Cleveland Indians edge Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 at Tropicana Field – MLB Update
Cleveland Indians edged the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida on Monday, July 16 in the opening game of their four match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Both teams put up a brave fight but it was the Indians who prevailed in a thrilling encounter. For the Indians, it was an extremely important win as they are still within touching distance of American League Central Division leaders, Chicago White Sox.
Joe Maddon and company, on the other hand, have some serious problems to sort out to have any chance of making it to the playoffs this year. Considering the kind of start the Rays had made this season, their fans expect them to win more often than not but
so far the second half has brought poor results for them.
Shin-Soo Choo put the Indians on the board, scoring on a passed ball in the first inning. Making the most of available opportunities, Cleveland’s right fielder secured an RBI double to deep left in the third and Jason Kipnis doubled to deep centre to give
the Indians complete control of the situation with a 3-0 lead.
Jeff Keppinger reached on infield single to first in the fourth to bring the Rays back into the contest and Desmond Jennings homered to left in the seventh to add spice to the proceedings but the Indians held off the Rays to complete their deserving victory.
"This whole game was a battle for me," said Cleveland’s starting pitcher Zach McAllister, who was hit Keppinger’s RBI single. "I had a good mix (of pitches). I wouldn't say anything was great, but I was able to mix pretty well."
"We had a lot of opportunities to score runs, we know that. Wasn't very good night executing offensively, but we won the ballgame," Cleveland manager Manny Acta said. "These guys have been able to win close ballgames the whole year. They'll fight, they'll
fight and fight."
The Rays are still very much in the playoffs race but they will have to regroup themselves sooner than later to put things back on the right track.
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