The Indians needed to make something happen against Jered Weaver. The Angels ace has dominated Cleveland over the past couple of years and he was up to his old tricks out of the gate on Monday night.
Jason Kipnis provided the spark and got the Tribe offense rolling.
After drawing a walk to lead off the fourth inning, Kipnis made a mad dash for second base, sliding in for a steal and igniting a four-run push for the Tribe. Combined with a solid start from Zach McAllister, that outburst against Weaver proved to be the difference in a 5-2 victory in the opener of a three-game series at Angel Stadium.
“Hopefully, this is something that snowballs into something great for us,” said Nick Swisher. “We’re coming toward the end of the season. We’ve got some guys starting to get hot right now. This thing ain’t over. There’s no doubt about that.”
Swisher played a key role in the win, which improved Cleveland’s record to 4-3 with two games to play on the current road trip. Typically, the Tribe’s first baseman, Swisher spent most of the night in right field and used his arm to initiate a crucial double play in the bottom of the fourth inning. In the ninth, he also belted his 14th home run of the season (a solo shot) to provide some offensive insurance.
This night was not hardly a one-man show, though. The Indians provided the kind of performance that manager Terry Francona has discussed throughout the season. Cleveland’s hitters kept the line moving, getting on base, moving runners and delivering hits in key situations.
Francona enjoyed watching it all unfold.
“We did a really good job,” Francona said. “I thought tonight was the best game we’ve played in a while. We played a good game of baseball.”
The Indians remain in the hunt for a postseason spot — the club is 4 1/2 games back of the A’s in the race for the second Wild Card spot — with only six weeks left on the schedule. Following a loss in Oakland on Sunday, it was Kipnis who referred to this as “go time,” adding that Cleveland needed to cut out the excuses and make up ground in the standings.
It seemed fitting then that, following three overpowering innings from Weaver, Kipnis set the rally in motion by drawing the free pass.
“It’s your job as a pitcher not to have those blow up innings,” Weaver said. “It started with that leadoff walk and escalated from there.”
After the Indians All-Star second baseman stole second — his 23rd swipe of the year — he promptly scored when Carlos Santana ripped a pitch from Weaver into right field for a single. Santana sprinted to third base on a double from Asdrubal Cabrera and later crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly from Jason Giambi, pushing the Tribe ahead, 2-0.
Three pitches later, Indians third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall sent a 1-2 pitch from Weaver sailing over right field and into the stands for a two-run home run. The blast, which staked Cleveland to a 4-0 advantage, was Chisenhall’s seventh of the season, giving the Indians a Major League-leading 12 players with at least that many homers.
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