MLB Rankings: Greatest Hits in Week-21
7. Carlos Santana, 41 percent
As the Indians scramble to catch the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central or hold off the Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland A’s in the wild card race, series against hungry opponents like the New York Mets are vital.
Their three-game mid-week series in New York went a lot better for the Mets than for the Indians. Cleveland lost the first game 9-2 before battling through nine innings of a 2-2 tie on Wednesday.
Not that the Indians hadn’t had chances. After tying the game 2-2 in the sixth, Tyler Naquin singled to open the seventh. The Indians offense failed to move him off that spot.
In the ninth, Jason Kipnis delivered a leadoff single, and Roberto Perez’ sacrifice got Kipnis into scoring position. Again, though, New York’s bullpen steadied, retiring the side without incident.
Mets reliever Luis Avilan retired he first two batters in the top of the 10th, then he faced Santana. With a 2-2 count, Santana lined a pitch into the left-field seats for a home run that put Cleveland ahead 3-2.
With closer Brad Hand available, that should have been good enough for the win. But as previously noted, J. D. Davis would have something to say about that. When New York also won Thursday’s game, it completed a sweep that dealt the Indians a heavy blow.