Ryan Raburn showed up to U.S. Cellular Field on Monday morning without a single September plate appearance for the Indians. After waiting patiently for an opportunity to get back in the lineup, the veteran was rewarded with a start against White Sox ace Chris Sale. Talk about a tough assignment.
“He’s probably one of the best in the league,” Raburn said after Cleveland’s 3-2 Labor Day win over Chicago.
Fortunately for the Tribe, Raburn has a knack for staying sharp during prolonged stretches between at-bats, especially when called upon to face a lefty. In Monday’s victory, Cleveland’s southpaw specialist launched a pair of Sale pitches into the seats for solo home runs, including a go-ahead blast in the sixth inning that gave the Indians the lead for good.
It was a performance that continued Raburn’s career-long torment of the South Siders.
Illness, a trip to the bereavement list and the presence of younger September callups have limited Raburn’s second-half opportunities to 41 plate appearances. When a tough lefty has slotted in to take on the Tribe, manager Terry Francona has called Raburn’s name and the veteran has delivered.
“He’s always ready to hit a lefty,” Francona said. “Because Ray’s a good hitter, he can hit righties, too. But, his job here is to hit lefties and, when it’s time, he gets in the box and he’s ready to go. And he hits in the middle of the order for us and he acts like a middle-of-the-order hitter. Even though he’s not an everyday player for us, he has that presence against left-handers.”
In the fourth inning, Raburn followed Mike Aviles’ solo homer off Sale with a shot of his own, belting an 0-1 curveball to the center-field stands to pull the game into a 2-2 deadlock. Raburn later gave Cleveland the lead when he yanked a 2-1 fastball into the left-field seats. That gave Raburn four career homers off Sale and seven homers (all against lefties) this season.
Raburn is now batting .321 (43-for-134) with a .597 slugging percentage against left-handers this year.
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