Return to defensive excellence key for Tribe
The Indians took their first loss of the postseason, a 5-1 defeat against the Blue Jays on Tuesday, in part because of an uncharacteristically poor defensive showing.If the Tribe hopes to clinch a World Series berth -- it currently leads the American League Championship Series, 3-1, and was the only
The Indians took their first loss of the postseason, a 5-1 defeat against the Blue Jays on Tuesday, in part because of an uncharacteristically poor defensive showing.
If the Tribe hopes to clinch a World Series berth -- it currently leads the American League Championship Series, 3-1, and was the only team in the Major Leagues not to lose four straight games this year -- Cleveland would do well to shore up its defense.
A strong defense has been a trademark of the Indians all season. They ranked fourth in the Majors in Ultimate Zone Rating (35.6 runs saved) and ninth in Defensive Runs Saved (17) while ranking 12th in fielding percentage (98.5 percent).
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But on Tuesday, the Tribe committed its first error in more than 12 games -- a streak spanning 109 innings -- and had a handful of poor routes that cost the club key runs.
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The first misplayed ball came in the fourth inning, when
According to Statcast™, Naquin started the play 100 feet from where the ball landed, and the ball had a hang time of 4.8 seconds; outfielders facing those circumstances made the catch 58 percent of the time this season. However, Naquin's poor route led him to run 96 feet, while the ball landed 28 feet away from him.
Carrera's single scored shortstop
"We were shaded to pull; nobody was getting that ball," Naquin said. "They've got a good team over there, and so do we. It just didn't go our way, and we'll have another chance tomorrow and we'll see what happens from there."
The Indians' defense came back to bite them in the seventh inning, when they were facing a 2-1 deficit. After allowing a leadoff single, reliever
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"We've been playing good baseball," catcher
"I should have had him all the way," Shaw said. "I just rushed it a little bit. Had I planted my foot and made a better throw, he would have been out. It wasn't too tough a play. I got over there, I got the ball, I just opened up too much and spun and threw it away."
Already down three runs, another poor route effectively put the nail in the coffin for the Indians in the eighth inning. Carrera hit a hard liner 65 feet to the left of where right fielder
However, Guyer broke toward the liner instead of going backwards to try and hold Carrera to a double. Guyer didn't get to the ball, Carrera recorded a triple and he scored on next batter
The Indians' poor defense is certainly uncharacteristic, but it is something that needs to be improved going forward. Certainly they will need to score more than the one run they plated on Tuesday, but with the first three games won by two runs or fewer, every play and run is precious.
Ben Weinrib is a reporter for MLB.com.