CLEVELAND, OH – The Indians needed their bullpen to come up big on Wednesday and they did just that in a 5-1 victory over the Rangers.
The Tribe swept the doubleheader, taking two of three from Texas in the series. The improve to 68-46 and are just two games behind the Twins in the American League Central Division.
Instead of using a starter for the second game of the doubleheader, the Indians opted to have a bullpen game. They used five relievers in the win.
Tyler Clippard opened for the Indians, finishing with three strikeouts in two scoreless innings. Hunter Wood entered the game in the third. He didn’t allow a run and gave up one hit in two innings. A.J. Cole pitched 2⅔ scoreless innings for the Tribe, allowing two hits.
José Ramírez got the Indians on the board in the second inning with a solo home run. It was his 16th homer of the season and second on the day. Ramírez hit the go-ahead blast in the first game of the doubleheader.
Can confirm: This home run pitch is not a replay!#RallyTogether | @IndiansSTREAM: https://t.co/blx8Pd7ec4 pic.twitter.com/yaj6UZBBth
— SportsTime Ohio (@SportsTimeOhio) August 7, 2019Jason Kipnis scored on Franmil Reyes’ sacrifice fly in the seventh inning to give the Indians a 2-0 lead.
The Rangers avoided the shutout when Willie Calhoun hit a solo home run off of Óliver Pérez in the eighth inning.
The Indians responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning. They hit four doubles in the eighth, en route to their highest scoring inning of the series. Francisco Lindor scored on Carlos Santana's double to right field to make it 3-1. Yasiel Puig followed with a single to left that gave the Tribe a 4-1 lead.
Ramírez got in on the action with a double of his own and Jason Kipnis brought him home with another two base hit to give the Indians a 5-1 edge.
Back-to-back RBI hits by @TheRealSlamtana and @YasielPuig have given the @Indians some nice insurance.#RallyTogetherSTREAM: https://t.co/blx8Pd7ec4 pic.twitter.com/3kGzjnWzHY
— SportsTime Ohio (@SportsTimeOhio) August 7, 2019Nick Wittgren slammed the door shut, pitching 1⅔ scoreless innings. The Indians are 22 games above .500 for the first time this season.
Up Next
The Indians travel to Minnesota for a four-game series with the Twins. Mike Clevinger is on the mound for the Tribe. He enters with a 6-2 record and a 3.07 ERA. Kyle Gibson gets the start for the Twins. He’s 11-4 on the year with a 4.02 ERA. The Indians currently trail the Twins by two games in the AL Central Division.
