Anderson, Murphy help Tribe walk off vs. Rays
CLEVELAND -- Following a pitcher's duel between Rays righty Alex Colome and Indians rookie Cody Anderson, David Murphy's bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the ninth inning propelled Cleveland to a 1-0 walk-off win over Tampa Bay on Sunday afternoon at Progressive Field.
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On the game's decisive play, Cleveland catcher Roberto Perez tagged at third and narrowly beat the relay throw from center fielder Kevin Kiermaier. The walk-off was the first such victory of the season for the Tribe.
"I don't want to have walk-off wins every day," Murphy quipped. "They're always fun. You feel like you can build momentum off that. It was dramatic. Celebrating on the field is always a fun thing to do. In the past, plenty of teams have seen a walk-off moment catapult the team forward and hopefully that will be this game for us."
Video: TB@CLE: Murphy hits sac fly as Indians walk off
Anderson and Colome locked horns for seven innings, trading zeros, but exiting with no-decisions for their work.
Called up from Triple-A Columbus prior to the game, the 24-year-old Anderson scattered three hits through the first six innings. Tampa Bay had runners on in six of the big right-hander's 7 2/3 innings, but he sidestepped damage at each turn. Anderson ended with four strikeouts and one walk in his 94-pitch performance.
"I'm sure there's a lot of guys in player development today that are really proud," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "And, they should be, because he did a heck of a job."
Colome was also on top of his game, carrying a perfect game into the sixth inning and holding Cleveland to just a Michael Bourn infield single in his seven frames. No baserunners advanced past second base against the Rays right-hander, who struck out four and walked two.
"Came down to they had the ninth inning," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "They had the opportunity there. Made the most of it."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Major introduction: The first pitch of Anderson's big league career was a 95-mph fastball to Kiermaier, the Rays' leadoff man. Tampa Bay's center fielder offered at the pitch, grounding out to shortstop Francisco Lindor. Anderson hit as high as 97 mph in the first, but settled down to his typical 92-93 mph range as the game wore on.
"I didn't really have much control in the first inning," Anderson said. "I kind of tried to settle down and just work the bottom of the zone. It ended up working out." More >
Video: TB@CLE: Anderson gets Longoria for first career K
Bourn breaks up perfection: Colome breezed through the first 16 batters he faced without allowing anyone to reach base, but that impressive run was snapped in the sixth. Bourn sent a sharp grounder to first baseman Jake Elmore, who could not handle the play cleanly. Bourn reached base and was rewarded with an infield single.
Video: TB@CLE: Bourn ends Colome's bid for perfect game
Held in check: The Rays had a runner on third base with two outs in the ninth inning, threatening to break through against Indians closer Cody Allen. The right-hander threw an 87-mph curve on a full count and Elmore appeared to check his swing, and headed up the first-base line assuming he drew a walk. First-base umpire Tim Timmons saw things differently, calling Elmore out, bringing an abrupt halt to the Rays' rally.
Video: TB@CLE: Allen strikes out Elmore to get out of jam
Escape act: Francona pulled the plug on Anderson's stellar debut with a runner on third base and two outs in the eighth inning. Lefty Marc Rzepczynski entered and issued an intentional walk to Evan Longoria. The Rays then called upon Nick Franklin as a pinch-hitter, but Rzepczynski struck him out swinging to preserve the scoreless tie.
Video: TB@CLE:Rzepczynski keeps game scoreless with K
QUOTABLE
"I'm really excited about the way the guys played on this trip. We played really good baseball. We played great today, we just couldn't manufacture that missing run." -- Cash on the Rays' 4-1 road trip
"It was very special -- them flying in yesterday. I couldn't be happier to be able to see them and have them here on my debut. It was really good." -- Anderson, on having his parents in the stands for his MLB debut on Father's Day
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Anderson joined Scott Lewis (Sept. 16, 2000), Luis Tiant (July 19, 1964) and Ray Benge (Sept. 26, 1925) as the only Cleveland pitchers to log at least 7 2/3 shutout innings in their Major League debut, dating back to at least 1914. Anderson is the only Indians pitcher to achieve the feat in Cleveland.
Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis' single in the ninth inning extended his hitting streak to 16 games (longest active streak in the Majors). The base hit also extended his Cleveland-record streak at Progressive Field to 25 games. Kipnis is two games shy of equaling the ballpark record (27 games) set by Texas' Elvis Andrus from Aug. 11, 2009-May 26, 2015.
Video: TB@CLE: Kipnis robs Souza with great diving stop
Sunday's loss by the Rays marked the seventh time this season they have been shut out and the first time since May 27 against the Mariners.
WHAT'S NEXT
Rays: Matt Andriese (2-1, 3.26) will make his fifth start of the season as the Rays kick off a 10-game homestand with a three-game series against the Blue Jays at 7:10 p.m. ET on Monday. Andriese pitched four innings of relief in his last outing to pick up the win. Andriese got his first career save against the Blue Jays on April 24 at Tropicana Field.
Indians: Coming off seven shutout innings against the Cubs in his last outing, righty Trevor Bauer (6-3, 3.22 ERA) will start for the Tribe on Monday at 7:10 p.m. ET in the opener of a three-game set against Detroit. Cleveland will look to slow Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera, who has hit .647 with five homers, 15 RBIs and a 1.147 OPS against the Indians this year.
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