Indians - Detroit : 10-4 Tribe : Cliff Lee Wins 19th.

It was a busy day for the Indians.  They won their ninth straight.  Cliff Lee picked up his nineteenth win.  Ben Francisco hit two home runs.  The Indians passed up the Tigers for third place in the AL Central, beating Detroit10-4, and I found out Edwardo Mujica is really Edward in a press box high atop Classic Park in Eastlake Ohio while watching the Lake County Captains whip up on the Hagerstown Suns.

The big Indians and the little Indians each scored six runs in the third inning, enough to win both games, and they were doing it live(Captains) and on TV(Indians) at roughly the same time.  Well, yes the Indians were doing it live to, just not in my little world.  My neck is killing me.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the Captains won 8-1,are sporting a five game winning streak, won their division in the first half, and will be heading to the playoffs.  If you live within traveling distance, the Lake Erie Captains are a fun night out.

So much for the commercial. 

Jamey Carroll opened up the scoring for the Indians during their six run third, hitting his first homer-run of the year, a solo shot to left on a full count.  1-0 Indians.  Kelly Shoppach made it back-to-back Jacks with his sixteenth of the year.  Asdrubal Cabrera was hit by a pitch, Grady Sizemore fouled out, and Cabrera swiped second.  Franklin Gutierrez was safe on an error, and that scored Cabrera.  Ben Francisco flied out, then Peralta singled Gutierrez over to third.  Detroit registered their second error of the inning, allowing Gutierrez to race home, while Peralta moved over to second.  David Dellucci joined in the hit parade with a double that scored Peralta.  Next batter Ryan Garko walked, and you had to wonder how long the Tigers would leave in just-called-up Chris Lambert.  Apparently it would be one more batter-worth.  Carroll, the first batter of the inning, hit a single, scoring Dellucci and moving Garko to third, giving Carroll two RBI’s of the six scored in this inning.  Aquilino Lopez came on in relief, stopping the madness by getting Shoppach to fly-out. 

Welcome to the big leagues kid.  Lambert would eventually earn the loss, going 2.2, giving up five hits, and getting absolutely no defensive support, as only two of the six runs that crossed the plate were of the EARNED variety.

In the top of the fourth, the Indians extended the lead to 8-0 on a Gutierrez single and a Francisco home-run. 

Meanwhile Cliff Lee was on cruise control and had only allowed three hits in the first four innings. 

The fifth would get a little shaky. Detroit finally got on the board thanks to a three-hit inning.  Marcus Thames led off the inning with a single and scored on a Ryan Rayburn double.  Thames came around to score as well when Brandon Inge singled.  Curtis Granderson was hit by a pitch, and Lee was really in a jam.  He got Polanco on a fly-out, and Ordonez on a ground-out and the inning was over. 

That would be all that Lee would surrender.  He picked up his nineteenth win going 7.2, allowing six hits and two earned runs while striking out four, just another ho-hum day for the potential AL Cy Young winner.

The Indians made it 10-2 in the seventh, as Gutierrez was hit by a pitch and Francisco again drove him home with the long-ball.  The two-homer night was Francisco’s 13^th and 14^th of the season.

The Tigers ended up tagging Edward Mujica(I wonder if he’s related to Edwardo?) for a pair in the ninth.  Thamessingled and Renteria homered. Mujica closed out the game.  Final score 10-4 Indians.

The finale of the three game series will decide who holds third place.  The Indians will be gunning for their third series sweep in a row, while Detroit hopes to get back to third by a half-game with a win. 

Righty Fausto Carmona (6-5, 4.4 ERA) goes up against righty Justin Verlander (10-13,4.42 ERA).  Game time is 7:05.

The Indians take Thursday off, and return home on Friday to face the Seattle Mariners, opening up a six game home stand that includes a three game set against the AL Central leading Chicago White Sox. 

The Indians are just three games under .500, a mark they haven’t whiffed since May 18^th when they were 22-22.