The final seven batters for the White Sox reached base Monday night, but Indians closer Cody Allen felt as if he was one pitch away from getting out of the jam — right until the end of the ninth-inning meltdown that led to a 4-3 loss.
“I never felt like we were out of it until we were,” Allen said. “But it’s just one of those things. They hit some good pitches, they hit some bad pitches.”
Indians manager Terry Francona had as much faith as his closer. As the seven consecutive Chicago hitters reached (six hits and a walk), the bullpen was quiet and there was no thought of bringing in anyone else.
“It hurts when you lose a game like that, but he’s a guy that I think we trust as much as anybody,” Francona said.
“It hurts when you lose a game like that. You felt you should have won, but if anybody will bounce back, it’s Cody.”
The four-run ninth inning wasted another superb effort by starter Trevor Bauer, who allowed just four hits in seven shutout innings to lower his ERA to 0.95 (2 ER, 19 IP).
“I can be a lot better than I have been,” said Bauer, who was in position to improve to 3-0 before the finish. “I need to get ahead more. My first-strike percentage is really low. I need to get that up. Hopefully, that’ll keep the pitch count low and I can go deeper into games.”
The Indians took a 3-0 lead into the ninth. Things looked even better after Allen started the ninth by striking out Adam LaRoche looking. That would be the only out he would record.
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