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CLEVELAND - Carlos Carrasco has gone from the starting rotation to the bullpen to back to being a starter again. Geoff Schwartz Jersey Store . Hed like to keep it that way. "Thats my job," he said. "I just want to stay there." Carrasco improved his job security by shutting out AL East-leading Baltimore on three hits over seven innings, lifting the Cleveland Indians to a 6-0 victory over the Orioles on Saturday night. Carlos Santana hit a three-run homer in the first off Ubaldo Jimenez (4-9) and Michael Brantley added a two-run shot in the fifth as the hot-and-cold Indians won for the fifth time in six games. Jimenez, who pitched the Indians to the post-season in 2013, lost to his former teammates for the second time this season. Carrasco (5-4) got two inning-ending double plays to avoid early trouble and then retired 15 straight after giving up a leadoff double in the third. Its the second straight strong outing for Carrasco, who won for the first time in 17 decisions — since June 29, 2011 — in his last start at New York. "I think hes better equipped to pitch," manager Terry Francona said. "I think he feels good about himself. I think being out in the bullpen helped him a lot. It let him settle in and get his confidence and kind of understand who he is. Its a big lift for us." The Orioles have lost consecutive games for the first time since June 28-29. Inconsistent starting pitching has been a problem for the Indians all season, and Francona has been waiting for someone to step up. Carrasco could be the guy. The right-hander, who went 0-3 with a 6.95 ERA in his first four starts, hasnt allowed a run or walk in 12 consecutive innings. Carrasco has always had electric stuff and the Indians have held out hope he would figure things out. Pitching exclusively out of the stretch, he threw five shutout innings against the Yankees last week, and if he continues to pitch the way he has lately, hell hang onto his starting job for a while. "We talked about him wanting a spot in the rotation this spring," Francona said, "and now he has gone out and earned it by what hes done. That should be really rewarding for him because he deserves it." Clevelands unreliable defence — the Indians lead the majors in errors — turned double plays to end the first and second innings behind Carrasco. In the ninth, right fielder Chris Dickerson ran down Steve Pearces shot to the track, preserving the shutout. Santana staked Carrasco to a 3-0 lead in the first with his 21st homer, a 422-foot shot to centre. Jimenez came in leading the AL in walks, and he put Michael Bourn and Jose Ramirez on to start the inning. One out and a passed ball later, Santana made his former batterymate pay with a towering blast into the shrubs behind the centre-field wall. "He didnt get off to a good start," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of Jimenez. "He walked the first two guys and the next thing you know were down 3-0." Brantleys 18th homer capped a three-run fifth to make it 6-0. KLUBERS REST Not wanting to take any chances with ace Corey Kluber, the Indians will push his next start back to Thursday at Minnesota. Kluber has been the ALs most dominant pitcher for two months. SANTANAS SHOT: His homer was the 92nd of his career, tying him with former Indians All-Star catcher Sandy Alomar for 28th on the teams career list. TRAINERS ROOM Orioles: CF Adam Jones played despite soreness in his right hand, which was hit Friday night when he tried to get down a bunt. Indians: Bourn returned to centre field and the leadoff spot after being sidelined since July 6 with a troublesome hamstring. He went 0 for 2 with a walk, sacrifice and scored once. UP NEXT Orioles RHP Kevin Gausman, 2-1 with a 3.21 ERA in five starts, will try to salvage the series finale. For the Indians, enigmatic RHP Danny Salazar will be recalled from the minors to make his 13th start. The hard thrower began the season in Clevelands rotation. Ken Panfil Jersey Store . Greece was on the wrong end of a 3-0 rout to Colombia in its first game of the tournament. They surrendered a goal in just the sixth minute of the contest, and despite some promising attacking play, failed to crawl back into the match. Japan, on the other hand, struck first in its match with Ivory Coast, with Keisuke Honda putting his side into the lead in the 16th minute. Richard Bell Jersey Store . This week, topics cover the Blue Jays rotation, the futures John Gibbons and Alex Anthopoulos, protecting pitchers and a bonus question on his predictions for the MLB playoffs.The Formations Knowing he would be facing one of the premier teams in MLS, Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson elected to revert back to his 4-2-3-1 formation for their away match with Real Salt Lake. Jonny Leveron replaced skipper Jay Demerit in defence, while Kekuta Manneh replaced Pedro Morales; both Demerit and Morales were rested for the match, and stayed behind in Vancouver. Real Salt Lake head coach Jeff Cassar made one change to the team that defeated the Portland Timbers 1-0 the week previous. Joao Plata replaced Olmes Garcia up front, where the diminutive Ecuadorian partnered RSLs top goalscorer, Alvaro Saborio. The Game To suggest the Whitecaps were flat in the opening 45 minutes would be an understatement – they were very poor. They did not make effective use of the space that was available to them (which was in wide areas) and they were half a step slow and half a step late defensively. The result was that the Whitecaps trailed 2-0 after just nine minutes, with RSL getting goals from both Plata and Saborio. RSL very nearly went in at the break up 3-0, but David Ousted did well to deny Plata a second goal just before the halftime whistle. The opening half was a perfect exhibit of the challenge faced when fielding a very young lineup - those players dont yet have the experience to figure out how to fix things when they go wrong on the pitch. Of the six attacking players who started the match, only Kenny Miller (34) can be classified as an experienced player. Matias Laba (22), Gershon Koffie (22), Russell Teibert (21), Kekuta Manneh (19) and Darren Mattocks (23) are young, talented professionals – but when things go wrong, they cannot rely on previous experience to help them turn things around. In the first half, the movement of RSLs midfield caused problems for the Whitecaps. Despite having a numerical advantage, Vancouver struggled to put pressure on the ball. When the Whitecaps did manage to regain possession, they were too often wasteful, giving the ball straight back to RSL, as Teibert did on the opening goal. Offensively, they were never able to use their speed in transition to maximum effect. In Darren Mattocks and Kekuta Manneh, Vancouver had the two quickest players on the pitch. However, neither player was able to use that speed to their advantage, as Vancouver never found their passing rhythm. Both fullbacks, Jordan Harvey and Steven Beitashour, were cautious in their approach when Vancouver had the ball. This was entirely understandable, given Real Salt Lakes formidable home record and their early 2-0 lead. The result was that far too often Vancouver failed to use the only space that RSL conceded to them, which was out wide. This played into RSLs hands perfectly, as their two wide midfielders, Ned Grabavoy and Jake Mulholland, simply dropped slightly deeper to sit alongside Kyle Beckerman when Vancouver tried to build in midfield. The RSL defenders, who compressed the space between lines, supported this tight midfield unit. This meant that there was very little space in which Vancouver could play. Real Salt Lake controlled virtually the entire first half. Robinson and his coaching staff showed their worth once they could sit the players down at the break. There, the coaches were able to correct the mistakes that were being made and give their young players renewed belief in their abilities. The result was a completely different performance from Vancouver in the second half. The Whitecaps aggressively closed space in midfield, pressured the RSL defenders and midfielders into conceding possession, and denied both Plata and Saborio a sight at goal. While Saborio struck the bar with a header in the 80th minute after a quickly taken free kick, the home side appeared content to defend their 2-0 lead. Vancouver showed better control of the ball and much better use of space in wide areas in the second half. Bobo Wilson Jersey Store. . There was a confidence in the Whitecaps team that wasnt present in the opening forty-five minutes – a belief that they could not only compete with RSL, but also get something out of the game. Robinson again used his substitutes effectively, bringing Erik Hurtado, Nicolas Mezquida and Sebastian Fernandez into the game. And it was the two Uruguayans – Mezquida and Fernandez – who clawed back a point for Vancouver. Mezquida scored Vancouvers first goal in the 86th minute, knocking home a poor rebound from RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando after great work from Darren Mattocks. Fernandez scored the equalizer deep into stoppage time, ripping a strike from 35 yards past a flat-footed Rimando. The RSL goalkeeper – along with his teammates – will be left to ponder just how they managed to throw away two points after failing to extend their dominant first half performance into the second. The Positives The second half performance from Vancouver was exactly what their fans want to see – positive, confident, attacking play. The pace in Vancouvers team is frightening; Mattocks, Manneh and Hurtado are all likely in the leagues top 10, if not the top 5, in sprint speed. It is really about finding a way for these players to use their assets to maximum effect, which Vancouver did really well in the second half. Good performances from all three substitutes will give Robinson and his coaching staff some decisions to make in choosing their starting lineup for their next match at home on May 3rd against the San Jose Earthquakes (TSN2, 6:30pm ET, 3:30pm PT). It is an enviable problem to have, as every coach much prefers to have too many good players from which to choose than not enough. Real Salt Lake put on the best forty-five minutes of football that I have seen from a team so far this season in the opening half. The concern for Jeff Cassar is finding a way to extend that performance over the course of the game. While they havent found the secret to this yet, RSL is still unbeaten this season. The Negatives Poor performances all around for Vancouver in the opening half, but the silver lining is that this can be used as a teaching moment. With such a young squad of players, the biggest challenge for Robinson is to develop his promising youngsters into seasoned professionals who can solve problems on the pitch, without always requiring the intervention of the coaching staff. This isnt a job that will happen overnight, and the players will now be expected to reflect on what they did differently in the second half that they werent doing in the first. As long as the players are able to learn from their mistakes, the opening forty-five minutes can be looked back on as a valuable lesson. Nick Rimando has been sensational for Real Salt Lake this season, so he can be forgiven for having a 10-minute spell to forget at the end of the game. He should have prevented both of Vancouver goals, and on any other day would likely have done so. The Star Man This was the best performance I have seen from Erik Hurtado. The youngster has incredible speed, but is still learning how to best utilize his prized asset. He made a big impact coming off the bench in last weeks 2-2 come-from-behind draw with the Los Angeles Galaxy, and while he didnt score in that game or against Real Salt Lake, he made a very meaningful contribution on Saturday. His willingness to run in behind stretched the RSL back line and created space for his midfielders to operate, effectively changing the game. He is still very raw and has a great deal of learning to do, so it will be important for him to seek out the coaching staff to carry on that education. But he is certainly showing exciting potential at this moment in time as a second half substitute that can change the game. ' ' '
- Created: Mar 12 '20
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