CLEVELAND, Ohio – When it comes to misdemeanors, the captive position for the Indians has been a wasteland this coronavirus-infested season.
The Indians’ three Indians through the first 24 games of the season hit a combined .081 (6-for-74) with one homer and one RBI. Beau Taylor changed all those negative vibes Thursday night when the Indians defeated the Pirates, 2-0, to complete a three-game sweep at PNC Park.
The Indians have won six straight games – all of them coming on this trip through Detroit and Pittsburgh – and 11 of their last 14 games.
Shane Bieber (5-0, 1.11) put up six scoreless innings, defeating 11, for the win. In his only other start against the Pirates, Bieber allowed seven runs in 1 2/3 innings on July 24, 2018. A very different pitcher was seen Thursday night as he recorded his fourth game with 10 or more strikeouts and his MLB-leading strikeout in total to 65 in his first six starts of the season.
All those strikeouts would not mean much without Taylor. Making his first start since August 8, Taylor finished a 0-for-16 start to the season with an RBI single in the second inning. Taylor delivered the second run in the eighth when he sent a weak grounder to Josh Bell on the first base with the bases loaded. Franmil Reyes would have been out with 15 feet, but Bell made a bad throw to hunter Jacob Stallings when Reyes slipped home after a 2-0 lead.
“I said gosh-dang it looks like a year (since I had a hit),” Taylor said. ‘It felt good. The great thing was the RBI. I told (Mike) Freeman when I got to the dugout, ‘Boy, I had just as much weight on my shoulders right now.’ Then the shutout. . .Thank you.”
Bieber’s record on the road improved to 20-5, but the Pirates made him work, especially in the sixth.
Kevin Newman opened with an infield hit to third base. Bell sent Newman to third with a run-and-hit single in the sixth to put rounds on the corners without outs.
Bieber stepped out of the jam when he hit Adam Frazier and Jose Osuna and retired JT Riddle on a flyball to the right. But that was the end of the night for Bieber, who threw 99 pitches, 66 (67%) for strikes and no boss runs. Bieber just ran six batters in 40 2/3 innings.
“He wanted to go back there (for the seventh inning),” said acting manager Sandy Alomar. ‘But he had to work very hard in the sixth inning. We felt that was enough. He stood at 99 counts and we felt we had enough in the pen to cover that bridge. The boys did a good job. ”
Taylor gave the Indians a 1-0 lead in the second with his first hit of the season. He finished to the right with two from Trevor Williams (1-4, 3.70). Reyes and Tyler Naquin started the rally with one-out singles. Reyes sent a slow roller below the third baseline that hit the bag instead of foul. Naquin singled to the left to put him in second place.
Domingo Santana ran to the right, but Taylor put the Indians ahead with his single to the right. Williams finished the inning by getting Bradley Zimmer on a ground after the first.
“Beau came in huge for us on the plate and behind the dish,” Bieber said. “We sat down on Wednesday and watched the game. He took notes when we talked about the lineup. I can not say enough about him and the preparation that goes into it. It’s hard not to play a week plus and then get in and play as well as he did. “
It was another solid performance by the bullpen of the Indians. Oliver Perez, Nick Wittgren, James Karinchak and Brad Hand completed the shutout of seven goals with three scoreless innings. Hand pulled the Pirates in order in the ninth for his seventh save in seven chances. The Pirates have scored four straight and lost 14 of their last 16 games.
The Indians have posted five shutouts this season.
The night was a study in frustration for the misdemeanor. They loaded the bases twice, strung 12 laps and went 1-for-12 with laps in scoring position.
The Indians missed an opportunity to take the lead in the fourth. Naquin finished and Domingo Santana ran to the inning. Taylor advanced the hurdlers with a sacrificial bundle and Zimmer ran to load the bases.
Williams returned to strikeout Cesar Hernandez with a pitch that was below the strike zone. Then he put Jose Ramirez retired on a weak flyball to the left on a high fastball. Hernandez struck out twice with the bases loaded.
The Indians missed another chance in the sixth when Domingo Santana and Taylor ran out with one. Lefty Brandon Waddell pulled Zimmer on a ground after second and Hernandez on a bouncer for the plate.
FOLLOWING
The Indians open a three-game series against the Tigers on Friday night in a Progress field. RHP Adam Plutk (1-1, 3.95) will face Detroit RHP Michael Fulmer (0-0, 7.56) at 19:05 the game will be played by SportsTime Ohio, Channel 3 and WTAM / 1100.
Plutko and Fulmer met Sunday at Comerica Park. They each recorded a no decision, and failed by getting three innings in an 8-5 win by the Indians.
A variety of face masks from Cleveland Indians are available online today. (Fanatics.com)
New Indian face masks for sale: Here you can buy Cleveland Indians face masks for coronavirus protection, including a single mask ($ 14.99) and a 3-pack ($ 24.99). All proceeds from MLB donate to charity.
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