(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH -- In the sixth inning of a 5-3 ballgame, Jordan Luplow hit a lead-off homer to left field to bring the tribe within one run. Luplow now has nine home runs on the season, eight of which coming from a left handed pitcher. Roberto Perez continues to be one of the most clutch hitters in the tribe lineup, driving in his 30th RBI of the season on a game-tying blooper to right center field. With Jose Ramirez on first base in a tie game in the eighth inning, Jason Kipnis launched what was initially ruled a two-run homer, but was reviewed by the umpires and was changed to an RBI triple, as Kipnis returned back to third base with a confused look on his face. After a Roberto Perez strikeout, Jake Bauers drove in Kipnis on a sacrifice fly for what later proved to be a much needed insurance run for the Indians. Brad Hand gave up a quick run in the ninth and has a runner on first with no outs, when Tyler Naquin made an unbelievable diving catch in right field, as he then popped up onto his feet and threw the runner out at first to complete a double play. Brad Hand then forced the next batter out on a blooper to tribe second basemen Jason Kipnis, earning his 21st save in a 7-6 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
Detroit Tigers' ace Matthew Boyd came into tonight's game with a career 2.98 ERA versus the tribe, but a career 6.60 ERA in the month of June. June continued to haunt the Detroit lefty tonight, as he tossed six full innings giving up five earned runs on seven hits, striking out six batters and walking two.
The key moment of the game came in the top of the fifth inning, when Nick Goody came in to relieve Indians' starter Trevor Bauer. Goody walked the first batter he saw, loading up the bases with no outs, before recording three straight outs to get the Indians out of the inning with limited damage. This inning of relief kept the tribe in the ballgame, and in turn gave them a chance for a comeback.
The Cleveland Indians bullpen continued their dominance tonight, allowing one lone run in five innings of relief. Adam Cimber earns his third win of the year as he moves to 3-2. Brad Hand earned his 21st save, as he remains a perfect 21-21 in save opportunities this season.
The Indians will look to continue their winning ways on Saturday afternoon as they will take on the Tigers in game two of this three-game home series. Aaron Civale will make his MLB debut for the Cleveland Indians as he will be squaring off against Spencer Turnbull. First pitch is set for 4:10 PM ET at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio.