Cleveland Indians fire late to defeat Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 – MLB Update
The Cleveland Indians put in a classic effort at the bottom of ninth inning to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 from 0-4 down on Thursday, July 7 at the Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Blue Jays led 4-0 till the top of ninth inning before Frank Francisco and Luis Perez spilled all the hard-work and leaked five runs in just 0.1 innings.
Carlos Villanueva started brilliantly for the Blue Jays with no runs and just six hits leaked in the first six innings. Pressure was on the Indians as they faced a three-run deficit when Carlos left the mound.
Marc Rzepczynski and Jason Frasor followed Carlos and both followed suit. Combined, they pitched for two innings and did not allow a single hit to the Indians.
Zach McAllister started for the Cleveland Indians but was not efficient. His four innings of pitching were wayward and costly. Zach leaked three runs and five hits at an expensive ERA of 4.50.
Aaron Hill and Travis Snider were among the run-getters in the first four innings for the Blue Jays. Hill added his first run in the second inning before coming back in the fourth inning to add his second for the game along with Snider who added his only
run in the fourth inning.
The runs dried up when the relief pitchers took on the reins. Rafael Perez, Chad Durbin, Frank Herrmann and Joe Smith combined to pitch in the next four innings before Tony Sipp came in as the closer.
Sipp had to deal with the latest All-Star prodigy Jose Bautista. The record-breaking Bautista faced Sipp with a high back-lift all set to launch the hit into the stands. What more could be expected from the highest vote gainer. He launched a skier for his
29th home-run this season. His slugging percentage this season is beyond belief at .691. Is he already a legend? Is he a legend in the making or will his glory be short-lived, only time will tell.
With the Jays’ bull-pen relieved after a four-run lead and just the last inning to play, no one would have imagined what actually happened. Francisco leaked three runs in a split with two hits and three errors to add as insult on injury. With still a one-run
lead to defend, Perez tried his luck but they had lost the momentum and Perez too succumbed to the pressure built by the Indians.
Travis Buck scored the first run for the Indians before designated hitter Travis Hafner duly did what was required of him. He launched a 380-feet homer allowing Matt LaPorta, Jack Hannahan and Asdrubal Cabrera to complete their runs and seal victory for
the Indians.
The Indians are now 47-39 for the season with Jays trailing behind at 42-47. With an early lead in the four-game series, the Indians have a bright chance to attack the strong Toronto side.
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