for the decisive inning, which included a decision to intentionally walk Freddie Freeman to get to Johnson with two outs.
It is the little things that kill.
“We’re making small mistakes that are unfortunately leading to close losses,” Masterson said. “In one sense you’re excited, because we’re right there. We’re in every single game we’re going after. We’re more or less losing ballgames. We’re not always getting beat. We’re losing ballgames. That’s the unfortunate part of it.”
The Indians (71-61) remained 5 1/2 games behind the American League Central-leading Tigers, who dropped a 14-4 decision to the A’s. Then again, Cleveland is chasing Oakland for the AL’s second Wild Card spot, and is now staring at a four-game deficit in that race.
Cleveland is in the midst of a tough nine-game stretch against postseason contenders in the Braves, Tigers and Orioles, and losing two in a row in Atlanta was certainly a less-than-ideal start.
Click here to read more of this story.
About Marion Online Sports
