Saturday Recap: Michael Brantley notches hit #200 but Indians lose to Tampa Bay 2-0

The Indians get another great outing from Carlos Carrasco, but can't get score any runs.

Game 161: Rays 2, Indians 0

Box Score

Tribe falls to 84-77

Even though the Indians were eliminated last night, they played tonight's game like it was meaningful. All the healthy regulars played, and even Bryan Shaw made an appearance in the eighth inning for some reason (and in the process, set an franchise record for appearances in a season). But even with all hands still on deck, they did nothing against Alex Colome and the Tampa Bay bullpen. Even with the departure of David Price, Tampa Bay's pitching staff looks loaded, with a starting rotation of Chris Archer, Alex Colome, Alex Cobb, and Drew Smyly. Like with the Indians, the Rays' 2015 success seems predicated on how much offense they'll be able to generate.

The Indians managed just five hits, but one of those hits belonged to Michael Brantley, and it was an important hit. No, not because it had anything to do with the outcome of tonight's game, but because it was 200th hit of the season. After the hit, the 33,000 fans at Progressive Field gave Brantley a well-deserved standing ovation.

(the guy who said "200" in the clip was Jaret Wright, by the way)

Kenny Lofton, the last Tribe player to get 200 hits in a season, quickly responded:

Congrats to Micheal Brantley for his #200 hits for the season a great accomplishment..great job my brotha ..!!

— Kenny Lofton (@Kenny_Lofton7) September 27, 2014

Just 28 times in Cleveland history has a player notched 200 hits in a season, but Brantley's 200 knocks are special because of what he also did at the plate. Brantley became just the 8th Cleveland player to collect at least 200 hits and post at least a 150 OPS+ in a season, and the first player to join that elite company since Al Rosen did it in 1953. The complete list:

• Napoleon Lajoie (1904, 1906, 1910)


• Shoeless Joe Jackson (1911, 1912)


• Tris Speaker (1916, 1920, 1923)


• Ed Morgan (1930)


• Hal Trosky (1934)


• Earl Averill (1936)


• Al Rosen (1953)

Carlos Carrasco ended his season allowing just one earned run in 7.2 innings, striking out 10 in the process. The Rays got on the board in the fourth thanks to an error by Lonnie Chisenhall, and they added another run in the eight when James Loney reached on an infield single (Mike Aviles made a nice play to get to the ball, but Carlos Santana couldn't snag the hop at first). Carrasco's rebirth as a starting pitcher ranks with several other encouraging developments that should carry over into 2015. The rotation, which was a major question mark heading into the season, should be seen as a strength heading into next season.

The season ends tomorrow afternoon. Although the Indians won't be playing in October, 2014's end seems as sudden as a playoff loss.

Win Expectancy Chart

Source: FanGraphs

Roll Call

Game Thread

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