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ANAHEIM, Calif. – The post-season Indian quest may have taken a sudden turn.
The Indians sent Brad Hand closer to Cleveland for an MRI late into the Tueaday night. Hand struggled since the break of the stars. Head coach Terry Francona used Nick Wittgren, Oliver Perez and Adam Cimber to finish the ninth inning on Wednesday night as the Indians completed a three-game sweep of the Angels with a 4-3 win at Anaheim Stadium.
The Indians swept the Halo 6-0 season series to put the finishing touches on a 5-1 trip that began with a three-game series in Minneapolis against the Twins. Regarding the Twins, they lost to the Nationals on Wednesday night, while the Indians moved up within four games of first place in the AL Central.
The Indians, who started this trip after 6 1/2 games behind the Twins, had 2 1/2 games. The Twins will face the Nationals again on Thursday before heading to Cleveland for three games starting Friday night. This should make an interesting series.
In the card race, the tribe remained half a game behind the A's, who beat the American West Astros, 5-3. The Rays saw their lead over first place wild card slip half a game over the A and one game against the Indians in a 10-9 defeat against Texas. The Rays had won six in a row before Tuesday's loss.
Francona said that the MRI in hand came back clean.
"The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine has come back clean and we are delighted," said Francona. "Now, we just have to rebuild it. How that will happen will be determined by what he feels. He had treatment today and tomorrow. We'll see how he shows up on Friday. "
When asked if he should attend a close committee for the last 15 games of the season, Francona replied, "From now on, no. For the next few days, yes. I do not think it will be more than that (for Hand). When you perform an MRI on a person who has thrown as much as him and that's coming back clean, you feel good.
When asked if the problem of Hand's left shoulder or elbow was the problem, Francona said, "It's just a kind of tired arm." He just did not bounce back. The slit of his arm is lowered. You can not treat guys when it suits you. You must make the right choice whatever the time of the year. "
Hand has converted 34 of 39 chances to save, but in his last 19 games he has a time of 6.00. In this sequence, he allowed 26 hits and 12 earned runs in 18 innings.
Although there are serious questions about Hand's availability for the stretch, Carlos Carrasco (5-7) has made his best appearance since being activated on September 1st. He also won.
Carrasco, making his fifth appearance since retiring from the injury list, relieved starter Adam Plutko in fifth place after a Shohei Ohtani victory that reduced the lead of the 4/2 tribe. Carrasco, after leading Albert Pujols at the beginning of his appearance, launched 1 2/3 scoreless innings. He hit two, walked two, and did not hit any.
It is still unclear what kind of impact Carrasco, diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia in June, may have on the tribe's quest for October. They originally thought that he could help at the end of the innings, but the results were mixed. Francona may be able to spot him as he did with Andrew Miller or Cody Allen. When a hot spot in a game goes off, regardless of the round, he could use Carrasco to turn it off. This is what Carrasco has just done after the 18th match of the season for Ohtani.
"This is the best I've launched since I was activated," said Carrasco. "It was a good situation right there. I entered, I gave two steps, but I did not give up any points and I think it's more important.
"Tonight was different because I participated in more than one race and I felt good. All I can do to keep the score there and give the team an opportunity to win games. "
The Indians scored very early on the southpaw Dillon Peters (3-3, 4.83). Carlos Santana dominated in the first goal, twice right inside the right field post. It was the 34th circuit of Santana, equaling his career record with the Tribe in 2016.
The tribe added three more races in the second. Jason Kipnis started the heat, took second place in the first of Peters's two catches and Kevin Plawecki's double. Francisco Lindor, an offside later, cleared the left wall for his 31st circuit, second in as many games and fourth in the trip.
The Lindor striker on Tuesday night was his fourth Indian to have scored 30 or more selections in at least three consecutive seasons, joining Jim Thome, Albert Belle and Manny Ramirez. It's a bit high when the conversation turns to the powerful hitter of Tribe.
Plutko shot just 76 shots, but Francona won with a lost goal after Ohtani's homerun. He allowed two runs on six hits in 4 1/3 inning. Plutko hit three and walked two.
Kole Calhoun's eighth-ranked leader Tyler Clippard reduced the Tribe's lead to 4-3. Nick Goody, Wittgren, Perez and Cimber have kept the lead in the last two rounds. Cimber deserved the safeguard.
FOLLOWING
The Indians are on holiday Thursday before opening their last game of the series with a big three-game series against the Twins starting Friday.
Right-hander Aaron Civale (3-3, 1.93) will start Friday for the tribe. The Twins will counter with right-handed Jake Odorizzi (14-6, 3.60). The game time is 19:10 SportsTime Ohio, WTAM and WMMS will carry the game.
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