Justin Masterson’s pitching helps Cleveland Indians defeat Cincinnati Reds 8-2 – MLB Update
Cleveland Indians’ starter, Justin Masterson had a notable day with the ball as he threw eight solid innings with an ERA of 2.85 and gave the Indians an 8-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati on July 1.
In the first inning, Michael Brantley flied out towards left-field and Asdrubal Cabrera grounded out to first base. On the other side, the Reds’ batters also looked shaky as Fred Lewis hit a single-run shot to left-field but Brandon Phillips got out to second
base.
The Indians started their running streak in the second inning by taking one run and got a 1-0 lead. Grady Sizemore hit a homer (410 feet) towards centre-field to lift the Indians. During the third inning, the Indians posted three runs on the score-board
to take a 4-0 lead. Cabrera struck a one-run homer (408 feet) towards right-field and Carlos Santana also homered (371 feet) to right-field while Orlando Cabrera completed a single run in the end.
The Reds opened their scoring account in the fourth inning to cut their deficit 4-1 when Phillips hit a home-run (412 feet) to left-field. In the fifth inning, the Indians exploded four runs to take a big lead of 8-1. At the top of the fifth, Brantley posted
one run on the drive of Santana towards left-field.
The second run during the fifth inning was taken by Orlando Cabrera when Sizemore doubled to right-field. Sizemore and Santana put the last two runs on the Indians’ score-board when Tony Buck hit a single-run shot off left-field. The batters did not perform
well from sixth to eighth inning as these innings went score-less.
Masterson gifted just one run on four hits with one earned run and had five strike-outs. He permitted only one walk on his 102 pitches. The Indians’ manager, Manny Acta had a huge ovation for Masterson as he said, “He understood. The pitching coach and myself
let him know he was pitching great, but it's a team effort and he can't control what we did offensively.”
Phillips homered (407 feet) towards centre-field in the ninth inning and reduced the Reds’ lead 8-2. But the Indians’ offence won their first game after a long span and now hopes for a series win against the Reds.
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