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It was a routine ground ball that found a hole and skittered into right field for a hit. Nothing special.
Except with Matt Lawton scoring from second, Coco Crisp's bouncing single with
one out in the 13th inning not only won the game but also made meaningful the
work of the Indians' beleaguered bullpen.
So it wasn't just an ordinary 3-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday at Jacobs Field.
The relief corps, buffeted by the ill winds of public opinion, thanks to a month's
worth of ineptness, received much of the credit for keeping the Tribe in the
game.
That was true, even though a member of the bullpen, Rick White, gave up the
tying run in the eighth inning.
"The bullpen's performance was outstanding," Indians manager Eric
Wedge said. "They got it done against a formidable lineup. Collectively,
you couldn't ask for any more from the bullpen. They should be able to use this
as a springboard."
Then there was the matter of a tiny, but important milestone. For the first
time this season, the Tribe assured itself of a winning series. The Indians
have taken the first two of this three-game set that concludes today.
"That does have significance," Wedge said. "Winning series is
what it's all about."
And there was something else. For only the third time this season, the Tribe
won consecutive games, making that elusive three-game winning streak a possibility
this afternoon.
So it was a gloriously cloudy and long (4 hours, 7 minutes) day at the ballpark
for the Wahoos, for whom nothing comes easily. At least so far.
"For me, this is big," Crisp said. "I've been coming out early,
trying to get into the swing of things. This can be a confidence builder."
The winning rally began with Lawton leading off the 13th with a single against
Mike DeJean. Alex Escobar bunted the runner to second, and Lou Merloni was walked
intentionally.
Up came Crisp, who entered the game in the 11th inning as a pinch runner and
was thrown out trying to steal. In his first at-bat, Crisp took a strike from
DeJean, then slapped the game-winner into right.
"It's not like I hit a Travis Hafner screamer through the hole, an ESPN
ball," Crisp said. "The right fielder had to come in and get it, so
I knew Matt would score."
But why did the game have to last so long? C.C. Sabathia started and worked
seven innings, giving up only four hits, including a solo homer by Melvin Mora
in the sixth inning that trimmed the Indians' lead to 2-1.
Sabathia missed a start because of irritation to his left biceps tendon. Because
of that, Wedge limited him to 85 pitches against Baltimore.
That meant the relievers would get their chance to keep the lead or blow it,
and they did both.
No sooner had Sabathia headed for the showers than White gave up the tying run
in the eighth on a walk, steal and Mora's RBI single. So it was more of the
same, another member of the bullpen with blame written all over his face.
But Rafael Betancourt pitched a scoreless ninth, and Jack Cressend gave up two
hits but retired four more batters to get into the 11th.
Scott Stewart, one of the primary culprits in the bullpen's collapse, finished
the 11th without the sky falling but gave up a single to start the 12th.
Then, it was Chad Durbin's turn. Durbin is a career starter who is learning
to adapt to the bullpen. He got out of trouble in the 12th and began the 13th.
But with one out, Miguel Tejada singled and advanced to third on Rafael Palmeiro's
single. Luis Matos followed with a fly ball to shallow center. Tejada broke
for the plate, and Escobar threw him out to end the inning.
Durbin made the case for the bullpen.
"We believe in ourselves, regardless of any single outing," he said.
"You have to have a short-term memory, and I'm just learning to do that."
The fans and the media tend to remind players of their misdeeds, especially
if they are repeated.
"It would be nice if all that stuff would dissipate," Durbin said.
"But you have to man up for what happened, and then you have to forget
about it and learn from the past."
Collectively, the bullpen worked six innings, allowing just one run, six hits
and three walks.
"We're out there (in the bullpen) thinking that every time one of our guys
goes out there, that he's going to get everybody out," Durbin said.
One of these days, it might even happen.
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