The last game that will ever be played between the Cleveland Indians and the Detroit Tigers was about all you could wish for as an Indians fan. Almost, but not all. It looked to me like Tristan was tiring in the 8th. He went to a 3-2 count on a 7-pitch at-bat against Nunez right before Castro's hit. And the hit by Castro was on a fastball clocked at only 90 mph and definitely above the top of the zone. Normally that pitch is 92-93 and nobody squares it up if they chase it.
If Castro lines out on that pitch I think Tristan would have given up a hit in the 9th, especially since he would have been starting the inning over 100 pitches. His previous high this year was 93. But he would have been facing the bottom third of the order. How perfect would it be to have a perfect game in the final Indians-Tigers game?
11 runs and 14 hits for the Tribe versus 0 runs and 1 hit for the Tigers. Total domination. What a great way to end a 106-year rivalry. Next year we start another one although I imagine they will keep the cumulative W-L record going since the franchises are the same.
The Indians take the season series 12-7. The Tigers are 7-12 against the Tribe and 51-50 against the rest of baseball.
Love the way the Tribe's right-handed hitters went to the opposite field early. The first five hits by right-handed batters were to right field, although three of them were jam jobs that were blooped in off the handle of the bat.
Franmil was the only batter not to get a hit, going 0-for-4 with 3 K's. La Mole has one single in his last 24 at-bats and one RBI. Hope he can find his mojo in this next series.
McKenzie faced the Tigers twice this season, pitching 13 innings and allowing 2 hits, no runs, 3 walks, and 16 K's. They have to be very happy they won't see him again this year. He added insult to injury in Miggy's last at-bat when he eschewed the 2-2 breaking ball away and challenged him with a fastball, getting a swing and miss. It was the third fastball in the at-bat; the first two were fouled off. It looked like McKenzie decided to have a little mano-a-mano and throw the heater on a 2-2 count instead of the obligatory slider down and away. He put it on the outside corner where Miggy likes it. But Miggy's bat speed isn't what it used to be and it was Casey at the Bat all over again.
This was Tristan's third consecutive strong outing, each one better than the one before. It looks like he's figured it out. But it helps when you have an 11-run lead and you're facing a team with only five good hitters. When the #5 hitter is batting .190 and nobody is the bottom third is over .214, well, you better have a good game.
