Captain Morgan: Eli steers Tribe to win over White Sox
By: Sean Fitzgerald
In the final home night game played under their current moniker, the Cleveland Indians sent 24,082 fans home with a 6-0 win over the Chicago White Sox.
Eli Morgan (4-7), had no trouble in his first frame of action, moving through the lineup with relative ease.
Lance Lynn (10-6), on the other hand saw a hit that knocked off Tim Anderson’s glove on the ground by Myles Straw get stretched into a double, putting immediate pressure on the 34 year old hurler.
Jose Ramirez capitalized with Straw on base by rocketing a 398-foot laser to right-center to give Cleveland a 2-0 lead early.
Two innings later, Andres Gimenez took the 34-year-old Lynn deep to right for a no-doubt solo shot traveling 398 feet, with right fielder Leury Garcia not even turning to look for the ball.
Morgan dazzled in the early going, throwing four no-hit frames before allowing a leadoff double to Yoan Moncada in the top of the fifth inning, but failed to score.
Heading into the bottom half of the same frame, Lynn had a trainer and coach come out to the mound to check if he’d be able to continue in the game. After a few tosses, Lynn was able to stay on the mound. He’d previously gone on the injured list earlier in September with a knee injury.
Jose Ramirez added another insurance run off Lynn in the sixth, driving in Straw from second and sending Amed Rosario to third. Franmil Reyes did the same, lining a hit up the middle to plate Rosario and sending Jose Ramirez to third, expanding the lead to 5-0 and then 6-0 on a Bobby Bradley sacrifice fly.
Morgan sailed through his outing with ease, tossing six innings of one-hit, no-run ball. He walked a batter and whiffed six on 85 pitches, 61 for strikes.
Lynn got hammered across six frames of work, giving up six runs on seven hits, notching a six strikeouts without a walk. He threw 70 of 105 pitches for strikes
Sam Hentges and Bryan Shaw nailed down the final three innings for the Indians, and have a shot at still wrapping up a ninth consecutive. 500 or better season.
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One of the best
Jose Ramirez came into tonight’s action tied for fifth in fWAR by FanGraphs, or wins above replacement, with San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. with 6.2.
Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leads the majors with 6.8 fWAR, followed by a three way tie for second place at 6.5 fWAR: Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto, Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper, and the Blue Jays second baseman Marcus Semien.
Akron Champions
The Akron RubberDucks won the 2021 Northeast Double-A championship last night with a 6-5 win over the Bowie Baysox. Bo Naylor, the top catching prospect in Cleveland’s system, hit a walk-off RBI single to cap Akron’s season.
The season finale rubber match
Through 18 games played against the South Siders this season, both teams are tied at nine wins apiece. While Chicago locked up the division on Thursday, the Indians can still grab the season series in tomorrow’s matinee.
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Sean Fitzgerald is a Kent State graduate and the press box correspondent for Mark One Sports and CLE TribeCast. Follow him on Twitter @fitzonsportsbsr.
