Nick Swisher stuck out his tongue, spread out his arms and soared up the first-base line as the Progressive Field crowd roared. His single into right field made the Indians walk-off winners Friday night, bringing a happy ending to a cold night.
It was a prophetic base hit for the Tribe’s biggest free-agent signing of the winter. Before his single gave the Indians a 1-0 victory over the White Sox, Swisher told Justin Masterson he would not let the pitcher’s complete-game masterpiece go to waste.
“Swish told me he was going to do it,” Masterson said. “And he went out there in the ninth and hit that game-winner for us.”
Swisher provided the final exclamation point, but it was Masterson who deserved the spotlight after a tightly contested duel with White Sox lefty Jose Quintana.
True to his nature, Masterson did not credit himself much for his swift shutout of Cleveland’s American League Central rivals. Instead, the preacher’s son praised the Lord for giving him the breath of life, and then praised left fielder Michael Brantley for throwing out Alex Rios at second base in the first inning, when Chicago’s right fielder caved to temptation and tried to turn a single into a double.
Masterson lauded the work of his catcher, Yan Gomes, and named just about every infielder, given their part in helping create 14 outs via ground balls.
Masterson left it to others to celebrate his stellar performance.
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