Charles Nagy @ baseball-reference.com
Shutting down the Florida offense, Charles Nagy came 1 out shy of pitching a complete game shutout, with Brian Anderson coming on in relief for the very last out. Nagy struck out 8 and walked only 2. Anderson only came on in relief to help Nagy out of a two-on, two-out, bottom-of-the-ninth jam, and Cleveland notched a shutout victory against Florida.
Timeline 8 saw a solid outing by the Cleveland offense, backed up by 8 solid innings from Charles Nagy, who struck out 6 and gave up just 2 walks and 2 runs. Given the 12 insurance runs, Nagy's performance was just what Cleveland needed to come out on top.
Cleveland ripped Florida a new one in Timeline 18, going up 14-0 in the 4th inning. Nagy limited Florida to just 1 run in 8 innings, and despite a 9th-inning pitching meltdown by Eric Plunk, who gave up a walk, a single, a sacrifice run, and a 3-run home run, it was Nagy's lights-out performance, not Plunk's meltdown, that grabbed the headline, and in any case the Indians had plenty of breathing room, winning by a final score of 17-5.
In a dominant performance, Nagy pitched a complete-game 2-hitter in Timeline 46, holding the Marlins to just 3 total bases and striking out 6.
It took 109 pitches for Nagy to put away the Marlins for good, and Nagy was backed up by solid run support from Cleveland, starting early with Thome's 2-run home run off Al Leiter.
Nagy's Timeline 53 outing was modest, lasting just 6 innings, but Nagy notched 8 strikeouts, giving up just 1 run in the 2nd inning off of a walk to Bonilla and a double by Charles Johnson.
Meanwhile, Al Leiter pitched 8 innings of shutout ball in a tight game, getting the job done despite notching only 3 strikeouts.
In a tight game, Cleveland and Florida went into the bottom of the ninth with Florida ahead 2-1. Rob Nen came in to relieve Lieter, and in classic "Nenth Worst" fashion, issued a walk to David Justice, gave up a single to Alomar Jr. that put Justice on third, then surrendered the tying run on a wild pitch that was so wild Justice could have walked home.
Manny hit a sacrifice fly that moved Alomar Jr. to third, and Counsell got tied up on a routine ground ball to second by Tony Fernandez that allowed Fernandez to reach first, and allowed Alomar Jr. to score from third, costing Florida the game.
The course of Timeline 56 had eerie echoes with Timeline 18 for Nagy, albeit with slightly less run support. Cleveland was up 7-0 in the 5th, and like Timeline 18, Nagy ahd held Florida to just 1 run in 8 innings.
And then, just like Timeline 18, the Indians had to endure a 9th-inning pitching meltdown by Eric Plunk, who gave up a double and a walk before (mercifully) being pulled and replaced with Michael Jackson, who gave up a single, a sacrifice groundout, and a walk.
But ultimately, like Timeline 18, it was Nagy's 8 innings of lights-out pitching - not Plunk's and Jackson's 9th inning fiascoes - that grabbed the headlines, with Cleveland coming out on top 7-4.