CHICAGO– The Cleveland Indians toppled the Chicago Cubs 10-1 on Tuesday night thanks to some early runs and another strong performance from Trevor Bauer.
The Tribe scored all of their runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings, and it would be more than enough to seal the deal. Five Indians batters recorded RBI, and seven got on the board with hits.
Chicago had 10 hits, but struggled to manufacture runs. Their lone run came on a solo homer from Ian Happ off of Josh Tomlin in the bottom of the ninth.
Here are three takeaways from the win.
1. Another Bauer shutout
Bauer earned his third career regular season win against the Cubs and fourth win of the 2018 season, going six shutout innings and allowing just seven hits, two walks and striking out six.
Bauer was getting plenty of called strikes thanks to his fastball, and used his cutter and slider to make the Chicago hitters chase balls way out of the zone:
In each of his last 10 starts on the road, Bauer has allowed three runs or less. This is the second straight start in which Bauer has pitched a shutout.
2. Brantley’s hit streak continues
Michael Brantley extended his season-high hit streak to 11 games with a single to right field in the third inning.
For the game, Brantley went 2-for-5, as he also connected on a single in the fourth.
During the streak, Brantley is batting .354 (17-for-48) with four home runs, 12 RBI and 14 runs scored. He’s now batted in the No. 2 spot for the last 10 games, putting up a .355 (16-for-45) average.
Brantley’s current streak is still the second-longest streak of any Tribe hitter this year just behind Francisco Lindor, whose 15-game streak ended last week.
3. Starting and ending strong at the plate
Jose Ramirez kicked things off for Cleveland in the third inning. After Lindor drew a walk and Brantley recorded that single, Ramirez rocked a three-run homer to right field for his 14th bomb of the year.
The latest longball came on a 2-2 fastball, and Ramirez finished the game 1-for-2 from the plate with three walks and those three RBI.
Yonder Alonso plated the final three runs for the Tribe in the fifth inning on a bases-clearing RBI double. For the night, Alonso went 3-for-4 from the plate, recording singles in the first and third innings as well. Tuesday marked his first three-hit game as a Cleveland Indian.
BONUS: Melky’s first CLE hit
Speaking of Cleveland firsts, Melky Cabrera recorded his first hit in a Cleveland uniform in the fourth inning, as his RBI double scored Brantley and put the Indians up 5-0.
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