CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indians were riding the wave of a walkoff victory into the second game of their doubleheader against the Arizona Diamondbacks. However, the momentum didn’t last.
Cleveland’s offense was shut down completely in a 1-0 loss in 12 innings and the Indians had to settle for a split.
“We just needed to cash in once, and we couldn’t do it,” manager Terry Francona said. “When you’re playing a game like that and you’re at home, you feel like you’ve got a pretty good shot.”
Zach Walters’ walkoff homer with one out in the ninth gave the Indians a 3-2 win in the opener, but the offense struggled even more in the second game and a strong pitching performance was wasted.
Josh Tomlin pitched 5 1-3 innings and five relievers held Arizona in check before C.C. Lee (0-1) allowed the game’s only run on Tuffy Gosewisch’s RBI single with one out in the 12th.
It looked like the Indians would break through when Michael Brantley started the 11th with a double, but Randall Delgado (2-3), who gave up Walters’ game-winning homer earlier, struck out Carlos Santana and Chris Dickerson and retired Walters on a groundout.
“Brantley leads off with a double and we leave him there, and we had a couple other chances,” Francona said.
Five Arizona pitchers combined on the shutout. Addison Reed gave up pinch-hitter Lonnie Chisenhall’s two-out double in the 12th, but struck out Jason Kipnis for his 28th save to end the 4-hour, 16-minute game.
Tomlin retired the first nine hitters before Ender Inciarte led off the fourth with an infield hit. Center fielder Tyler Holt made a diving catch of David Peralta’s liner to help Tomlin get out of the inning.
Tomlin, 0-3 in his previous five starts since throwing a one-hit shutout at Seattle on June 28, was pulled with a runner on second and one out in the sixth. Peralta’s drive to right looked to be good for extra bases, but Ryan Raburn made a diving catch on the warning track after a long run.
“Raburn’s catch was unbelievable,” Francona said. “The way he closed ground on that ball. One of the best catches I’ve ever seen. At the time you thought it saved the game.”
Walters, acquired from Washington for Asdrubal Cabrera on July 31, hit a 1-2 pitch from Delgado that narrowly cleared the wall in right field to win the opener. The home run was the fourth of his career.
“He’s hit a couple balls right on the nose,” Francona said. “On a day that it was probably going to take a home run to win it, it was good to see him do it. I’m sure that will help him relax.”
Cody Allen (4-2) pitched the ninth for Cleveland to get the win.
Trevor Bauer, pitching against the team that took him with the third pick of the 2011 draft, allowed two runs and struck out nine in a career-high eight innings.
WHERE’S THE WEATHERMAN?
Francona wasn’t particularly happy about Tuesday night’s events that saw the game postponed in the fourth inning after the lengthy rain delay. The initial forecast said the rain would last about an hour and then clear out. “Whoever was doing the forecasting last night had a bad night,” Francona said.
ALMOST READY
Francona said OF Michael Bourn (sore left hamstring) will DH in a minor league game Thursday and be activated Friday. Bourn had surgery on the hamstring in October, but the injury has bothered him all season. He hasn’t played since July 5.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Diamondbacks: OF A.J. Pollock (broken right hand) is expected to resume his rehabilitation assignment at Triple-A Reno over the weekend. Pollock returned to Phoenix after being hit by a pitch on the same hand during his rehab debut in the Class A Arizona League, but tests showed no additional damage.
Indians: Nick Swisher (sore right knee) will be examined by Dr. Neal S. ElAttrache, the team physician for the Dodgers, on Tuesday in Los Angeles. A determination on whether Swisher needs surgery could be made at that time.
UP NEXT
Diamondbacks: Arizona continues its 10-game road trip with a four-game series in Miami on Thursday. Arizona RHP Chase Anderson (7-4) takes on RHP Brad Penny (1-0). Anderson is unbeaten in his past five starts, posting a 2-0 record with a 1.74 ERA over 31 innings.
Indians: Cleveland is off Thursday, but continues its five-game homestand Friday against Baltimore. Cleveland RHP Corey Kluber (13-6) faces LHP Wei-Yin Chen (12-4). Kluber is tied for the American League lead in wins and ranks third with a 2.46 ERA and 187 strikeouts.
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