Bullpen Falters After Pitch Count Chases Kluber by Jason
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Bullpen falters after pitch count chases Kluber By Jason Beck and William Kosileski / MLB.com | 12:18 AM ET + 6 COMMENTS CLEVELAND -- Michael Fulmer won't pitch in the Midsummer Classic, but he'll settle for winning a duel opposite fellow American League All- Star Corey Kluber. Fulmer's six-plus quality innings and Justin Wilson's five-out save helped the Tigers close out the first half by avoiding a series sweep to the Indians with a 5-3 win Sunday night at Progressive Field. Cleveland heads into the All-Star break at 47-40, up 2 1/2 games on the Twins in the AL Central. Detroit moved within eight games but still has work to do at 39-48 as general manager Al Avila listens to offers ahead of the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline. Kluber and Fulmer (9-6) both allowed a run on three hits over their first five innings. But while Fulmer did it in just 58 pitches, Kluber threw 101, thanks in part to eight strikeouts. Detroit scored three runs in the sixth off the Tribe bullpen, two on Alex Presley's go-ahead double, to move ahead for good. Fulmer entered the seventh with a 5-1 lead and a pitch count of only 71, but four straight hits, including Jose Ramirez's two-run homer, knocked Fulmer out of the game before an out was recorded. Shane Greene retired three straight to escape the jam, then turned the ball over to Wilson, who stranded the bases loaded in the eighth and worked around a single in the ninth for his 10th save. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Tigers capitalize post-Kluber: The Tigers had never worked 100 or more pitches out of Kluber before the sixth inning. By doing so Sunday, the Tigers forced the long end of the Indians' bullpen into action in the sixth, and they converted. Nick Goody threw just four of 13 pitches for strikes, walking two and allowing a single to load the bases. Presley had a late swing on a Dan Otero changeup but lined it down the left-field line for a two-run double ahead of Iglesias' high chopper to first for an RBI infield single. An inning later, Nicholas Castellanos fouled off six pitches from Otero before delivering a two-out RBI single. Give me five: Wilson hadn't had a save of more than three outs since becoming Tigers closer, and he hadn't tried since May 16. But the lefty hadn't worked since Thursday and will have four days off for the All-Star break, so manager Brad Ausmus called on him with one out in the eighth after back-to-back walks from Greene. Wilson retired Ramirez on a fielder's choice then walked Brandon Guyer to load the bases but stranded them with a Carlos Santana groundout. He worked around a Bradley Zimmer single in the ninth for a five-out save. CHISENHALL EXITS WITH INJURY Lonnie Chisenhall was removed in the top of the fourth inning with a right calf injury. In his only at-bat of the night, the Indians' right fielder grounded into an inning-ending double play in the second. He was replaced by Guyer. WHAT'S NEXT Tigers: The second half opens at home for the Tigers, who welcome the Blue Jays for a three-game series beginning Friday at 7:10 p.m. ET at Comerica Park. Justin Verlander (5-6, 4.73 ERA) gets the start on five days' rest after a hard-luck loss to the Indians on Saturday. Indians: After the All-Star break, the Indians will head to Oakland to open a three-game set with the Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum beginning with Friday's 10:05 p.m. ET tilt. Carlos Carrasco (10-3, 3.44 ERA) will take the mound for the opener. He is coming off a strong seven-inning performance against the Tigers, in which recorded a season-high 11 strikeouts. Chisenhall exits with right calf injury By William Kosileski / MLB.com | July 9th, 2017 + 0 COMMENTS CLEVELAND -- Indians right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall left in the fourth inning of Sunday night's 5-3 loss to the Tigers at Progressive Field with a right calf injury. "In the first inning, he broke on a ball to back up first base," acting manager Brad Mills said. "He felt a little grab in his calf, his right calf. He thought it was just like a cramp. And then he came in, I think it was the next inning, he hit the ground-ball double-play and it got worse and he still thought it was a cramp. Now it seems like it's going to be more like a mild strain-type thing." Mills did not say whether the injury would land Chisenhall on the disabled list, but the Tribe has the All-Star break to figure that out before opening the second half in Oakland on Friday. Brandon Guyer replaced Chisenhall in right to start the top of the fourth and went 1-for-2 with a single, a strikeout and a walk. Kipnis lands on DL with hamstring strain By William Kosileski / MLB.com | July 9th, 2017 + 1 COMMENT CLEVELAND -- Prior to their matchup with the Tigers on Sunday night at Progressive Field, the Indians placed second baseman Jason Kipnis on the 10-day disabled list with a right hamstring strain. Kipnis was injured trying to beat out a checked-swing ground ball in the third inning of Saturday's 4-0 victory over Detroit. Third baseman Giovanny Urshela was recalled from Triple-A Columbus to replace Kipnis on the active roster. "I think we saw that he was running hard down the line and all of a sudden he felt a strain in his hamstring," Indians bench coach and acting manager Brad Mills said on Sunday. "We saw that when he limped off, we said, 'Is that something we need to go there for?' He waved us off and said, 'No, I'll just walk back.' And he did. And it was concluded today that he has a mild hamstring [strain] and needs to go on the disabled list. "How long is it going to be? Well, at least 10 days. And we'll see. It'll probably, maybe be a little worse than a mild hamstring, but sometimes those take a little time, longer than the 10 days if necessary. We'll see how it progresses and so forth as we move forward." Kipnis' trip to the DL comes one day before the All-Star break, so he'll only miss one game during the first five days of his stint. The Tribe opens the second half on Friday in Oakland. Before Kipnis was removed on Saturday, he had gone 1-for-2 with a double against Tigers starter Justin Verlander. In his last three games, Kipnis has gone 4-for-9 (.444) with four doubles, four runs scored and three walks. "It's really tough because we're in a situation where he was really starting to swing the bat well," Mills said. "Now, he was able to start swinging the bat, feeling good about himself and running well and getting the extra base hits, and then this happens. We're really looking forward to an opportunity for him to continue working hard through this period, that he's able to come back and be ready as soon as possible." It marks Kipnis' second stint on the DL this season, as he began the year sidelined with a right shoulder injury before making his season debut on April 21 against the White Sox. In 66 games this season, Kipnis is hitting .232 with eight homers, 19 doubles, 26 RBIs, 32 runs scored, 22 walks and five stolen bases. With Kipnis on the shelf, Erik Gonzalez will fill in at second, with third baseman Jose Ramirez providing backup. Urshela makes his second trip to the Majors this season. He was recalled for the second game of a doubleheader with the Twins on June 17, played third base and went 0-for-4. With Columbus this season, he is hitting .266 with six homers, 12 doubles and 34 RBIs in 76 games. He has played 60 games at third and 16 at shortstop. "Gio had played not just third base. He's played some short as well," Mills said. "We also have Jose Ramirez, who can play second base and has played short as well. [Gonzalez] has played short and all over the infield. Well, this adds another piece, so we can move around that infield a little bit more." Top 2 Tribe prospects shine in Futures Game By Daniel Kramer and Oliver Macklin / MLB.com | July 9th, 2017 + 0 COMMENTS INDIANS Francisco Mejia, C, CLE No. 1 | MLB No. 33: Mejia recorded an impressive 1.87 pop time trying to throw out Brinson at second base and picked up a single in two at-bats, then scored the World Team's second run. Triston McKenzie, RHP, CLE No. 2 | MLB No. 47: McKenzie came in to begin the ninth and quickly got Acuna to fly out to center fielder Ray before being pulled in favor of Puk. Cleveland Indians complete first half with 5-3 loss to Tigers under bright lights of Sunday Night Baseball BY ZACK MEISEL, CLEVELAND.COM [email protected] CLEVELAND, Ohio -- For the first time in eight years, ESPN's bright lights returned to Progressive Field on a Sunday night. The lights proved too bright for the Tigers.