CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Indians couldn’t have asked for a much better opportunity to make a late-inning comeback against the Detroit Tigers Saturday night.
They loaded the bases in the sixth and seventh innings with one out but couldn’t break through.
They began the eight with a pair of singles, but couldn’t cash in.
Repeatedly, Detroit pitchers got crucial outs at the most critical moments. Ultimately, it sunk any chance of a comeback in a 2-1 loss at Progressive Field.
“Really only swing of the bat probably could’ve put us ahead, and I’m not saying a home run, but a base hit or double in the gap,” said Indians interim manager DeMarlo Hale.
The Tribe stranded eight runners over that three-inning span. After struggling to solve the Tigers’ Tyler Alexander through the first five innings, it looked like the Tribe might finally string an inning together.
But the clutch hit never came.
“I thought we had some balls hard early. They were in very good defensive position,” Hale said. “That’s all you can do is have the heaters keep going up there trying to put a good barrel on the ball.”
Eli Morgan strung together his second consecutive strong start for the Indians, scattering six hits in seven innings of work, surrendering two runs along the way. His performance Saturday night marked the longest of his career, surpassing his previous high of six innings in last start against the Blue Jays.
Morgan threw 88 pitches, 63 for strikes while prioritizing his fastball against Miguel Cabrera and the Tigers’ lineup.
“These guys were aggressive today so that provides an extra challenge to sticking to that fastball game plan,” Morgan said. “I think we very easily could’ve shied away from it and started going breaking ball heavy. But instead, I just tried to out the fastball in a good spot, mix in that slider and try to ease the change up in as more of a surprise pitch rather than pitching right off that.”
Wilson Ramos supplied the only offense for the Indians in the form of a solo home run to the bleachers in the ninth inning. Ramos was recently called up from Triple-A Columbus in place of Roberto Perez, who is dealing with shoulder and back problems.
“I threw to him in Triple-A a few weeks ago. He caught a great game. For him to come up here and have a great debut was awesome,” Morgan said. “He knows a few of these guys, so I really trusted that he was going to put down the right signs. I shook him a few times just as I would in any start. But I really trusted his game.”
Ramos was designated for assignment June after appearing in 35 games for the Tigers.
Despite dealing with injuries of his own, he hit six home runs in 35 games this season. He relished the opportunity to seek a little revenge on his old team when he homered off of Gregory Soto.
“After he did the quick pitch, I wasn’t ready to make a swing. That’s why the next couple of pictures I was getting ready early to not get caught with a quick pitch,” Ramos said. “As soon as I saw the second slider I was sitting on the fastball.”
