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(continuation)
TOP OF THE 6TH - CLEVELAND BLUES
* ...and that makes it four pitches he's fought off now. Pappas with the full count delivery and Maris pops it up. Lau is camped out under it and makes the catch. That's one out for the Blues here in the 6th. Maris not having the happiest of times at the plate so far. He's 0-for-3 now.
* ...the 1-1 pitch and Avila smokes it down the left field line! He creamed that one and it's rolling to the wall. Avila pulls up at 2nd for a double, his second of the game! My word, he connected cleanly on that pitch. That makes him 2-for-3 in the game. Looks like some activity now in the Tigers bullpen.
* ...and Carrasquel grounds out to 3rd, Boyer with a rope-like throw over the diamond to 1st. Two down now for the Blues with Avila in scoring position.
* ...Harrell waiting on the pitch now, Pappas throws and it's a hit! That one clears the infield and drops in left! Avila's being sent home by the 3rd base coach and he scores with ease. Oh, my! The Blues are in front by two again at 3-1 and this crowd does not like it one bit! That's Harrell's second RBI of the afternoon after he brought Avila home in the 2nd on a groundout to 1st base.
* ...Mossi with the grounder to 3rd and Boyer makes the throw to 2nd to get Harrell and end the inning. But the Blues scored another run and now lead 3-1.
BOTTOM OF THE 6TH - DETROIT TIGERS
* ...but that's a ground ball to 1st and Wertz gathers it in, takes a few steps and plants his foot on the base, Kaline now 1-for-3 after that out.
* ...the 1-2 pitch to Boyer, swung on and crushed to right field! That one's out of here! A home run for Ken Boyer and the crowd erupts! The Tigers trail by just one run again! My, oh, my, Boyer got all of that pitch and it cleared the first half-dozen rows, at least! He touches home plate now and acknowledges the crowd's applause before disappearing into the dugout. That's Boyer's 33rd homer of the season and 109th RBI!
* ...Kuenn hammers that pitch to right field! It's going back, back, but Maris is under it and takes the catch a few yards from the wall. Wow, we nearly saw back-to-back home runs there!
* ...and Wertz swings at the first pitch. That's a routine flyball to left and Minoso only has to take a few steps to his right to glove it.
That's the end of the inning but Ken Boyer has put a real charge into this crowd with that home run! Hopefully it's something they can build on but they'll need a good 1-2-3 inning here to back it up.
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END OF THE 6TH - CLEVELAND BLUES 3, DETROIT TIGERS 2
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TOP OF THE 7TH - CLEVELAND BLUES
* ...and the numbers for Pappas: six innings pitched, seven hits and three earned runs. He walked two batters and struck out three and threw 107 pitches. Don Lee just about ready to deliver his first pitch of the game now...
...and that flyout continues an unfortunate afternoon for Minoso. He's now 0-for-4 and each time he's come to the plate he's been leading off an inning. His at-bats have come in the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th. Quite extraordinary.
* ...the 1-2 to Ward and he strikes out! My, Lee blew that one right by him! That's the second time he's struck out today.
* ...Mays with a grounder back to the mound and the ball bounces off the edge of Lee's glove and rolls toward 3rd! Mays hustles down to 1st and beats the throw from Boyer! Great hustle from the former Giant!
* ...Nixon waits on the pitch. Lee with the wind up, the delivery, Nixon swings and sends it to right! It drops wide of Kaline and is rolling to the wall! Mays got a great jump and he's rounding 3rd and going for home! Nixon pulls up at 2nd and Mays scores, the throw cut off by Boyer! My, my, once again the Blues have pushed their lead out to two runs! They're up 4-2! Nixon's 2-for-4 with two RBI. How costly will that bobble from Lee prove to be, I wonder?
* ...and he swings at the first pitch, a flyball to centrefield. Kuenn makes the catch and Maris is still without a hit in this game at 0-for-4. He shakes his head as he makes for the dugout but his team are in a pretty strong position here with a 4-2 lead as we arrive at the 7th innings stretch...
BOTTOM OF THE 7TH - DETROIT TIGERS
* ...and that's a base hit for Martin! A flyball to short left. Mossi is unhappy about that because he had an 0-2 count on him there.
* ...Lau lays down the bunt and it's a nice one! Martin advances to 2nd and the Tigers catcher is out at 1st but they've got a runner in scoring position.
* ...and Alusik grounds the first pitch he sees right back to Mossi. That'll be his only action of the game and it was over in an instant, which is a shame for him. Ttwo down now for the Tigers. They really needed a batter at-bat there from the pinch hitter and it's now up to Maxwell to try and bring Martin home.
* ...the 2-2 pitch from Mossi, Maxwell swings and misses! Mossi gets his third strikeout of the game. That's the end of the inning and this crowd is venting their frustration, a number of boos descending down upon the field. The Blues are now just six outs away from having themselves a three-game lead on top of the American League with three games left in the season.
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END OF THE 7TH - CLEVELAND BLUES 4, DETROIT TIGERS 2
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(to be concluded!)
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