Michael Bourn came to Cleveland as a leadoff man with speed, but it was his power that dashed the Rockies’ hopes of avoiding a sweep on Sunday.
With a man on and one out in the ninth, Bourn took a fastball from reliever Adam Ottavino and launched it into the right-field seats for his first career walk-off hit. The Indians would beat the Rockies, 6-4, thanks to Bourn’s decisive blast, and with it they completed their second three-game home sweep in the past two weeks.
“They said I was flying around the bases,” Bourn said. “I was just happy because [it was] not only my first career walk-off home run, but we were able to complete the sweep — just build momentum within the team.”
The walk-off came with a little bit of redemption for Bourn, as well, after his errant throw allowed two Rockies runners to advance on a Troy Tulowitzki single in the third inning. The miscue set up a game-tying RBI groundout by Justin Morneau.
After Tulowitzki singled up the middle, Michael Cuddyer caught Bourn off guard when he sprinted beyond second and headed for third. Bourn rushed a throw to third base, but it was too late. Cuddyer reached safely and Tulowitzki took second.
“I think he was a little aggravated,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “He laid back on that ball in center field a little bit and Cuddyer kind of lulled him into that extra base. When that happened, I think Bourny was on a mission to help us win that game.”
While the offense landed the final blow, it was Cleveland’s pitching staff that fueled much Sunday’s win and the sweep.
Starter Josh Tomlin held the Rockies to two earned runs over 5 2/3 innings while tying his career-best strikeout total with eight. He left the game with a one-run cushion in the sixth inning, but got hung with a no-decision. Tomlin now has a 3.06 ERA through five starts and three straight games with at least six strikeouts.
“I thought he threw his fastball in and out,” Francona said of the right-hander. “I thought he threw some really good breaking balls, especially with two strikes to get a couple of them looking. Saying that, they made him work for everything. He was up around right at 100 [pitches], but he did a great job hanging in there.”
However, the bullpen was no afterthought in this one, either.
The Indians’ relievers held the Rockies to one run on three hits in the final 3 1/3 innings while stranding runners in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. Right-handed reliever Scott Atchison, normally a setup man for the Tribe, picked up the win after working a scoreless ninth and lowered his ERA to 2.49 in 22 appearances this season.
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