Jeanmar Gomez, doing nothing more exceptional than throwing strikes, pitches seven impressive innings as the Indians beat the Tigers, 7-2, to complete a four-game sweep at Progressive Field.
View full sizeIndians pitcher Jeanmar Gomez kept it simple during his spot appearance on Sunday, throwing strikes and limiting the Tigers to just two unearned runs over seven innings. Gomez will rejoin Class AAA Columbus on Monday.CLEVELAND, Ohio — For once it happened to the other guy.
How many times over the years have the Indians faced a fresh-faced rookie in his big-league debut and acted like they had no idea what to do with the bats they were holding?
Meet Jeanmar Gomez, green as an Iowa cornfield and on a day pass Sunday from Class AAA Columbus to start against the Detroit Tigers. Gomez, doing nothing more exceptional than throwing strikes, pitched seven impressive innings as the Indians beat the Tigers, 7-2, to complete a four-game sweep at Progressive Field. It was the Indians' first four-game sweep of Detroit at home since 1941.
For winning his big-league debut, Gomez got a game ball, a lineup card and a one-way ticket to Durham, N.C., where Columbus opens a four-game series on Monday night.
"We couldn't have scripted it any better," said manager Manny Acta. "This kid was lights out basically for his first time in the big leagues."
And his eyes were wide open. Win, lose or draw, Gomez, 22, knew the only way he was going to stay in the big leagues for more than one day was to throw a perfect game. That's what Acta said at Thursday's workout.
At that time Acta wasn't sure who would make Sunday's spot start. If he'd known for sure it was Gomez, he might have kept his mouth shut. Gomez threw a perfect game last year for Class AA Akron.
"He pretty much knew he was going back down after the game," Acta said. "I went to talk to him before the game and he already had his plane ticket in his hand. I felt that was the best way to do it."
View full sizeTigers center fielder Ryan Raburn crashes through the door of the Indians' bullpen after missing a jumping attempt at a liner from the Indians' Jhonny Peralta during the first inning. Peralta turne the hit into an inside-the-park three-run homer.Acta sent him out for the seventh inning with a 5-2 lead. Gomez was sitting at 80 pitches, but he'd just given up two unearned runs in the sixth because of an Andy Marte error at first base. The bullpen, however, had worked hard in the series and Acta was trying to buy them one more inning of downtime.
It took Gomez 14 pitches to retire the Tigers in order. He started the inning against veteran Carlos Guillen. The encounter lasted seven pitches at the following velocities: 85 mph, 84, 83, 87, 92, 84, and 91. Guillen grounded out to second on the 91 mph fastball.
Frankly, Gomez hasn't been that hot at Columbus. He's 6-8 with a 5.70 ERA. Catcher Carlos Santana, who has caught Gomez the past two years in the minors, said his two-seam fastball and slider moved much better Sunday than they did in Columbus.
"The kid is only 22," Acta said. "Most 22-year-old pitchers are still in Class A ball. Triple-A is a tough level to pitch at."
After the traditional shaving-cream pie in the face -- thank, you, Jensen Lewis -- and a group interview with reporters, Gomez still hadn't called home to Caracas, Venezuela.
"They were all at my grandmother's house," Gomez said. "She has a TV and they could watch the game."
Besides Gomez throwing 65 percent (60-for-93) of his pitchers for strikes, his relatives were treated to the rare sight of an inside-the-park homer by third baseman Jhonny Peralta. To call Peralta slow is to call Usain Bolt fast, but he made it home with the hit that made Gomez a winner.
Vermilion's Andy Oliver started for Detroit. Jayson Nix doubled high off the left-field wall with one out in the first. Santana walked and Austin Kearns struck out for the second out.
Peralta, who missed the first three games of the series because of a fever, drove a pitch off the center-field wall in front of the Indians bullpen. The ball bounced into left-center field, but Ryan Raburn couldn't give chase because he was stuck on the bullpen door. Left fielder Brennan Boesch was slow to react as Nix and Santana scored and Peralta gained speed.
Before Peralta even reached third, third base coach Steve Smith was waving him home.
"I wasn't expecting that," said a smiling Peralta.
He slid home as the relay throw came in high. It was Peralta's first inside-the-park homer, the Indians' sixth at Progressive Field and 271st in franchise history.
Peralta had to sprint again in the seventh when he scored from first on Matt LaPorta's double.
"We told Jhonny he sweated that fever out of him with all the running he did," Acta said.
Gomez hardly seemed to sweat at all.
