The Cleveland Indians have now been swept at the hands of the Oakland A's for the second time in August, capped off with the 12-7 loss on Thursday that saw them show rare life in the batter's box. It's the sixth time they've been swept since the All-Star break. They're well out of the running in the AL Central division, sitting in fourth place and 17.5 games back of the first-place Chicago White Sox.
Still, the A's are one of the top teams in Major League Baseball right now, and are now on a six-game winning streak. The Indians contributed four of those wins though, with the other two coming over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Justin Masterson was given the loss and is now 10-12 on the season. He lasted just four innings, giving up eight hits and eight runs, with three homeruns allowed and only one strikeout. He also walked two batters.Almost nobody came away unscathed, as he was replaced by Chris Seddon, who gave up two hits and three runs over two innings. Tony Tipp gave up a run in less-than an inning, while Joe Smith was the only one didn't give up a run. Chris Perez closed out the game and allowed a run.
Jarrod Parker got the win for the A's, even though he lasted just five innings, giving up eight hits and five runs, while walking three. Evan Scribner and Jerry Blevins both gave up a run, and that was all the offense the Indians could muster. Shin-Soo Choo had three RBI for the Indians, while Jason Kipnis and Carlos Santana both had two. Both Josh Reddick and George Kottaras had three RBI for the A's.
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