Brantley leads way as Tribe outmuscles Crew
CLEVELAND -- Every member of the Indians' lineup reached base safely at least once in an 11-6 victory over the Brewers at Progressive Field in Tuesday's series opener.
Brewers starter Wily Peralta lasted just 2 2/3 innings in his shortest start since May 2013. The 26-year-old right-hander allowed four runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks, striking out one. He labored through each inning, needing 71 pitches to retire eight batters in an outing which featured both diminished velocity and a visit from the team trainer.
Indians starter Josh Tomlin allowed three home runs in his six innings of work, but limited traffic on the basepaths around the blasts. He didn't walk a batter and allowed two hits outside of the homers, striking out seven.
Video: MIL@CLE: Tomlin whiffs Davis to end the frame
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Two-for-one: After the Brewers put up a run in each of the first two innings, the Indians' lineup responded with a crooked number both times. Jason Kipnis led off the first inning with a double and scored three batters later on a double by Carlos Santana. Lonnie Chisenhall followed Santana by driving in Michael Brantley with a single up the middle. The following inning, a pair of errors by the Brewers' infield set up RBI knocks by Kipnis and Francisco Lindor, giving the Indians a 4-2 lead. More >
Video: MIL@CLE: Lindor doubles in a pair to extend the lead
"Kip came back," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "You saw it tonight. When he's hitting that ball to left field with authority, he's a different hitter. He gets so dangerous. And Lindor just looks like he's gaining confidence by the day. And then Brantley is just Brantley. That was impressive."
Lacking zip: Peralta pumped his fastball to the plate at 92-95 mph at the start of the game, but those readings began to diminish over the course of a 25-pitch first inning. Brewers manager Craig Counsell and head athletic trainer Dan Wright paid a visit to the mound in the second inning when Peralta was throwing mostly in the 89-91 mph range, but left Peralta in the game. In the third, Counsell made an early call to the bullpen for Kyle Lohse. More >
Video: MIL@CLE: Counsell, trainer come out to check Peralta
Extra thump: After knocking Peralta out of the game in the third inning, the Indians gave themselves some extra breathing room by doing more of the same to Lohse. Brantley hit a two-run homer in the fourth to give the Tribe a 6-2 lead, and they tacked on three more in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Kipnis and a two-run double by Lindor. Brantley homered again in the eighth inning, scoring himself and Lindor and giving the Indians an 11-6 advantage. It was his first multi-homer game since July 2013.
Video: MIL@CLE: Brantley clubs two homers in win vs. Brewers
"It's fun," Brantley said. "We swing the bats well, guys are getting on base at the top of the lineup, creating havoc, it's just fun to be a part of."
Power plays: The Brewers did all of their scoring with the long ball. Jonathan Lucroy homered in the first inning and again in the eighth, giving him his sixth career multi-homer game, and three home runs in the past two games. Domingo Santana homered for the second time in four days in the second inning, and Ryan Braun hit his team-best 23rd home run in the sixth.
Video: MIL@CLE: Braun launches a two-run dinger in the 6th
"It feels good to have some balls fall in there, but really, all I'm worried about is losing," Lucroy said. "I mean, it doesn't really matter how many homers you hit -- you lose, it's a moot point."
QUOTABLE
"It's kind of coming as advertised --- power to all parts of the park. The ability to do that is a player you get excited about at Miller Park. Any time you see an opposite-field homer with any player, you get excited, because that's real power." -- Counsell, on the recently promoted Santana More >
Video: MIL@CLE: Santana belts a solo dinger off Tomlin
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The Brewers fell back to 20 games under .500, one loss shy of their low point this season. They have not finished a season more than 14 games under .500 since losing at least 94 games in four straight seasons from 2001-04.
WHAT'S NEXT
Brewers: Jimmy Nelson will try to continue a personal hot streak when he makes his first career start against the Indians on Wednesday at 6:10 p.m. CT. Nelson is 7-1 with a 2.39 ERA over his last 11 starts and has held opponents to a .239 average this season. The Brewers are 20 games under .500, but 13-12 in Nelson's starts.
Indians: Rookie right-hander Cody Anderson will be activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to the game's 7:10 p.m. ET first pitch to make his first start since Aug. 7. Anderson is starting in place of Carlos Carrasco, who was scratched from the start due to shoulder soreness. Anderson faced the Brewers on July 22 and gave up 10 hits and four earned runs in 2 2/3 innings.
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