Cleveland Indians’ Grady Sizemore returns from injury, impresses with the bat – MLB Update
Grady Sizemore returned from his injury in style, as he hit a homer and played a double in the Cleveland Indians’ 4-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles at Kauffman Stadium on Sunday.
Sizemore returned from the disabled list after he underwent surgery on his left knee that kept him away from baseball for nearly eleven months.
"I just wanted to go up there, have good at-bats, help the team and get a win," Sizemore said off his return. "I was definitely nervous."
The three times all star was welcomed by standing ovation from the home crowd who had not seen his towering homers and his sharpness in centre-field since last May. Then there was a dead silence as he stepped into the box.
"There was a lot going on right there," he said of the crowd.
He was used as the first batter in the Indians game on Sunday and was completely blinded by the Orioles’ starter Brad Bergesen’s back-to-back ‘two-seam fastballs’ that eventually got him out on the fourth pitch. He was given a second chance at bat in the
bottom of the third inning with Bergesen pitching for the Orioles.
Bergesen adopted the same tactics for him as he offering two fast balls that went as strikes. However in his third attempt, he connected and connected handsomely, hitting a homer in the right to make his presence count. In his third and last time at bat
in the game, he went for a double.
Sizemore made a huge impact on the baseball arena when he first joined the Major Leagues in 2004. He soon got his name among baseball’s elite players by winning three times All-Star selection, two times Gold Glove Award, a Silver Slugger Award and a Heart
& Hustle Award in his initial five years. However his career took a nose dive in 2009 when he was heading towards another All Star type performance but he decided to undergo surgery on his left elbow that disturbed him throughout the whole season. He was limited
to only 106 games posing a respectable .248 batting average. Grady returned in 2010 but could not get to his usual best and was eventually sidelined due to surgery on his knee.
Sizemore was expected to return on the opening day, however due to the break in the Indians’ training camp he entered the season on Disable List. He continued to do his baseball practice by playing in the Minors and eventually returned on Sunday against
the Orioles.
"I've been looking forward to this for a long time," Sizemore said before the game. "It's finally here."
The Indians are looking very strong so far leading the American League Central Division with 10 wins in 14 games. Their batters are hitting the ball well and the pitchers have managed to restrain the opponents’ batters from swinging their bat freely. The
addition of Sizemore into the already in-form Indians will boost the chances for the team to win the pennant this season.
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