Indians Fall to 0-3 on the season when it comes to Extra Inning Games; Three Takeaways from 8-6 loss in 12 innings

CLEVELAND, Ohio- On Tuesday evening, the Cleveland Indians took on the Texas Rangers in what was game two of a three game series concluding on Wednesday night.

Coming into tonight’s game against the Rangers , the Indians beat the Rangers in the opener of the series on Monday night with a 7-5 victory.

Heading into Tuesday evening’s match up the Indians came in with a record of 15-12 and held a four game lead over the Tigers for first place. The Rangers came in with a record of 11-19 and are currently in the cellar in the AL West.

Following the Indians loss to the Rangers, the Indians fell to 15-13 on the season. As the Rangers improved to 12-19 on the year.

Here’s our three takeaways from the Indians 8-6 loss.

1.) Clevinger Not a Factor

Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Mike Clevinger left Tuesday's game with a no decision which can be looked at as a good thing because as things stood as he left in the seven inning, being down 2-0, he would have been stuck with the loss.

Clevinger had a quality start throwing 6.2 innings pitched, gave up 3 runs, allowed 7 hits, gave up one homer, walked one batter, and struck out 7 Rangers. The seven strikeouts is an early season high for Clevinger.

Clevinger has made two starts (four appearances) against the Rangers and has a record of 0-0, and an ERA of 2.30 (4 earned runs in 15.2 innings pitched).

Clevinger had the following to say about Brantley's game-tying grand slam:

#Indians starter Mike Clevinger comments on his reaction to Michael Brantley’s game thing grand slam in the ninth inning. Clev was at his locker at the time in the locker room. pic.twitter.com/cZEo2qeGqS
— Payton Vince (@PaytonVince) May 2, 2018

2.) Brantley Hits His First Career Grand Slam To Tie Game in the Ninth To begin the home half of the ninth inning, the Indians were down 6-2 and it seemed as if victory was far out of their reach. The Indians showed fight though with some two out magic as they loaded the bases for both Jose Ramirez and Michael Brantley with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Brantley hit his first grand slam in the ninth inning to tie up the game.

Brantley ties the game with his first grand slam of his career. #Indians and #Rangers tied 6-6, B9 pic.twitter.com/bk4YeWypYC
— Payton Vince (@PaytonVince) May 2, 2018

That was also Brantley's fifth game-tying home run of his career and first game-tying homer in the 8th inning or later.

Brantley's grand slam was the first game-tying grand slam since Tom Bernazard June 10, 1987 at California in the top of the fifth. The grand slam was also the first one game-tying one in the 9th inning since Toby Harrah did so on June 20, 1980 at Oakland.

3.) Being Extra Isn't Always Fun

The Cleveland Indians fell to 0-3 on the season when it comes to extra-inning games. The Indians lost to the Los Angeles Angels in a 13 inning affair just six games into the 2018 season, and also lost to the Twins in Puerto Rico when both teams needed a 16 inning marathon.

The team is still above .500 when it comes to playing at home while they currently hold a record of 9-7 at Progressive Field. The team is now 4-8 overall against AL West opponents and are also 6-9 following a win early on this season.

Cleveland will be looking to take the series tomorrow afternoon when they send Corey Kluber to the hill and will be opposed by the Rangers' Matt Moore. First pitch is expected to be at 1:10 pm EST.