MLB: Cleveland Indians Complete the Sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays

Four days ago, the Indians were mired in a ten-game slump and were two losses away from tying the longest losing streak in Indians history. Now, they head into the All Star break on a four-game winning streak after sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays.

A 5-2 win was a nice closeout to an otherwise disappointing first half of the season. Jeremy Sowers was erratic through four innings, walking seven hitters, but holding Tampa to two runs on three hits. He also struck out eight, bailing himself out of a multitude of trouble. He ended up with a no-decision, leaving the game with the score tied 2-2.

The Rays scored one in the second and the third. The Rays' second inning typified Sowers outing. He struck out the side, but issued the free pass four times, thus giving up a run. 

In the third, the Rays scored again after Riggans single-scored Pena.

In the bottom of the third, the Indians strung together three straight singles for their first run. Franklin Gutierrez started the hit parade. Jamey Carroll was the second single. Then, Ben Francisco single-scored Gutierrez and moved Carroll over to third. Finally, Jhonny Peralta sac-flied Carroll in, and it was 2-2.

Sowers almost handed the lead right back. He issued a pair of walks with one out in the fourth, but buckled down and struck out two, helping himself out of a jam. That was it for Sowers, but he was good enough to keep things tight.

Tom Mastny came in for the fifth, went two full innings without giving up a hit, and secured a win in the process.

Edwardo Mutica, Rafael Perez, and Masa Kobayashi duplicated Mastny's lock-down pitching. Mutica and Perez registered holds, and Kobayashi nailed down the save.

The Indians scored two in the fifth on a Peralta homerun with Sizemore on.

In the sixth, they got the last run of the game via the long-ball through Andy Marte.

The Indians put up five runs on nine hits. Marte paced the Indians with two hits and an RBI, while Peralta put up one hit and accounted for three RBI.

This was an extremely strong effort from the bullpen and the offense.   

There were 29,700 witnesses who saw the sweep live. The Indians' season resumes on Friday, July 18 in Seattle for three games, and moves to Anaheim after that.