Indians 12, Tigers 1: Anibal Sanchez hammered again

Anibal Sanchez made his second start since moving to the bullpen in the beginning of June and provided the expected results. By the time he exited in the fifth inning, the five-run hole was already too steep for the offense to climb out of. Somehow the Indians still have the Tigers’ number, as Detroit dropped their 11th game against Cleveland this season, 12-1.

After both teams went 1-2-3 in the first inning, the Tigers had a pair of runners on base in the second. But with two outs, James McCann flied out to center, stranding Justin Upton and Mike Aviles after a couple of singles. The Indians were more productive in the bottom of the frame, using a couple of hits, a walk, and a groundout to grab a 2-0 lead against Sanchez.

The Indians struck again in the fourth, stringing together a walk, single, double, and sacrifice fly to start off the inning. Sanchez limited the damage to two runs thanks to a pair of strikeouts, but the 4-0 Cleveland advantage was a bad sign for a quiet Tigers’ offense.

Carlos Carrasco was cruising until ceding back-to-back walks to start off the fifth inning. However, a McCann fly out was followed by a Jose Iglesias grounder which forced out Aviles at second and brought on a tag of Steven Moya at third to end the Tigers’ threat.

Again, immediately after the Tigers squandered a scoring opportunity, the Indians did not waste their chance. A leadoff walk came home to score after a misplayed ball by Moya, and Sanchez’s day was done after walking the next batter. Recently recalled Buck Farmer took his place and finished out the inning, pushing the deficit to 7-0 as two more runners came home.

The Tigers finally got on the board in the sixth inning, but not without a cost. With Ian Kinsler on first base, Miguel Cabrera fouled a ball off of his leg that rolled into the infield. The Indians fielded the ball and threw out Cabrera at first, but the slugger never even left the batter’s box, knowing that the ball was foul. After a brief huddle, the umpires (incorrectly) concluded that the ball was actually fair, leading to a justifiably enraged Cabrera being tossed. Victor Martinez drove in Kinsler to make it 7-1, but the Tigers lost Cabrera for the remainder of the affair.

While the Tigers were held scoreless for the remainder of the night, the Indians added three runs in the sixth inning and two more in the eighth off of the duo of Farmer and Mark Lowe. The game finally ended with a 12-1 scoreline after an abysmal showing by most of the Detroit roster.

ROARS:

Ian Kinsler- The All-Star snub/Final Vote nominee walked and scored the Tigers' only run.

HISSES:

Anibal Sanchez- Going 4 1/3 innings with 7 ER, Sanchez does not look qualified to even make spot starts.

The offense- The Tigers managed just four hits while striking out eight times and rarely looked threatening.

Buck Farmer- Did not do well in his return to the majors, allowing two inherited runners to score in addition to three of his own.

Mark Lowe- Gave up a homer and a pair of runs, continuing his struggling season. His ERA is now at 10.33 on the year.

Tim Timmons & Co.- While the call was probably inconsequential, a blown umpiring decision in the sixth inning led to an ejection of Miguel Cabrera.

STATS AND INFO:

• Sanchez did not allow a home run for just the third time in 13 starts this season and for the first time in his last eight.
• Cabrera was ejected for the eighth time in his career.
• Cameron Maybin's three strikeouts was his highest total in a game this year.
• 12 runs mark the most allowed by the Tigers against Cleveland this season.

This is at least the third time that Timmons has ejected Cabrera in his career. Disturbing pattern, @MLB

— Bless You Boys (@blessyouboys) July 6, 2016

WIN PROBABILITY GRAPH:

Source: FanGraphs