berita hari ini : Former Yankee Nick Swisher shrinks in AL wild-card game spotlight as Rays ... - New York Daily News Jared Wickerham/Getty Images Nick Swisher makes a nice play in the infield but struggles at the plate. RAYS 4, INDIANS 0 CLEVELAND — Three pitches. Three prodigious cuts. One inning-ending strikeout. Nick Swisher, who helped propel the Cleveland Indians back into the postseason for the first time in five years with a prodigious September, failed them in their most crucial moment of Wednesday night’s AL wild-card game against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays held a three-run lead in the seventh inning of their 4-0 victory at Progressive Field, and the Tribe had two on and two out when Joel Peralta relieved starter Alex Cobb to face Swisher. Jared Wickerham/Getty Images The Rays shut out the Indians and will now play the Red Sox in the ALDS. In one painful at-bat, the playoff-starved Indians fans got a taste of the October shortcomings that Swisher displayed during his years with the Yankees. He finished 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and two groundouts in Cleveland’s one postseason game. In 36 playoff games with the Yankees, he hit .162 with four HRs and seven RBI. “In a situation like that late in the game I was looking to hit one out of the ballpark,” Swisher said. “I got a first-pitch breaking ball and put a good swing on it. He gave me a split and then I chased that fastball up. I was just trying to help my squad there. It sucks to be in this spot and the sting hurts real bad right now.” The pitching-rich Rays are looking very dangerous as they advance to a division series meeting with the Red Sox that starts Friday in Boston. The top of the rotation — 17-game winner Matt Moore and ace David Price — is white hot. And Cobb, who threw 6.2 scoreless innings for the win, isn’t far behind.“We knew what we were getting into tonight,” Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. “They out-played us.” Cobb has had a great second half after getting hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of Kansas City’s Eric Hosmer on June 15. He missed two months with a concussion and returned to go 5-1 with a 2.41 ERA in his last nine regular-season starts. “I appreciated being back out there, and when I did get back, I vowed to never forget the feeling I had back home watching the team,” he said. “I wanted to leave it all out on the field. It’s been a whirlwind.” Jason Miller/Getty Images Danny Salazar, who allowed four hits and three runs over four innings, can’t look as Delmon Young rounds the bases. Yankee fans won’t soon forget Delmon Young in last year’s ALCS sweep by the Tigers when he had two big homers and six RBI. Young is on the Rays now and still has a penchant to mash. Indians rookie Danny Salazar had a crackling 100-mph fastball and retired the first six Rays, but Young crushed his first pitch in the third for a homer. Young’s nine postseason HRs since 2011 are the most in the majors. Desmond Jennings added a two-run double down the left-field line in the fourth, a play on which Evan Longoria showed Tampa Bay’s aggressive style on the bases by scoring from first base. Salazar flamed out at that point. When he gave up a leadoff walk to start the fifth, he was gone. Cleveland claimed the top wild-card slot by winning its last 10 games, although all came against sub-.500 teams. The only winning club the Indians faced in September was the Royals. Cobb was actually at his best when getting out of trouble. He escaped a bases-loaded jam with one out in the fourth by getting Asdrubal Cabrera to hit into a 3-6-1 double play. With runners at the corners and none out in the fifth, he got a Michael Bourn strikeout, a Swisher groundout and a Jason Kipnis comebacker. “We ran into a buzz saw tonight, man,” Swisher said. “When I think of Tampa, I think of pitching. They have so many good arms. We saw that tonight and we’re going home.” klik baca selanjutnya : bit.ly/1bsIJYX
Posted on: Thu, 03 Oct 2013 06:50:44 +0000
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