Quantrill on a roll as Tribe dominates Tigers
By: Sean Fitzgerald
The Cleveland Indians had a rough road trip to the South Side of Chicago and north of the border.
The Detroit Tigers were exactly what the doctor ordered, as the Indians easily cruised to a victory, taking game one of the weekend series 6-1 in front of 24,485 fans.
Cal Quantrill allowed two one-out singles in his first frame of action before getting Miguel Cabrera to ground into an inning ending double-play.
Matt Manning struggled with his command but got away with a clean inning. Out of 15 first-inning pitches, he only had seven strikes, five of which were balls put in play or foul balls.
The momentum swung to the Tribe after a bloop single by Austin Hedges to start the third inning with Ernie Clement’s full-count double getting a roar from the crowd.
With the lineup turned back to the top of the order, Myles straw hit a liner over the head of Willi Castro to score Hedges and score the game's first run.
Amed Rosario added an RBI on fielder’s choice, beating out the throw to first to squash the double-play. Jose Ramirez followed that up with a double of his own down into the right field corner.
The hits kept on coming for Cleveland, as Bobby Bradley blew the score open with a two RBI extra-base hit to extend Clevelands lead to 4-0.
An inning later, Victor Reyes appeared to have an inning ending catch to double-up the Tribe that was overturned on review into a hit for Myles Straw and an RBI, putting runners on the corners with one down, with Rosario tacking on another run with a sac fly.
Manning struggled to the tune of six runs on 10 hits while striking out three over four innings, throwing 53 of 83 pitches for strikes.
Conversely, Quantrill pitched brilliantly. He cruised through seven innings of no-run, four-hit baseball, adding a career high 10 strikeouts to his ledger without issuing a walk, throwing 98 pitches and firing 69 of them in the zone.
The Tigers managed to load the bases and get a run off Blake Parker in the ninth with one gone, but Emmanuel Clase came in to save the day. The Tribe will look to take another game from their AL Central foes from the Motor City tomorrow.
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Perez out, Wilson up
Roberto Perez was placed on the 10-day injured list prior to tonight’s game with shoulder inflammation. The team selected the contract of former Tigers backstop and an ex All-Star in Wilson Ramos.
Ramos reportedly agreed to the minors deal in early July before it was formally announced a few days later.
Miggy’s Road to 500
Miguel Cabrera came into tonight’s series two homers shy of the 500 home runs for his long career. Manager AJ Hinch hopes the veteran slugger can hit that milestone when they return to Detroit later next week.
Call on Quantrill
Prior to tonight’s start, Cal Quantrill’s last six starts were a welcome sign for a battered pitching staff. He went 2-0 with a 2.36 ERA over 34 ⅓ frames. He walked 13 batters over that stretch while adding 22 strikes and a 1.14 WHIP.
If Quantrill continues his recent dominance, including five quality starts in his last six turns through the rotation, he may solidify one of the starting spots behind Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale and Zach Plesac heading into 2022.
Another injury
As if this Indians team wasn’t snakebitten enough, Bobby Bradley exited the game in the fifth inning due to a left knee injury. The team said an update would be provided later on the slugging first baseman.
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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.
