Game #14 Observations: Indians Blast the Reds 13-0 Behind Huge Night for Ramirez, Hernandez and Tribe Offense

CLEVELAND - On a day by day basis the Indians top of the lineup has not had much to talk about so far in the 2020 season.

Finally Thursday night in the second game at home against the Cincinnati Reds this unit showed signs of life, as the Tribe put up three runs which was more than enough in a 13-0 win over the Reds to move to 8-6 on the season.

Sure the Indians offense has been tough to watch, but how about the Reds?

That’s back-to-back shutouts, and for a team that was supposed to have upgraded to be a contender in the NL Central, they look like a team that has been overmatched most of the season.

They fall to 5-8 with the loss, and over the last six games have scored just 13 runs (2.1 per game).

Tribe starter Carlos Carrasco was dominant against the Reds, hurling six innings of shutout ball, allowing just one hit while striking out eight.

Carrasco moves to 2-1 on the season.

With the short homestand in the books, the Indians have a quick turnaround as they head to Chicago for a weekend series with the White Sox.

Here’s some observations from the Indians third straight win to put them two games over .500 at 8-6.

Here We Go “O”

As the 2020 season closed in everyone that thought the Indians would be competitive pointed out how the top of their lineup needed to be the driving force on the team.

Led by their first four hitters - Cesar Hernandez, Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor and Carlos Santana - this needed to be the group to put runs on the board and have good at-bats.

It’s taken 14 games to get there, but finally on Thursday night they looked like that unit everyone had been waiting for.

“Was good, scoring early kind of takes the pressure off Cookie, it kind of got him to relax a little bit, I am proud of the guys approach, they made them throw a lot of pitches,” acting manager Sandy Alomar said.

First there’s Hernandez, who never seems to put a ball in play before making a pitcher get him to at least a 2-2 count.

He drew a two-out walk in the fifth against Luis Castillo to start a rally that not many saw coming.

Then there was Jose Ramirez. Earlier in the game Ramirez put out a ball over 400 feet for his third homer of the season to make it a 1-0 game against Castillo in the first.

“I think that’s key to start,” Ramirez said of the first inning homer which set the tone for the Indians.

Then after the Hernandez walk, he put a ball down the right field line that was good for extra bases.

The ball took an odd hop off the wall in foul territory, and Hernandez easily came around to score to make it 2-0.

The next batter, Francisco Lindor, finally came through with RISP with two outs, taking a 1-1 Castillo pitch to right field for a single that scored Ramirez.

The numbers for the top four in the Indians order go as follows: 6-for-13 with seven walks, nine RBI, two homers and triple.

“We have a great group of guys, elite hitters, I knew it was going to happen so I was happy for them,” Ramirez said.

Carrasco’s Effort

Carlos Carrasco has now gone six innings in each of his first three starts of the season, and like his first start against the Kansas City Royals he looked impressive against the Reds.

The Tribe’s third starter allowed just one hit, no runs, four walks and eight K’s. He threw 97 pitches, 57 of which were strikes.

The Reds tried their best to be aggressive going after Carrasco’s slider and changeup all night, but more times than not they were swings and misses.

Carrasco’s changeup was especially effective, as he was able to not only get it over for strikes but it kept the Reds chasing.

“He was good, he was keeping the ball down, middle of the game he was spiking his changeup in front, but he was able to manage his strikeouts and keep them at bay, he was able to navigate through traffic and do a good job,” Alomar said.

In three starts in 2020, Carrasco has struck out 23 batters with six walks, four of which came against the Reds.

Carrasco’s next slated start will be on Wednesday, August 12th at home in the second of two games against the Chicago Cubs.

“We have a great group in here, starting pitcher from game one till now, we have a routine, we just want to repeat that, just a little competition between us, but we don’t talk about it, it’s a lot of fun to see those guys throw a lot of innings and zeros,” Carrasco said.

What’s Next?

The Indians will hop on a short flight to Chicago as they get set for three games against AL Central rival the White Sox.

The two teams met last week in Cleveland with the Indians taking two of three, winning two games of a doubleheader before falling 4-0 on Wednesday night to the Sox.

Chicago is currently 7-5 and ½ game ahead of the Tribe for second in the AL Central.

Friday’s kickoff to the series at 8:10pm will see Aaron Civale go for the Indians against White Sox righty Dylan Cease.

The Indians got to Cease for four runs on seven hits in 2.1 innings in the first game of the two teams doubleheader on July 28th.

Cease in his last start was much better, allowing two runs on five hits over six innings in a 9-2 win over the Royals on August 2nd.

After the three games against the Sox the Tribe will get their first scheduled off day of 2020, and then return home to Progressive Field on Tuesday and Wednesday to take on the Chicago Cubs for two games.