What can you say about a game that had a two-hour rain delay and then went 14 innings and ended on a hit-batter except for “wow”?
Kosuke Fukudome was plunked by Detroit’s David Pauley with one out and the bases loaded in the 14th after a game that lasted 6 hours and 46 minutes counting the delay to give the Tribe a huge 3-2 win that allowed them to climb to within three games of the Tigers with two games remaining in this series.
The winner was Frank Herrmann, who improved to 3-0 with two scoreless innings, but consider this: combined, the bullpens (which were both forced into the game in the third inning after the starters sat too long to risk bringing back) combined for 23.1 shutout frames. 14 separate pitchers came out of the pen, seven for each side.
And there was terrific defense from both sides, including two diving catches at second from Jason Kipnis for Cleveland, one of which came in the first inning and prevented a run from scoring.
Oh, and of the five runs that scored in the game, only one came as the result of a hit.
In the Indians’ first, Asdrubal Cabrera drove in Kipnis with a single and later scored on a Carlos Santana sac fly. In the Detroit second, the Tigers knotted it at 2-2 on two RBI groundouts, and of course, there was the HBP at almost 2 in the morning.
Quite a night.
We will see what the Indians and Tigers can do to top this one on Wednesday night at 7:05, when Ubaldo Jimenez takes on Rick Porcello.
Look for a preview of that game this afternoon.
Go Tribe!