When you play a doubleheader and both of your starting pitchers go nine strong innings without giving up a run, and you turn an unassisted triple play, you should win both games, unless you are the 2008 Cleveland Indians.
The Indians got gems from Fausto Carmona in the afternoon affair and Cliff Lee in the nightcap, but only managed a 3-0 win for Carmona, and rewarded Lee with a no decision and a 3-0 loss for his effort.
Lee went nine shutout innings, giving up seven hits and two walks, but it was all for naught. The Indians wasted a number of amazing defensive plays, including two in the ninth inning with Victor Martinez's snare of a liner and Franklin Gutierrez's diving catch to end the inning.
The Tribe also wasted Asdrubal Cabrera's turning of the 14th unassisted triple play in major league history, as he snared a Lyle Overbay laser beam in the fifth inning.
The offense continues to kill the club as the Indians managed only three hits in 10 innings of the second game, and had no one reach base after Victor Martinez led off the fourth inning with a single. After that, 19 Indians went to the plate and 19 Indians made an out. Travis Hafner hit a bloop-double down the left field line in the 10th to end the string, but that was as big of a threat as the Indians mounted in game two.
We also got to see that when the Cleveland Indians' closer comes into a game with the game tied, even if his name isn't Joe Borowski, bad things happen. After Lee's nine dazzling innings, Rafael Betancourt came on for the 10th, and promptly gave up two singles. After a sacrifice bunt, intentional walk, sacrifice fly, and another single, it was 3-0 Toronto, and all hopes of an Indians' sweep were dashed.
Betancourt now sports a 6.89 ERA and has yielded 21 hits in 15 2/3 innings on the campaign.
The Tribe notched a 3-0 win in the afternoon contest. David Dellucci delivered a clutch two-out single in the sixth for a 1-0 lead, and Asdrubal Cabrera drilled a two-run HR in the seventh for a 3-0 lead. Fausto Carmona's four walks were the only blemish on the five-hit complete-game shutout he tossed. But it still was a grind as the Indians managed five hits in the afternoon affair, despite the victory.
The Indians got above .500 for the first time since Apr. 3, when they were 2-1, by winning game one, but promptly failed to stay there for more than four hours with the loss in the nightcap. They now sit at 19-19, still muddled in the middle of the AL Central pack, unable to get over the proverbial hump that is .500.
They have won two series in a row, against the Yankees and Blue Jays, both solid AL East foes. They continue to look a little better with each recent contest, but the fact that the offense seems to disappear with the best pitching performances is maddening to all Cleveland Indians fans.
The Oakland A's come in for a three-game set, followed by a six-game road trip to Cincinnati and Chicago (AL). Let's win a couple more series and get the offense back on track before we come back to The P for Memorial Day Weekend.
It's Tribe Time now. Believeland.
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5 months ago
I don't know if we can really kill the offense on the second game, or even the first game. Shaun Marcum pitched good, and he has all season. Burnett was also pitching well, but we managed to get to him.
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