Carlos Santana shines as Tampa Bay Rays fall to Cleveland Indians 6-10 – MLB Update
Jeremy Hellickson put up another solid show but Tampa Bay Rays were beaten by the Cleveland Indians 6-10 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida on Wednesday, July 18 in third game of their four match series.
Rays made an impressive start to the contest. Elliot Johnson had an RBI single to right in the second to put his side on the board. B.J. Upton also used the home conditions to great effect as he hit a sacrifice fly to right in the second.
Luke Scott, Ben Zobrist, Matt Joyce and Desmond Jennings combined to extend the lead to 4-0 in the third inning and it seemed the Rays will cruise to any easy win but the Indians had other ideas.
Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera drove in crucial runs and Carlos Santana hit a three run home-run during the Indians’ five run seventh inning.
"It means a lot to him because I know that's been weighing on him, especially the power drought that he's had," Cleveland manager Manny Acta said. "It's hard on those guys. He must be feeling a lot better."
"It really came down pretty much to one play, when we hit Kotch with that pitch and then all of a sudden hang a changeup to Hannahan and then Choo's ground ball up the middle that we could have caught or at least knocked down," Maddon said.
Rays’ starting pitcher Hellickson had another decent outing as he gave up just five hits and three runs in six solid innings. Using his fastballs extremely effectively, he created all sorts of problem for the Indians’ offence.
However, the relief pitchers were unable to hold on to the lead and the Indians came back from behind to clinch a thrilling win. Kyle Farnsworth took the loss after he gave up two hits and two runs in just 0.2 innings, allowing Cleveland an entry back into
the contest.
Jake McGee also paid the ultimate price for his inconsistency. His three-run 0.1 inning changed the complexion of the game completely. It will be interesting to see if the struggling Ray’s rotation can find some productivity in the finale.
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