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Bullpen, bats bail out Tomlin’s busted start
- Updated: August 31, 2016
CLEVELAND — From the very first pitch, it once again was not Josh Tomlin’s night. The Indians right-hander immediately turned and watched as the ball Brian Dozier struck sailed over the left-center-field wall and crashed into the bleacher seats.
One inning later, Indians manager Terry Francona had seen enough, and he might now be weighing the team’s options for the rotation. Tomlin’s recent struggles persisted in ugly fashion, but Cleveland salvaged the situation with a 5-4 victory over the Twins, using a comeback on offense and 7 1/3 shutout innings from the bullpen to get the job done.
“Again, I put them in a hole early,” said Tomlin. “What got us the victory is the offense grinding it out and the bullpen doing an unbelievable job.”
Both Tomlin and the Indians know they can’t keep relying on that kind of formula.
Tomlin exited after just 1 2/3 innings, marking the shortest start of his career. All four runs were charged against him off seven hits, including Dozier’s home run, which was the Major League-leading 35th homer allowed by Tomlin this season. Ten of those shots have come in his past six games.
There is more at stake than correcting Tomlin’s performance right now. With the win, the first-place Indians maintained their 4 1/2-game lead in the American League Central, but the Tigers and Royals remain right on their heels with a month to play.
“It’s …
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