ST Games #7 and #8: Indians Drop a Pair to the A's; 8-7 in Mesa and 8-6 in Vegas

The Indians dropped to 2-6 this spring with a pair of losses on Saturday to the Oakland A;s, the team dropped a decision in Mesa by a score of 8-7, while in Mesa the team lost 8-6.

The Indians Saturday fell in a pair of games to the Oakland A’s, losing in Mesa by a final score of 8-7, and dropping a decision in Las Vegas 8-6.

The two setbacks puts the team at 2-6 on the season, and they have dropped five straight after starting the season 2-1.

8,159 watched the spring training affair in Las Vegas Ballpark as the Indians jumped to a 5-1 lead in the fourth thanks to a homer from Bobby Bradley.

Bobby Bradley knows how to crush a baseball. 💪

The #Indians slugger hit his second dinger of #SpringTraining against the #Athletics after hitting at least 23 each of the past five @MiLB seasons.

Scouting report: https://t.co/X4Rup0cvpA pic.twitter.com/AlEowLPO1L

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) February 29, 2020

They couldn’t hold the lead, and the A’s plated five runs in the fourth an fifth innings off Tribe relief pitcher James Hoyt who is trying to earn a spot in the bullpen.

The Indians tied it in the eighth with an RBI from outfielder Alex Call, but Edwin Diaz blasted a two-run homer off reliever Zack Weiss for the game-winning runs.

Sunday the Indians are set for another pair of split-squad games as they will play the A’s again in Las Vegas, and in Goodyear the team will take on the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The game in Las Vegas will be on Sports Time Ohio at 4:05pm EST while the game against Arizona in Goodyear will begin at 3:05pm EST.

On the Mound: In the loss in Mesa the Indians started lefty Scott Moss, and he allowed a pair of runs in the first inning.

Oakland’s Robbie Grossman hit a two-run homer to left in the first to give Oakland the lead. Overall Moss went two innings, allowing the two runs on one hit with a walk and two strikeouts.

Closer Brad Hand went an inning with a strikeout in the third, and Oliver Perez went an inning, striking out two pitching to a pair of right-handed batters.

James Karinchak had his issues allowing a pair of runs in recording just two outs in the fifth inning, and Hunter Wood allowed four runs to the A’s on three hits in the sixth inning as they built an 8-6 lead after the Indians built a 6-4 advantage.

In the game in Las Vegas Zach Plesac got the start, and went 2.1 innings, allowing a run on two hits with a walk and three strikeouts.

Hoyt was beat up for three runs in the fourth and was only able to record one out in the frame.

Dominic Leone allowed two Oakland runs in the fifth, and fellow reliever Zack Weiss gave up two runs in the Oakland eighth inning.

Overall it wasn’t a great day for the Indians pitching staff, allowing 16 total runs in 16 innings in a pair of losses.

At the Plate: There were some highlights at the plate Saturday, with the biggest likely being another moon shot from prospect Bradley.

Bradley went 2-for-3 in the loss in Las Vegas with the round tripper, and he now has four runs batted in.

The slugger did strikeout for the first time this spring, but has still been impressive, hitting .417 with a .917 slugging percentage.

The Indians put up 13 hits in the loss in Vegas, led by Francisco Lindor (2-for-3, 2 RBI, hitting .545), Roberto Perez (2-for-3), Christian Arroyo (2-for-2).

The Tribe in Vegas went 4-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

In Mesa, the team had 12 base knocks, led by young backup Wilson Garcia, who hit a solo homer to lead off the seventh inning.

Carlos Santana went 2-for-3 with a run scored, backup outfielder Oscar Gonzalez went 2-for-2 with a run scored and Mike Freeman had a pair of hits with a run scored, a walk and is hitting .429.

The team managed to go 4-for-9 with runners in scoring position in the loss.

Other Stuff: In Vegas the team left eight men on base, while in Mesa they left six runners on in the setback.

Franmil Reyes in Mesa went 1-for-3 with an RBI and continues to impress, hitting .462 with a 1.650 on base percentage early on.

The Indians struck out 16 times in the two games, striking out eight times in each affair.

Arroyo’s 2-for-2 effort puts his average up to .417 on the spring as he continues to try and win a backup utility role.

It was a tough day for new Indians outfielder Domingo Santana, who went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, and is hitting .167 on the spring.

On Sunday in Vegas the Tribe will start righty Adam Plutko against the A's Jusus Luzardo. In Goodyear it’ll be Shane Bieber for the Indians against Zac Gallen for Oakland.