Game 162

September 30, 2018 – Four Starters have 200+ Strikeouts for the First Time in MLB History

The 2017 Indians set an MLB record with 1,614 strikeouts over the season by the entire pitching staff. They were also the first team to maintain a strikeout rate of greater than 10 per 9 innings. The 2018 Indians picked up the strikeout mantle and ended up with another unique achievement. 

Carlos Carrasco took the mound on the last day of the season against Eric Skoglund of the Royals. Francisco Lindor reached on a fielding error by Skoglund when he dribbled the 3-1 pitch down the first base line. Lindor then stole second with Michael Brantley at the plate. Brantley struck out looking, but Lindor broke for third on the 1-1 pitch to Jose Ramirez. 

Royals catcher Eric Haas sailed the pickoff throw into left field. Lindor picked himself up and scampered home to give the Tribe a 1-0 lead. 

Lindor led off the top of the third by golfing a stike low in the zone over the wall in left-center. His 38th homer of the season put the Indians up 2-0. 

In the bottom of the fifth, Brian Goodwin got aboard with a single to left that was only the Royals second hit of the day. He stole second and advanced to third on an Alcides Escobar groundout. Carrasco walked Brett Phillips and the Royals had runners at the corners. Meibrys Viloria hit a sharp ground ball back up the middle. It skipped over Carrasco’s glove and into center field scoring Goodwin. 

To stay stretched out and setup the playoff rotation, Trevor Bauer came on to pitch in the bottom of the sixth. Carrasco’s final line was one run on three hits and six strikeouts. This brought his season K total to 231.

Bauer faced only fourteen Royals in four innings of work. His defense of a one run lead through the final four innings earned him his first (and still only) save. He added two strikeouts bringing his season sum to 221.

Photo Credit: @Indians Twitter

Today’s two pitchers along with Corey Kluber (222 strikeouts) and Mike Clevinger (207) were the first pitching staff to have four 200+ strikeout pitchers in the same year. Only three teams had previously had three 200+ K pitchers: the 1967 Twins, 1969 Astros, and 2013 Tigers. The 2017 Indians narrowly missed joining this club. 

The pitching staff overall was 4th in the league in strikeouts with 1,544. 

Baseball Reference Box Score

Game 147

September 14, 2017 – Lindor Keeps the Streak Alive with 2-out Single Off the Wall

The Indians entered this Thursday night game riding a twenty-one game winning streak. Sports talk radio was abuzz with debate about whether a win would place the Tribe in sole possession of the longest winning streak. Either they would pass up the 21 win streak of the 1935 Cubs. Or they would still be chasing the 1916 Giants, who went 26 games without losing. The Giant’s streak included a tie. 

Josh Tomlin was matched up with Jacob Junis for this run at history. The Tribe got behind early as the Royals got to Tomin in the top of the second inning. He walked Eric Hosmer to lead off the inning, and then Salvador Perez lined a single into right field that advanced Hosmer to third. Mike Moustakis grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, but Hosmer came home to score. 

Abe Almonte lead off the Indians’ half of the third with a line drive double down the right field line. With two outs, Lonnie Chisenhall looped a double into right. Almonte dug for home and came around to score. Chisenhall attempted to stretch the play into a double, but was thrown out at second to end the inning. 

In the top of the sixth, Tomlin gave up a double to Whit Merrifield. Lorenzo Cain hit into a fielders choice that put Merrifield out at third. Melky Cabrera grounded one weakly down the first base line. Carlos Santana charged the ball and flipped it to second to get Cain at second. Eric Hosmer slapped a double down the left field line that scored Melky from first. 

Andrew Miller returned from the injured list to pitch the top of the seventh. He allowed two hits, but got Alex Gordon to hit into an inning-ending double play to get out of trouble. One of the more incredible facts about the streak is that the Tribe won 21 games straight without their best relief pitcher. 

The Indians offense could not get anything going against Royals reliever Mike Minor in the seventh. They loaded the bases against Ryan Butcher in the bottom of the eighth, but consecutive pop-foul outs by Jay Bruce and Carlos Santana ended the threat. 

Kelvin Herrera got Yandy Diaz to ground out to lead off the bottom of the ninth. Tyler Naquin slapped a single through the left side of the infield. Francisco Mejia grounded to second and Naquin was forced out. Erik Gonzalez came on to pinch run for Mejia. The Indians were down to their final out, and Francisco Lindor was hitless on the day so far. Lindor came to the plate looking to keep the Indians’ hopes–and the streak–alive. 

Lindor worked Herrera into a 2-2 count. Down to his final strike, Lindor laced one into deep left field. Alex Gordon raced to the base of the 19-foot wall and made a leaping attempt, but was unable to make the catch. Gonzalez raced around to score the tying run, and Lindor ended up on second. Austin Jackson grounded out to end the inning and send the game to extras tied at 2-2. 

Cody Allen needed only eighteen pitches to retire the Royals in the top of the tenth. Over the course of the streak Cody Allen did not allow a single run. His ERA was perfect from August 12th through this game. 

Jose Ramirez lined Brandon Maurer’s 1-1 pitch into right-center and never hesitated in pushing for second. He narrowly beat the throw and was safe with a double to get things started in the bottom of the tenth. Maurer had Edwin Encarnacion behind in the count 0-2, but EE hung in and drew a seven-pitch walk.

Jay Bruce stepped to the plate and laced one into the right field corner. Ramirez raced around from second to score the winning run and give the 2017 Indians a place in history. 

During the streak, the Tribe outscored their opponents by a combined score of 140–36 in an unprecedented run of dominance. 

Baseball Reference Box Score 

Game 140

September 7, 2017 – The Streak Reaches 15 Games, Universal Windows Direct Pays out $1.7M in Promotional Rebate

Local business promotions have been a part of baseball since the dawn of the game. Marketing agencies and the teams themselves constantly look for ways to integrate advertising into the game, the stadium, and the broadcast. In 2017, Universal Windows Direct, a local home remodeling company was getting set to celebrate its 15th anniversary. In 2016, on the way to the division win and eventually the World Series, the Tribe rattled off 14 wins in a row from Game 66 to Game 79.

Universal Windows Direct concocted a promotion such that any work purchased during the month of July would be refunded in full if the Indians went on a 15-game win streak between August 1st and the end of the season. 

SCA Promotions is a Dallas-based company that underwrites promotional contests and sweepstakes. They constructed an actuarial model to calculate the likelihood of a 15-game win streak and accounted for Universal’s July sales totals. Universal paid approximately $75,000 to insure themselves against the possible payout. 

Beginning with Game 126 on August 24th, the Tribe got on a roll and stayed red hot. Corey Kluber was matched up with White Sox starter Mike Pelfrey for a Thursday night contest on the south side of Chicago that would make or break the summer for over 220 Universal Windows customers. 

Francisco Lindor led off the game with a triple. Austin Jackson drove him in with a double to center. Yandy Diaz walked, and then Edwin Encarnacion gave the parrot a ride after a 3-run bomb over the left field fence. The Indians stranded runners on first and third but still closed out the inning with a 4-0 lead. 

Kluber was not sharp early. He gave up home runs in the bottom of the first to Yolmer Sanchez and Jose Abreu to cut the lead in half. 

Lindor led off the top of the second with another home run blast and Erik Gonzales took Pelfrey deep for a two-run shot in the top of the third. 

Kluber settled in and went seven innings in total, striking out 13 and giving up only two runs on three hits. Greg Allen added to the Tribe lead in the top of the seventh with his own home run. Erik Gonzales homered again in the top of the ninth. 

Universal Windows Direct CEO William Barr with a Happy Customer

Kluber handed the game off to Shawn Armstrong who pitched a 1-2-3 eighth frame, while Craig Breslow did the same in the bottom of the ninth. The Indians won 11-2 and kicked off quite a party back at Progressive Field where a group of Universal Windows customers had gathered for a watch party. SCA was set to pay out rebates totaling over $1.7 Million to over 200 customers. 

The Tribe broke their own year-old franchise record for consecutive wins and finished the day 5.5 games up on the White Sox in the Central Division. They had their sights set on the 20-game win streak set by the Moneyball A’s in 2002. 

Baseball Reference Box Score

Game 136

September 3, 2017 – Jose Ramirez’ Five Extra Base Hits Tie MLB Record

The Indians entered this game riding a 10-game win streak. The Tribe had a nine game lead in the division and were wrapping up a weekend series in Detroit against the lowly Tigers. Josh Tomlin was set to pitch against recent call-up Chad Bell. 

In the top of the first, Jose Ramirez stepped in against Bell with two outs. He lined the 3-1 pitch to deep left field where it hit the yellow line at the top of the wall. Mikie Matouk jumped and attempted to catch the live ball, but ended up tipping it over the wall and out for a home run. The Tribe manufactured two more runs in the bottom of the second courtesy of RBIs by Roberto Perez and Francisco Lindor. The Indians had a 3-0 lead in the early going. 

After recording the first two outs in the bottom of the second, Tomlin gave up three consecutive singles to Candelario, McCann, and Jacoby Jones. Jones’ single plated Candelario to cut the Indians lead to 3-1. 

Ramirez doubled once again to lead off the top of the third inning. He advanced to third on an Encarnacion groundout and then scored on Carlos Santana’s fielder’s choice. 

Jose doubled down the left field line in the top of the fifth and chased Bell from the game. 

In the top of the sixth, after a Greg Allen strikeout, Lindor homered off Zac Reininger. Austin Jackson followed with a single to left. Ramirez stepped to the plate and lined one sharply to the right field corner. Again, it just cleared the wall and bounced off the railing for Jose’s second home run of the game. 

NIck Goody replaced Tomlin to get the final out of the sixth and then pitched a 1-2-3 seventh. 

Jose led off the top of the eighth with his third double of the game–a well-hit ball that bounced behind Jacoby Jones’ and off the wall in dead center.He joined only nine other players that have recorded five extra-base hits in a nine-inning game. The list includes two other Indians. Lou Boudreau in Game 81 of 1946 where he hit a homer and slapped four doubles in a loss at Fenway. Kelly Shoppach hit two homers and three triples in a 14-12 loss to the Tigers in Game 106 of 2008.

Gio Urshella came in to pinch run for Ramirez. Encarnacion doubled to drive in Urshella and make it a 9-1 game. 

The Indians would add another two runs, but Encarnacion never had the opportunity to shoot for a sixth extra base hit and sole possession of the record. Jose had 14 total bases–one short of Lonnie Chisenhall’s club record from Game 64 of 2014. The win was the eleventh of the streak that began with Game 126.

Baseball Reference Box Score

Honorable Mention – September 24, 1903 – Bill Bradley Hits for the Cycle

In a 12-2 victory over the Washington Senators, third baseman Bill Bradley hit for the cycle–with an extra double. One of the finest hitters of the deadball era, Bradley’s accomplishments are largely lost to history but he is remembered as one of the luminaries of early Cleveland baseball along with Nap Lajoie, Addie Joss, and Elmer Flick. 

SABR Biography 

Game 113

August 12, 2016 – Indians Steal Eight Bases on way to 13-3 Win

The 2007 Indians were my favorite team to watch pitch. The 1995 team was my favorite to watch at bat. The magic of the 2016 squad came on the basepaths. Rajai Davis, Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor and plenty others were always pushing to take an extra base. 

Carlos Carrasco was pitching against the Angels’ Tyler Skaggs on this hot August Friday night. Carrasco got off to a rocky start, giving up a solo home run to Kole Calhoun and an RBI single to Albert Pujols that scored Mike Trout. The score was 2-0 before the Indians came to bat. 

Rajai Davis drew an 11-pitch walk to lead off the game, then stole second on Skaggs second pitch to Jason Kipnis. On the very next delivery, Rajai broke for third and arrived safely. Kipnis poked a line drive single into left to send Davis home. WIth two outs, Kipnis stole second but Jose Ramirez struck out to end the inning. 

Carrasco got into a groove and threw a 1-2-3 second inning. Brandon Guyer lead off the bottom half of the second with a solo home run that tied the game at 2-2. 

Pujols put the halos ahead once again in the top of the third with a grounder to third that scored Kole Calhoun. 

Jose Ramirez singled to right to lead off the bottom of the fourth. Ramirez swiped second with Brandon Guyer at the plate. After Guyer fouled out, Ramirez stole third with Abe Almonte at bat. Almonte knocked a line drive into center field to score Jose and tie things up at 3-3. 

The Tribe pulled away in the bottom of the fourth with four runs on five hits. Rajai got his third steal of the night and Ramirez his third as well.

The Indians added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth, and Lindor got the club’s eighth steal of the night. 

Brian Shaw and Zach McAllister both pitched 1-2-3 innings in relief as the Indians would continue to pile on toward a 13-3 victory. 

When asked what made Skaggs so easy to run on, manager Terry Francona said simply, “You’ve got a lanky left-hander on the mound whose young,”

The Indians had not had eight stolen bases in a game since Game 128 of 1917. Right fielder Braggo Roth stole four bags in that contest against the Washington Senators. Joe Harris added two steals along with one each from Tris Speaker and Bill Wambsganss.

Baseball Reference Box Score

Game 84

July 3, 2018 – Game-Winning Grand Slam Second Day in a Row

On July 2nd 2018, Francisco Lindor hit a grand slam in the top of the fourth to break a 2-2 tie against the Royals. These would go on to be the game-winning runs. 

On the next night in Kansas City, the Indians got out to an early lead, scoring two runs off Danny Duffy in the top of the first. 

The Royals answered in the bottom of the first when Lucas Duda sent a home run over bullpen in right field to tie the game at 2-2. 

In the bottom of the second with Adalberto Mondesi on second, Whit Merrifield blooped a hit just out of reach for Rajai Davis who was charging in from center. Mondesi scored after the ball dropped and rolled past Davis. Then, Merrifield scores from first on line drive over third base by Rosell Herrera putting KC up 4-2. 

Edwin Encarnacion walked to lead off the top of the sixth. Brandon Guyer was hit by Danny Duffy’s fourth pitch. Yonder Alonso loaded the bases with a single. Catcher Yan Gomes stepped in and took Duffy’s 1-0 pitch into the Indians bullpen in left field. This put the Tribe ahead 6-4, but the lead was far from safe. 

Royals had tying run at second in both the 8th and 9th. In the 8th, Royals catcher Salvador Perez was on second with Hunter Dozier at the plate. Dozier sent a ground ball through the left side of the Infield, which was run down by Rajai Davis. Perez hesitated rounding third base as Davis threw to the cutoff man Francisco Lindor. Lindor spun and threw a strike to Gomes at the plate. Perez was initially called safe, but the play was reviewed and the out was confirmed. 

In the bottom of the ninth, Mondesi and Merrifield were aboard for the Royals with only one out. Cody Allen struck out Rosell Herrera and got Salvador Perez to fly out to deep left to end the game and record the four-out save. 

Baseball Reference Box Score

Game 76

June 28, 2016 – Lindor Steals Home Against the Braves

The 2016 Indians were 16 games over .500 and visiting the last place Braves for an interleague matchup. Corey Kluber was matched up with Matt Wisler.

Wisler struck out Carlos Santana to start the game, but then gave up consecutive singles to Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor. Jose Ramirez scored Kipnis with a single into right field, and Lindor advanced to third.

With Lonny Chisenhall at the plate, Jose Ramirez broke to steal second. Atlanta catcher AJ Peirzinki’s throw was off the mark. When it was bobbled by shortstop Eric Aybar, Lindor broke for home. Both runners were safe and the Indians ended the frame up 2-0.

Corey Kluber retired the first 15 Atlanta batters in order and was untouched until he gave up a single to Eric Aybar in the bottom of the sixth, followed by another single by Emilio Bonifacio.  Aybar and Bonifacio would eventually come around to score on a RBI single. Ender Inciarte was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double and ended the inning with the score tied 2-2.

Kluber mowed through the Braves lineup once again, eventually pitching 8 innings, giving up three hits, one walk, and recording seven strikeouts. Michael Martinez pinch hit for Kluber in the top of the ninth. The Braves had a wild inning, giving up three runs on two hits, two walks, an error and a wild pitch.

Indians closer Cody Allen came in to hold the 5-2 lead. Despite a solo home run by Jace Peterson, Allen was able to record the save and preserve the Tribe’s winning streak (this was win number 11 out of an eventual 14 from June 17 to July 1st.)

Baseball Reference Box Score