Thursday, August 14, 2014
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Diamondbacks earn doubleheader split with Indians

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[August 14, 2014]  CLEVELAND -- It took over four hours, but somebody finally scored a run -- and it was Tuffy Gosewisch who drove it in.

Gosewisch's RBI single with one out in the top of the 12th inning lifted the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 1-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians in the second game of a doubleheader at Progressive Field on Wednesday night.

The Indians won the first game 3-2 on a walk-off solo home run by left fielder Zach Walters in the bottom of the ninth inning.

In the second game, left fielder Alfredo Marte led off the top of the 12th with a walk, off right-hander C.C. Lee (0-1). Xavier Paul pinch ran for Marte. A sacrifice bunt by shortstop Didi Gregorius moved Paul to second.

Catcher Gosewisch then bounced a single through the infield and into center field, driving in Paul with the only run of the game.

"I was looking for a pitch up to drive, but he jammed me a little bit with a slider. Fortunately, it found a hole and got through," said Gosewisch.

The win went to right-hander Randall Delgado (2-3), who was the losing pitcher in the first game. Right-hander Addison Reed pitched the bottom of the 12th to get his 28th save.



"We didn't perform well. Neither did they," said Arizona manager Kirk Gibson. "It was a pitchers' day, but fortunately we came through late."

It was a frustrating loss for Cleveland, which blew a handful of scoring opportunities that could have resulted in the Indians completing the doubleheader sweep.

"We just needed to cash in once, but couldn't do it," said Cleveland manager Terry Francona. "When you're playing a game like that at home you feel like you've got a pretty good shot."

Cleveland had runners at first and second and one out in the 10th inning and a runner at second with no outs in the 11th inning, but failed to score both times.

The two starting pitchers pitched to a five-innings standoff. Indians right-hander Josh Tomlin pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings on three hits with four strikeouts and no walks.

"I was able to command the ball to both sides of the plate, and our defense was awesome," said Tomlin. "We pulled one off in the first game, but just came up a little short in the second game."

Diamondbacks left-hander Andrew Chafin pitched five scoreless innings on three hits with three strikeouts and two walks.

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"He had seven 3-2 counts, but he made the pitches when he had to. He was very good overall," said Gibson.

The closest the Indians came to scoring on Chafin, who was optioned to Triple-A Reno following the game, was in the fourth inning when they had runners at second and third with two outs. But Chafin struck out catcher Roberto Perez to end the inning.

Cleveland had runners at first and second and one out in the 10th inning and a runner at second and no outs in the 11th, but failed to score both times.

Chafin made his major league debut after combining for 23 starts at Triple-A Reno and Double-A Mobile. He was 8-6 with a 3.96 ERA. Chafin pitched at Kent State University, which is about 40 miles south of Cleveland.

Tomlin was recently taken out of the rotation and moved to the bullpen. However, a rainout of Tuesday's game resulted in a doubleheader Wednesday, and Tomlin was chosen to make a spot start.

In the first game, Walters, who was acquired on July 31 in a trade that sent shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera to Washington, belted a 1-2 pitch from Delgado over the right field wall for the game winner. Cleveland's other two runs came on a two-run single by center fielder Michael Brantley in the sixth inning. Right-hander Cody Allen (4-2) got the win.

NOTES: Indians RHP Trevor Bauer pitched a career-high eight innings, allowing two runs and four hits with nine strikeouts, though he didn't figure in the decision in Cleveland's 3-2 win in the first game of the doubleheader. "It was one of my best outings command-wise," Bauer said. ... In the first game of the doubleheader, Indians LF Zach Walters' walk-off home run was the 76th in the history of Progressive Field, which opened in 1994. That is the most walk-off homers in the majors during that span. ... Arizona LHP Vidal Nuno fell one out shy of a quality start in the first game, giving up two runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings. "I kept my arm slot down and kept mixing my pitches," Nuno said.

[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

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