TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland), YES (New York) PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Corey Kluber (10-8, 3.27 ERA) vs. Yankees LH CC Sabathia (6-8, 4.15) Kluber limited the Yankees to one run and five hits in eight dominant innings to pick up a win on July 8.
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Francona had a chance to shorten the game and show off his new bullpen, but he let Kluber (11-8, 3.22) pitch.
After that the game belonged to Kluber.
Indians: LF Brandon Guyer, acquired Monday from Tampa Bay, made his second start for Cleveland and was hit by a pitch on the left thigh. The Indians will try to stop the bleeding with staff leader Corey Kluber – who dominated the Yankees in Cleveland’s only win against NY this season – on the mound opposite CC Sabathia. Dillon Overton (1-3) gave up seven runs in three innings. They could be somewhat satisfied to see rookie catcher Gary Sanchez have a second straight good game, even as their hitters struggled to hit Indians starter Corey Kluber and as CC Sabathia endured another challenging start. “And so it just all kind of dawned on me that that’s not in the cards”.
“It’s a lot easier just to focus on executing pitches when there’s no relationship or anything like that”, he said, sounding relieved. “As I’ve said, he’s here to play”, Girardi said before the game. Aaron Hicks followed with a sharp single to right as Castro held at third, wisely not testing right fielder Abraham Almonte’s strong arm.
Rajai Davis tied the game at 2 with a single to left before Sabathia struck out Kipnis looking.
The Yankees scored twice in the second, but didn’t do much after that. He had surgery that July 1 and missed the remainder of the season, then hit.216 with 22 homers and 62 RBIs the following year, when the hand was still regaining strength and he was slowed by a hamstring injury.
Davis pushed the lead to 4-2 in the seventh as he homered off former teammate Anthony Swarzak.
That time Clint Frazier hit a 500-foot homer. Kipnis made it 5-2 in the ninth with a run-scoring single. Kipnis has 61 RBI for the year.
In a sign he might stick around this time, Sanchez was assigned No. 24, down from 57 earlier this season and 73 late past year. Cleveland will try to follow that mantra and put a pleasant ending on what had been a hard week Sunday when it attempts to take the rubber match of a three-game road set against the Yankees.The Indians ran into a Max Kepler-led buzzsaw earlier in the week as Minnesota outscored them 35-16 over the first three contests of their four-game home set, but the American League Central leaders have righted the ship somewhat by winning two of their last three. Overall, however, they are still 10-17 at the new House That Ruth Built.
Kluber threw 100 pitches, 67 or 67 percent for strikes. Severino threw a 98 miles per hour fastball that froze new Mets slugger Jay Bruce for a called third strike, gave up James Loney’s RBI groundout and got Michael Conforto to strike out on a slider. The T-shirts the Yankees had been selling for $39.99 were gone from the stadium team stores Friday. First pitch was at 1:08 p.m. and the temperature was 84 degrees.
Indians RHP Carlos Carrasco (7-5, 3.12 ERA) starts the series finale Sunday against RHP Masahiro Tanaka (7-4, 3.46).
Carrasco is 0-1 against the Yankees this year and 4-3 with a 3.64 ERA in his career.
BRAVES 13, CARDINALS 5: Freddie Freeman and Adonis Garcia had three-run homers and Atlanta got enough from Roberto Hernandez in his first start this season to win at St. Louis.
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The Boston Red Sox hammered Los Angeles Dodgers 9-0 while LA’s other side, the Angels, were beaten 6-4 by the Seattle Mariners.
