The calm that Michael Brantley projects in the batter’s box is now carrying over into the Indians’ dugout. When the Cleveland outfielder settles into his stance, bouncing his bat off his left shoulder, his teammates are now expecting something good to happen.
“It’s almost like a sigh of relief when he gets to the plate,” Indians starter Trevor Bauer said. “It’s like, ‘OK, Brantley’s at the plate, we’re in a good spot.'”
On Tuesday night, Brantley delivered again. And again. And again.
In a battle of American League All-Stars, Brantley bested Yankees phenom Masahiro Tanaka with three extra-base hits to help power the Indians to a 5-3 victory at Progressive Field. The center fielder showed off his skill in the field with a highlight-reel running catch in the first inning and put his potent bat on display by driving in three runs for the Tribe.
Bauer turned in a solid effort on the mound, while Brantley led an offensive attack that resulted in Tanaka’s worst showing during his stellar rookie season. The New York right-hander allowed five runs on 10 hits — both career highs — and surrendered a pair of home runs, including a momentum-swinging two-run shot to Nick Swisher in the sixth inning.
Following the win, which improved Cleveland’s record to 25-17 at home, Swisher sang superlatives for Brantley’s season.
“Dr. Smooth is doing it, man,” Swisher beamed. “He’s just a pro hitter. That’s all there is to it. … He’s coming into his own. It’s the best sign we’ve had so far this year for the Indians.”
Against Tanaka, Brantley finished 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI doubles and a solo home run. The All-Star outfielder pulled a pitch down the right-field line for a double in the first inning, slapped another two-base hit down the left-field line in the fifth and launched an 0-1 offering out to right-center for a two-out shot in the seventh.
Brantley joined Boston’s Dustin Pedroia (June 28) and the Cubs’ Luis Valbuena (May 20) as the only players to have a three-hit game against Tanaka this season. Brantley is also only the second player this year to collect three extra-base hits against the Yankees starter, though Boston’s Mike Napoli has done so across two separate games.
Brantley said his approach was simple enough in theory.
“Get him up in the zone. That was our biggest thing going into the game,” Brantley explained. “He does such a great job of keeping the ball down that we knew we had to get him up in the zone and get mistake pitches to hit. If not, it was going to be a long night. I think we did a great job as a team.”
Indians manager Terry Francona was impressed with the way his entire lineup executed that plan, especially early in the game.
Tanaka labored through 41 pitches (21 strikes) in the first two innings and went on to allow four runs between the fifth and seventh frames. In the sixth, Swisher got a hanging 1-2 slider and sent it into the bleacher seats to put Cleveland ahead for good, 4-3. Brantley’s blast one inning later — giving him a team-high 14 homers on the year — gave closer Cody Allen ample cushion for his 10th save.
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