Cleveland Indians closer Brad Hand is going through a rough patch that includes three blown saves over his last four appearances. He blew a save chance on Wednesday night that cost Cleveland in a 4-3 loss to the New York Mets in 10 innings, one that may have been avoided if he hadn’t committed a mental mistake.
Hand entered the game in the bottom of the 10th with his Indians leading 3-2. He allowed a double, sac bunt, and intentional walk that put runners on the corners with one out. Hand then induced a ground ball from Michael Conforto, but he failed to cover first base. Carlos Santana fielded the ball and went to second looking for the game-ending double play, but Francisco Lindor had nowhere to go after that because nobody was covering first.
Conforto Ties The Game At 3 #LFGM #LGM pic.twitter.com/n03VbYMjO1
— Jared Coalmon (@jared_coalmon93) August 22, 2019
Hand was supposed to cover first and would have given the Indians the opportunity to end the game on that play had he been there. He said after the game that he was expecting Santana to throw home, which is why he was late getting to first base.
"Just not getting the job done right now, and I need to be better."
Brad Hand explains his side of the story regarding the ground ball in the 10th and the struggles he's had on the mound. pic.twitter.com/7JSroSBJd6
— SportsTime Ohio (@SportsTimeOhio) August 22, 2019
That’s brutal. When you’re going through a tough time and get a double-play ball that can help you end the game, the last thing you want is a mental mistake to prevent you from winning. But that’s exactly what happened as the Mets got two hits in a row to win the game 4-3 in a walk-off. Making matters worse, the Indians had an opportunity to pick up ground in the division as the first-place Twins also lost.
