The Indians won their first series of the season. That is the main takeaway from Cleveland’s opening act north of the border. The other is that this new brand of offense already appears more resilient than the lineup assembled last season.
As for Thursday night, the Indians would probably prefer to quickly forget about what took place on the mound in the finale of this three-game series at Rogers Centre. Starter Brett Myers labored through a difficult season debut for the Tribe, putting too much pressure on Cleveland’s determined cast of hitters in a 10-8 loss.
“The only person at fault here is me,” Myers said.
It will not be too hard for the Indians to head to Tampa Bay with their chins up.
That is because there is this: the Tribe took two out of three in the much-anticipated season-opening set against an overhauled Blue Jays squad considered to be World Series contenders. That is not a bad way to get the year rolling for Cleveland.
In the first two games, starters Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez gave admirable efforts en route to consecutive victories. In the final game in Toronto, the lineup showed off its potential, churning out eight runs on 14 hits, including eight extra-base hits and two home runs. The group also hit .471 (8-for-17) with runners in scoring position in the loss.
“When you score eight runs, you’re probably going to win more than you’re going to lose,” said Mark Reynolds, who launched a home run in the fourth inning. “The Blue Jays have a great team and we came in on the road and took two out of three. Last night and tonight, we kept battling back.
“That’s a sign of a good team. We didn’t get down on ourselves. Hopefully we can just keep it rolling.”
The Indians’ lineup did what it could to keep pace with Toronto’s relentless attack, answering the Blue Jays blow for blow for most of the night. Toronto’s outpouring, which included five towering homers, simply proved too much to match as the game wore on.
Myers was victimized by four of the blasts — two by J.P. Arencibia, one apiece for Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, three of which landed in the second-deck — and was chased from the game after only 68 pitches. The veteran right-hander had not yielded four homers, a career worst, since June 29, 2010.
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