CLEVELAND, Ohio – Carlos Carrasco said he had an ‘on and off’ night for the Indians against the Pirates on Tuesday. Fortunately for the Indians, there was no holiday of the bullpen. They were strictly “on.”
“They came in behind me and put zeros on the board,” Carrasco said. “The biggest thing is that we won the game.”
Acting manager Sandy Alomar went to the pen six times after Carrasco was released after 4 1/3 innings after Josh Bell’s two-run double which led the Pirates in a 3-3 tie with the Indians in the fifth inning at PNC Park . Oliver Perez, Cam Hill, Phil Maton, James Karinchak, Nick Wittgren and Brad Hand responded with 5 1/3 scoreless innings in a 6-3 win in 10 innings at PNC Park. They hit 10 outs, ran no bat and allowed only three hits.
A well-tuned bullpen can bring harmony to a team. Tuesday night, pen Carrasco helped prevent a potential loss and gave Carlos Santana a chance to be a hero by keeping the score tied at 3-3 until he had a chance to win a game-winning three-run homer in the 10th to touch.
“They were fantastic,” Alomar said of the bull. ‘They came in last night and they kept the fort. I’m very proud of those guys.
‘We also had to take Karinchak out again (in the eighth inning). Hill the in great track. At the end of the day, Oliver Perez got into a difficult situation against good fighters. We tried to mix-and-match, but at the end of the day there were some guys we rested and there were some guys who took the ball on days that were iffy, they did a fantastic job. “
Good bullpens are like good relay teams – they do not throw the stick down.
Perez lost to Carrasco in the fifth with one out and Bell represented the go ahead on second base. Perez knocked out Colin Moran and Bryan Reynolds. He started the sixth by Jorge Polanco on a bouncer returning to the mound before passing to Hill. The rookie right-hander pulled Erik Gonzalez and Jarrod Dyson along.
Maton started the seventh and knocked out the first two fights, but Kevin Newman finished and Bell was hit by a pitch. Karinchak came in, the equalizer scored, 3-3, and with retirement cleaned Moran. Karinchak went back for the eighth and pulled the sideline in order with two strikeouts.
Karinchak leads all MLB relievers with 24 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings. When asked how it has been to see how Karinchak has developed since joining the Indians in December last year, Wittgren said: ‘It’s great. That kid is instantly Wild Thing. Seeing him throw is just something special. You know what you’ll get out of him every night. It does not matter if he is one-plus or just one.
“It’s great, everyone in the bull, including himself, when someone else enters the game, just cheers on each other and it’s fun to see that from the young boys.”
Karinchak wears no. 99, Ricky Vaughn’s Major League number. Wild Thing is his walk-up music and with the way he intrudes to take on the catcher’s characters, it would not be surprising if he’s on the mound with some black magnified glasses with skulls on. It probably also does not sit well with fighters when a man goes 96 mph to 97 mph, with an ankle-breaking curve, and he can not quite catch the signs of the catcher.
Wittgren, the sustainable set-up man, ran the high wire in the ninth. He threw 21 pitches, most of all Indian relief, but kept the score tied. Jarrod Dyson started the inning with a single from Santana’s hand on first base. Catcher Jacob Stallings sent a bundle back to the mound. Wittgren jumped on it and tried to get Dyson in second place, but his throw was a bit late, as was Francisco Lindor’s relay to first.
“Yeah, I should know better,” said Wittgren, who said he would have to go to first base for it to come out easily. “I’ve been in that situation many times.”
The Pirates were awarded for the win. They had rounds in first and second place with no one out, but catcher Roberto Perez, just off the injured list, changed the momentum of the game by choosing Dyson second for the first out. Adam Frazier ran to the right field, but Newman ended up putting the winning run on second.
Wittgren ended the inning by hitting Bell.
“That’s what our team does,” Wittgren said on Perez’s throw. ‘I had just missed something and Bebo (Perez) came up with me. He got him in second place, and now it’s first out with a man, a ground ball ends the inning and it changes the whole scenario and it changes the way I put it back to the next few guys. “
Santana broke the 3-3 tie with a three-run homer high over the left field post in the 10th. The hand, with a runner starting the inning at second base, allowed an infield single, but ended the night by hitting the sides for his sixth save in as many chances.
“We’ve got a bunch of young kids (in the dying) stepping up,” Wittgren said. ‘That’s really fun to watch. They are put in difficult situations and just (keep) stepping up, supporting each other. It’s pretty cool to see everyone just get in a groove and come after that. ”
The bullpen has the second best ERA at 2.63 and the lowest handball average against around .198 in the AL. They struck out 83, ran 21 and threw the worst innings in the league at 68 1/3 due to the strong start due to the starting rotation.
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