Uribe’s hesitation proves costly

BOSTON — Given the way the Indians have played of late, a four-run deficit did not seem insurmountable on Saturday. The Indians have pulled off a handful of comebacks in recent weeks, fueling confidence in the dugout that no lead is safe for the opposition.

In the seventh inning of Saturday’s 9-1 loss to the Red Sox, though, a mental mistake by veteran third baseman Juan Uribe opened the floodgates and turned a close game into a blowout. Standing at his locker in Fenway Park’s cramped visitors’ clubhouse after the defeat, which ended Cleveland’s five-game winning streak, Uribe made no excuses for his misstep.

“This is my fault,” Uribe said.

Truth be told, Cleveland had been playing with fire all afternoon with Boston’s potent lineup. By the end of the game, the Red Sox had 17 at-bats with runners in scoring position and had loaded the bases on three occasions. For the most part, the Tribe had limited the damage, allowing four runs in the six frames leading up to Boston’s five-run breakout in the seventh.

Indians lefty Kyle Crockett took over in that inning and allowed two consecutive hits with one out, prompting an intentional walk to Jackie Bradley Jr. to load the bases. At that juncture, Tribe manager Terry Francona handed the ball to veteran Joba Chamberlain, who entered the evening with no home runs allowed and only one earned run relinquished through the season’s first six …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com