Bleacher Report - Articles by Ryan Mace

Brewers-Indians: Series Preview

Ryan Mace — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:37:28 -0400

The Milwaukee Brewers are coming into Cleveland to battle the Tribe in a three-game set starting Monday night at Progressive Field.

The Brewers (34-29) are coming off of a disappointing home stand and are looking to rebound against the Indians (29-36) who have played some much better baseball lately, winning their last three series, two against division opponents.

The Tribe took two of three from the White Sox and Royals and finished off another series win Sunday night against St. Louis.

Game one of the series has Milwaukee's Dave Bush (3-3, 4.58 ERA) against Cleveland's Carl Pavano (6-5, 5.40 ERA).

Pavano has been one of the main starting pitchers in Cleveland's rotation this year. But after throwing a complete game shutout against the White Sox, he had a rough outing against Kansas City. He threw 4.2 innings and allowing nine earned runs.

Pavano is looking to turn it around in game one.

Game two has Yovani Gallardo (6-3, 2.88 ERA) throwing against Jeremy Sowers (1-3, 5.10 ERA).

Both pitchers threw five innings in their last start, both allowing two earned runs. Look for both pitchers to find their "midseason" form in Tuesday's game two.

Game three schedules the Brewers' Jeff Suppan (5-4, 4.48 ERA) versus the Indians' David Huff (2-2, 7.39 ERA).

Huff and Suppan are both coming off of back to back wins and look to continue their success in what might be the rubber match in this series.

Cleveland is quietly crawling back into the AL Central race, now only six games behind the first-place Detroit Tigers. If they can pick up one or two more games, don't be surprised to see Cleveland contending for first place at or soon after the All-Star break.

Royals-Indians: Low-Flying Seagull Gives Tribe Series

Ryan Mace — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:27:29 -0400

The Cleveland Indians defeated the Kansas City Royals 4-3 in ten innings on Thursday night at Progressive Field.

The Indians were down much of the game due to the outstanding effort from Royals' starter Zack Greinke, who went 7 1/3 innings and gave up three earned runs. Despite this great effort, however, his ERA rose to 1.72 on the season, previously being 1.55.

Jeremy Sowers went five innings for Cleveland, giving up six hits and two earned runs, lowering his season ERA to 5.10.

Greg Aquino came in and did a wonderful job in relief for the Tribe, giving up one earned run and two hits in his three innings of relief.

The Indians drew first blood in the third inning when Victor Martinez lined a two-out Greinke fastball to center, scoring Luis Valbuena, making it 1-0 Indians.

The Royals were able to get started in the fifth inning. David DeJesus had the first RBI of the game for Kansas City, driving in Tony Pena, Jr. on a double to deep center. Billy Butler was able to get DeJesus home later in the inning on an RBI ground-out to short, giving the Royals a 2-1 advantage.

Miguel Olivo drove in and scored the only run off of reliever Greg Aquino in the eighth inning, hitting a solo home run to left field that made it 3-1 Royals.

The Indians, however, were not done.

They were able to rally in the bottom half of the inning to tie the ball game. Shin-Soo Choo grounded a double play ball with one away in the inning that tuned into disaster for K.C. Tony Pena, Jr. threw the ball away trying to turn the second half of the double play, allowing the inning to continue and Mark DeRosa to score, making it 3-2 Royals.

That brought up Jhonny Peralta, who promptly drove a deep fly ball off of the left field wall, scoring Choo and tieing the game at three a piece.

In the tenth inning, DeRosa and Martinez were able to reach to lead off the inning, bringing up Shin-Soo Choo.

Choo hit a line drive single up the middle that went right into a flock of seagulls that had congregated in shallow center field. As Coco Crisp went to field the single and try to throw out Mark DeRosa, the seagulls scattered, and one of them was hit on the wing, deflecting the ball past Crisp, and propelling the Indians to a comeback win to take the series.

An exciting end to this series leads into a big interleague match-up for Cleveland. They play host to the St. Louis Cardinals this weekend in Cleveland, and will be hosting ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball on Sunday night at 8:05 ET.

Game one of the series is scheduled for Friday night at 7:05, and the probables are Joel Pinero (5-6) for St. Louis and Tomo Ohka (0-0) for Cleveland.

Look for an exciting series to heat up this weekend, as the Indians are still chasing after first place Detroit.

Royals-Indians: Series Preview

Ryan Mace — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:42:11 -0400

The Kansas City Royals (24-32) are heading into Cleveland to take on the Tribe in a three-game set starting Tuesday night.

The Indians (25-34) are coming off of a series against, division foe, Chicago and are looking to take their second consecutive series against a division opponent as they took two of three from the White Sox.

The Royals, after a strong start to the season, have hit a rough patch lately and are looking to get back into a very winnable AL Central race.

Game One has Kansas City's Brian Bannister, (4-3, 4.97 ERA) who is coming off of a tough start against Tampa Bay, going 3.2 innings giving up nine hits and eight earned runs in his third loss of the season.

He is looking to turn things around on Tuesday night at Progressive Field, going against Cleveland's Cliff Lee (3-6, 2.96 ERA) who has given the Indians a stellar year so far.

This should be a good one for the fans as Cleveland is looking to get into contention.

Game Two has Gil Meche (2-5, 4.08 ERA) throwing for the Royals against Cleveland's Carl Pavano (6-4, 4.63 ERA). Meche has thrown two solid starts in a row, receiving a no-decision for his efforts in both, while Pavano is coming off of a complete game shutout of Chicago in his sixth win of the season.

Game Three probables are Zach Greinke (8-2, 1.55 ERA) battling against Jeremy Sowers (1-3, 5.40 ERA). Greinke has been the story of the year for Kansas City, but has lost some flair as hitters are starting to make adjustments on him. He has earned a loss and a no-decision in his last two starts.

Sowers is coming off of two solid outings, a loss to Chicago where he threw six innings giving up two earned, and a no-decision to New York, throwing five innings giving up one earned run.

Look for this to be the most exciting game of the series as Progressive Field should be energetic for this series.

Cleveland needs a big series win here, if not a sweep, to really get serious about winning this division.

The Royals are still in it but have hit the skids and are not looking as strong as earlier in the season. Look for the Tribe to play with some fire as the home crowd will want to see a winner this week.

Indians-White Sox: Pavano, Tribe Cruise to Shutout Win

Ryan Mace — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 23:28:12 -0400

The Cleveland Indians took Game 1 of a three-game set in Chicago Friday night by a score of 6-0.

The big story for Cleveland was starting pitcher Carl Pavano (6-4), who threw a complete game shutout, his first since 2005, giving up only three hits.

He struck out six White Sox, while allowing only two base-on-balls, lowering his ERA for the season to 4.62, as he is 6-1 in his previous eight starts.

However, there had to be a losing team.

Chicago's John Danks (4-4) went five and two-thirds, giving up six hits and five earned in the loss. Chicago's bullpen combined for three and a third, allowing one run.

A.J. Pierzynski was Chicago's lone bright spot, going 2-for-3 off of Pavano. The other hit came off the bat of lead-off hitter Scott Podsednik, going 1-for-4 on the night.

Mark DeRosa started the scoring for Cleveland in the third inning, driving a deep three-run shot into the left field stands at U.S. Cellular Field, making it 3-0.

Then, Travis Hafner made his return, in style, driving a liner into the right field seats making it 4-0. Ryan Garko followed with a solo shot of his own, adding to the Cleveland lead, now 5-0.

The last of Cleveland's scoring came in the top of the ninth when Josh Barfield grounded a single to left field, scoring Trevor Crowe.

Pavano's solid outing now has Cleveland some much-needed confidence heading into Game 2 of this series on Saturday afternoon, where Jeremy Sowers will throw for Cleveland against Gavin Floyd of Chicago.

Cleveland is now only six games back of Detroit, tied for fourth in the division with Kansas City.

Indians-White Sox: Series Preview

Ryan Mace — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:32:30 -0400

The Cleveland Indians are flying into Chicago to take on the White Sox in a three-game weekend series at U.S. Cellular Field.

The Indians are coming off of a tough stretch of baseball, losing two of three to Minnesota, and three of four to New York. In all, Cleveland has lost five of their last seven, and they find themselves seven back of first place Detroit in the AL Central.

Chicago is also reeling, losing three out of four to Oakland in their previous series. Chicago is in third in the AL Central, three and a half back of the Tigers.

Game one features Cleveland's pleasant surprise in Carl Pavano (5-4) against Chicago's John Danks (4-3). Both pitchers have had solid years for their respective clubs, and look to continue their quality pitching on Friday night.

Game two has Cleveland's Jeremy Sowers (1-2) up against Gavin Floyd (3-5) of the White Sox. Both pitchers have had high ERA's all year long, but are starting to find their form.

Sowers is coming off two consecutive good-looking outings, giving up one earned run in his last ten innings pitched. Floyd had a brilliant start against Oakland in his last outing, going seven innings and giving up two earned.

Game three schedules the Indians' David Huff (0-2), who has had some decent outings lately, throwing against former Indian, Bartolo Colon (3-5).

Colon has had two solid outings in a row. He went five and a third against Oakland in his last appearance, and six and two thirds against Los Angeles (AL), going 1-1 overall.

Look for this to be a heated series, as Cleveland looks to get back into striking distance of first place before the All-Star break. The next couple of series should let Cleveland know whether they will be buying or selling as we approach this year's trading deadline. Chicago will be looking to gain ground on Detroit as well in this very important AL Central showdown.

Indians-Twins: Minnesota Dominates Series Finale

Ryan Mace — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:11:02 -0400

The Minnesota Twins dominated, from the first pitch.

Cleveland's Fausto Carmona (2-6) came out of the gate looking very much like his new self, shaky and having trouble finding the zone.

The first inning put the game away early. The Twins scored four runs in the first, but it was the way they scored them that was so frustrating for the Indians. Carmona walked the first two hitters, bringing up Justin Morneau, who promptly drove in a run on an RBI single to left.

Then, Jason Kubel delivered the first blow, a three-run homer to dead center, making it 4-0, Minnesota.

After a quick top half of the second inning by Cleveland, the Twins were right back at it. With Morneau and Joe Mauer reaching base again, Kubel drove another three-run shot out of the yard, this one over the baggie in right, making it 7-0. Kubel would finish the game with six RBI.

Needless to say, that was all for Carmona. Two innings, five hits, seven runs allowed.

Tomo Ohka took over for Carmona, giving Manager Eric Wedge some much-needed length out of the bullpen. He threw five innings, giving up three earned runs. Jensen Lewis pitched the eighth.

In the other dugout, Scott Baker (3-6) had a great game, throwing seven innings, giving up six hits and only two earned runs. He had more run support than he needed, but nonetheless, it was a great start by Baker.

The Indians were able to put a few runs together in the sixth, when Jamey Carrol had an RBI single, scoring Luis Valbuena. Carrol was then able to score on a throwing error later in the inning.

In the seventh, Chris Gimenez, making his first career big-league start, homered to left center. That would be the Tribe's final run.

The Twins added another tally in the eighth on a sacrifice fly hit by Joe Crede. Crede making it 11-3, which would ultimately be the final score.

The Twins were able to gain ground in the AL Central standings, now 2.5 games back of first place Detroit, who was swept by Boston. The Indians remain seven games back.

The Indians enter a crucial weekend series with Chicago on Friday. The probables for Friday night's game are Carl Pavano (5-4, 5.29 ERA) throwing for Cleveland against Chicago's John Danks (4-3, 4.80 ERA).

Indians-Twins: Lee Stellar in Indians' Rout of Twins

Ryan Mace — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:02:28 -0400

The Cleveland Indians offense was ready to go on Wednesday night, putting up a 10 spot against Minnesota in a laugher, 10-1.

Cliff Lee (3-6) got some run support that he hasn't been used to so far this season. The Indians had averaged only 2.9 runs per game in Lee's previous starts, but the bats were there to back him up tonight.

Lee went a strong eight innings, spreading out seven hits, allowing only one earned run, striking out five Twins. Lee is usually good for a quality start, this one being his tenth straight, so this was not anything new for the Tribe.

The Indians were able to score first, creating a two-out rally in the third. Victor Martinez had the first RBI on a bloop single scoring Ben Francisco. Shin-Soo Choo then singled, scoring Jamey Carrol. Jhonny Peralta then cleared the bases with a three-run homer to left-center, making it a 5-0 ball game.

The Tribe added another run in the top of the fourth, on a Jamey Carrol single.

The only life shown out of the Twins was when Carlos Gomez confronted Lee after being taunted by the Indians starting pitcher. He was also able to contribute the only RBI of the game by Minnesota in the seventh on an RBI single.

The Indians added four more runs in the final two innings, making it a 10-1 final.

Rafael Perez pitched the ninth for Cleveland, walking one but retiring the side without giving up a run, striking out one Minnesota hitter.

Anthony Swarzak (1-2) picked up the loss for the Twins, throwing four innings giving up nine hits, and six earned runs.

The Indians were able to gain ground in the AL Central standings, picking up a game on first place Detroit, now seven game back.

The Twins remained three and a half games back of Detroit, tied with Chicago in second place in the division.

The rubber match of the series is scheduled to start at 1:10 ET tomorrow. Fausto Carmona (2-5) is scheduled to start for Cleveland against Minnesota's Scott Baker (2-6). Both pitchers have struggled to find their form this year, and will look to get on track in a big game tomorrow afternoon at the Metrodome.

Indians-Twins: Twins Take Crucial Game One

Ryan Mace — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:43:25 -0400

The Minnesota Twins outlasted the Cleveland Indians in game one of a crucial three game set in Minnesota 4-3.

The Indians desperately needed a win with Detroit, Chicago, and Kansas City losing on Tuesday night, but instead, another big opportunity wasted by the Tribe.

Kevin Slowey (8-1) pitched a great ball game, throwing six scoreless innings on his way to a fourth consecutive win.

David Huff (0-2) gave up nine hits and four runs in his five innings of work for Cleveland.

The Twins scored first in the third inning on a Denard Span RBI single to right, scoring Alexi Casilla. Mauer singled later in the inning, scoring Span, making it 2-0 Minnesota.

They added another two runs on Mauer's two-run homer in the fifth inning, making it 4-0 Twinkies.

The Tribe decided to get involved in the seventh when Kelly Shoppach drove in two runs on an RBI double to right field, scoring Luis Valbuena and Trevor Crowe, making it a 4-2 ball game. Then in the eighth, Victor Martinez hit his second home run in as many nights, driving a Jose Mijares pitch into the left field stands making it a one run affair.

Joe Nathan was summoned into the game to face pinch hitter Ryan Garko with two down in the eighth and Mark DeRosa on second. After a wild pitch, DeRosa moved to third. With the count in his favor at 2-0, Garko could only manage to hit a weak roller to second, squandering a great chance to tie the game.

Nathan allowed a two-out hit to Jamey Carrol in the ninth. Ben Francisco battled back from an 0-2 count to make it 3-2, but came up just short on a deep fly ball to left field, leaving the Tribe just short of a big win.

Tony Sipp had a good relief outing for Cleveland, throwing two 1/3 innings, surrendering two walks, no hits, no runs. Aquino relieved Sipp, pitching 2/3 of an inning giving up one hit, no runs.

Cleveland will look to bounce back on Wednesday night, with their ace Cliff Lee scheduled to start.

Indians-Twins: Series Preview

Ryan Mace — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:49:42 -0400

The Twins and Indians are set for a three-game series in Minnesota.

The Indians are coming off a four-game set with New York in which they dropped three of four.

The Twins have won six of their last 10, and come home after grinding out a long road trip.

In Game One, Cleveland has David Huff (0-1, 10.97 ERA) starting against Minnesota's Kevin Slowey (7-1, 4.11 ERA). Huff hasn't been spectacular for the Tribe, but he showed promise in his last appearance, throwing four shutout innings against Tampa Bay. This will be a big game in the series, as both teams look for momentum.

Game two features Cliff Lee (2-6, 3.16 ERA) throwing for Cleveland against Anthony Swarzak (1-1, 2.08 ERA) for the Twins. Lee has pitched some great ball games but has not received run support from the Tribe, scoring 2.9 runs per game when Lee starts.

Game Three is a matchup of struggling starters—Fausto Carmona (2-5, 6.60 ERA) for the Indians and Scott Baker (2-6, 6.32 ERA) for the Twins. Both will try to get on track as this could be the rubber match on Thursday afternoon.

This is a big series for Cleveland, which finds itself eight games behind Detroit in the AL Central. Look for some intensity from the Indians as they begin a short, but important six-game road trip, with both series versus division foes.

Yankees-Indians: Yanks Take Series in Cleveland

Ryan Mace — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 23:48:22 -0400

The New York Yankees claimed their series win in Cleveland on Monday night in front of a national audience on ESPN's Monday Night Baseball.

Joba Chamberlain (3-1) pitched a gem, throwing a career-high eight innings, giving up only two runs on only four hits, picking up his third win of the season.

The Yankees were able to draw first blood in the third when Nick Swisher grounded into a double play, scoring Derek Jeter.

Victor Martinez struck back in the fourth, driving a solo homer to right field, tying the game at one a piece.

After some good defensive innings, the seventh produced some offensive power. With the bases loaded, Swisher doubled to left field, scoring Pena and Gardner. Alex Rodriguez followed with a base hit off the glove of the diving shortstop, Asdrubal Cabrera. Mark Teixeira was picked off at second on the play.

That was plenty of support for Chamberlain. The Indians were able to add a run in the bottom of the seventh, but that was all.

Jeremy Sowers threw a strong five innings, giving up only one run on three hits. Aquino (1-1) picked up the loss in his ugly relief appearance. He pitched 1 1/3 innings, giving up only one hit but four runs due to his four walks. Luis Vizcaino and Jensen Lewis combined to finish the ball game for Cleveland.

Rivera pitched a perfect ninth, earning his eleventh save in twelve chances this season.

The Yankees lead in the AL East by one game over Boston. Cleveland remains in last place in the AL Central, now trailing by eight games with Detroit having the night off. Cleveland will look to rebound as they now have two series with division opponents coming up, starting with Minnesota tomorrow night.

Side-note:

The Yankees set a major league record playing their eighteenth errorless game in a row. The last error committed by a New York Yankee was back on May 13 when shortstop Ramiro Pena misplayed a ground ball in a game against Toronto.

Yankees-Indians: Tribe Walks Off with 5-4 Win

Ryan Mace — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:36:36 -0400

The Indians have taken game three of a four-game set with the New York Yankees at Progressive Field.

Jhonny Peralta stole the show in the ninth, driving in the game winning run on his third career walk-off RBI. He finished the day 3-for-4 with three RBI.

The Indians started off right in the third inning with a Peralta single, that scored two, and a Mark DeRosa sacrifice fly, scoring Ben Francisco, making it a 3-0 ball game.

They were back at it in the fifth, adding one more on a Shin-Soo Choo sacrifice fly to make it a 4-0 game.

Then New York struck back in the sixth.

Mark Teixeira came up with a man on and drove a two run home run to right field, making it a 4-2 game. But they weren't done. In the eighth inning, Teixeira came through again for the Yanks, driving a double to deep center field that scored Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter.

After a shaky, but scoreless ninth by Kerry Wood, the Tribe was looking for a walk off win. Phil Coke came in to relieve Chien-Ming Wang, who pitched well in his relief stint. Trevor Crowe started off the inning with a walk, followed by a sacrifice bunt by Asdrubal Cabrera to advance Crowe to second.

Then, Robertson came in to relieve Coke.

Ben Francisco drew a walk, bring up Jhonny Peralta, with a chance to win the game. Peralta took an easy approach, got his pitch, and drove it into left field, scoring Crowe for the game winner.

Kerry Wood (2-2) picked up the win for Cleveland, and New York reliever Phil Coke (1-3) picked up the loss.

Carl Pavano pitched solidly against his old club, throwing seven and 1/3 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits, striking out four; while Yankee starter Phil Hughes pitched five innings, giving up four runs on five hits.

The Indians will go for a series split Monday night at Progressive Field. Joba Chamberlain (2-1) is scheduled to start against Jeremy Sowers (1-2). It will be the first time Chamberlain has pitched in Cleveland since the "bug game" in the 2007 ALDS.

Yankees-Indians: Sabathia Takes Down Former Team in Return to Cleveland

Ryan Mace — Sat, 30 May 2009 23:47:17 -0400

The Yankees continued their winning ways in Cleveland on Saturday night, taking down the Indians 10-5.

C.C. Sabathia had a victorious return to his old home, pitching seven solid innings, allowing three runs, and striking out eight Indians. He didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning. He continues a hot streak on the mound, 4-0 in his last five starts with a 2.08 ERA.

Robinson Cano drove in three runs for the Yanks while Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon had two RBI a piece.

The Yankees broke out the bats in the fourth inning, scoring five to open up a 7-0 lead at Progressive Field. The Indians weren't able to rally back against the Yankees as they did against the Rays earlier this week.

The Indians scattered their run production at the plate, getting contributions from Ryan Garko, Jamey Carrol, Grady Sizemore, Shin-Soo Choo, and Ben Francisco.

A scary moment for the Indians came early in the game, when star catcher, Victor Martinez, fouled a Sabathia pitch off of his knee, forcing him out of the game. X-Rays were negative and Martinez is day-to-day with a bruise.

The Yankees added to their AL East lead, now leading the Boston Red Sox by 1.5 games.

The Indians dropped a game in the AL Central, now 7.5 games back of the first place Detroit Tigers.

Game three of the series has former Yankee, Carl Pavano, throwing for the Tribe against Phil Hughes. Pavano looks to have a strong outing, as the Indians are now looking at a series split at best.

Yankees-Indians: Pettitte Takes Down Lee in Pitcher's Duel

Ryan Mace — Sat, 30 May 2009 00:25:07 -0400

Both the Indians and the Yankees were hot coming into game one of a four game set at Cleveland, but New York was hotter.

The Yankees were able to make it happen Friday night at Progressive Field, beating the Indians 3-1.

Andy Pettitte threw five scoreless innings before being forced out of the game, with stiffness in his back, picking up his fifth win of the season.

Jorge Posada returned to the lineup for the Yanks Friday night, contributing two hits for New York.

Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth and picked up his ninth save in ten chances this season.

Indians starting pitcher Cliff Lee pitched into some jams tonight, but was able to work out of most of them. He worked six innings giving up three runs on nine hits.

Shin-Soo Choo had the Indians' only RBI of the night on a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning to score Mark DeRosa.

The win moved New York into first place in the AL East, while the Indians didn't lose any ground, remaining six and a half back of, first place, Detroit in the AL Central standings.

The Yankees also snapped the Indians' four-game winning streak, their longest of the season.

Yankees—Indians: Series Preview

Ryan Mace — Fri, 29 May 2009 11:41:44 -0400

After stealing away game one and the rest of the four game set from the Tampa Bay Rays, the Indians are heading into another four game set. This time, it's against the red-hot New York Yankees.

The Indians are riding a four game winning streak into Progressive Field on Friday night, and look to continue winning against the Yankees.

The Yankees are winners of ten of their last thirteen games. They are looking to continue their good fortune, as they look to move into first place in the AL East.

Andy Pettite (4-1) is scheduled to throw against Cliff Lee (2-5) in game one. Lee has had some great starts that have been spoiled by the bullpen lately, and will look to shut down the Yanks tonight.

Game two pins C.C. Sabathia (4-3) against former teammate Fausto Carmona (2-4). Both pitchers have gotten off to a rocky start this year, especially Carmona, and look to have a big day against each other on Saturday.

Game three has Phil Hughes (3-2) against former Yankee Carl Pavano (5-4). Pavano has had some solid starts and has been a key factor in the Indians success lately. He looks to stifle his former club on Sunday afternoon in what looks to be a big game in the series.

Game four is scheduled to have Jeremy Sowers (1-2) to throw for the Tribe and Joba Chamberlain (2-1) for the Yankees. Sowers will return to the rotation after getting called back up to the big leagues and serving a brief stint in the bullpen. He was impressive against the Rays on Memorial Day, tossing five scoreless innings in his first career relief appearance.

A big series for both teams should excite the fans and bring a lot of energy to Cleveland.

Rays-Indians: Tribe Grinds Out Fourth Straight Win

Ryan Mace — Thu, 28 May 2009 22:46:30 -0400

Look who's warming up...

The Indians (21-28) have won their fourth consecutive ballgame, completing a home sweep of the Rays on Thursday.

Rookie pitcher David Huff threw four innings of shutout baseball and, combining with the relief work of Jensen Lewis, Matt Herges, and Rafael Betancourt, the Indians' pitching staff was able to stifle the Rays lineup for eight innings, handing it over to Kerry Wood in the ninth.

Victor Martinez drove in the team's two runs, going 1-for-4 on the day. Asdrubal Cabrera had the only multi-hit game for the Indians, going 2-for-4.

The Rays' only run of the game came on Willie Aybar's solo home run in the sixth, which was held up after video replay.

The Rays have now lost five in a row, and an overall 17 straight in Cleveland, the longest losing streak against one team in club history.

It was the first sweep of the year for the Indians, and the first four game sweep since the Tribe did it to the Rays last year at Progressive Field on July 10-13.

The Indians' bullpen, which has struggled much of this season, excelled Thursday. Jensen Lewis, Matt Herges, Rafael Betancourt, and Kerry Wood combined to hold Tampa Bay to one run on four hits over five innings after a two-hour, 40-minute rain delay in the fourth inning knocked out Huff. Herges was credited with the win.

This is a big win for the Indians, as they look to climb back into the AL Central race.

Rays-Indians: Francisco Powers Tribe to Third Straight Win

Ryan Mace — Thu, 28 May 2009 00:42:29 -0400

The Indians have won three straight games for the first time this year, after dumping the Tampa Bay Rays 12-7 Wednesday night at Progressive Field.

Ben Francisco had a huge night, going three for five and coming within a triple of hitting for the cycle.

Francisco's biggest hit of the night came in the bottom of the second inning. With the Tribe down five to nothing, it looked like it was going to be another one of "those" nights for the Indians. Francisco came up with two runner on and sent a three-run homer over the left field wall, propelling the Indians to a five run second inning.

They never looked back.

After the Rays struck back with a run in the top of the third inning on a throwing error, by third baseman Jhonny Peralta, the Tribe powered back with three of their own in the bottom half. Two of the runs were driven in by Francisco, and the other was Francisco scoring on a single by Asdrubal Cabrera.

Cleveland reliever Greg Aquino threw two scoreless innings to pick up his first win of the season (1-0), and the Indians sixth win in their last eight games. Luis Vizcaino pitched three scoreless to pick up his first save since September 29, 2004, as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Tampa Bay has lost four straight and an embarrassing sixteen straight in Cleveland. Their last win at Cleveland was a 1-0 pitcher's duel in September of 2005.

Rays-Indians: Tribe Rallies in Ninth to Cap Amazing Comeback

Ryan Mace — Tue, 26 May 2009 22:53:49 -0400

It was one for the ages.

It looked like another night of the Indians getting pounded when I flipped on the Indians game Monday night.

10-0 Rays.

I couldn't take it anymore. The Indians have had my support all year and I have gotten no satisfaction...

But while I was watching the Lakers-Nuggets game, something was brewing at Progressive Field. A comeback for the ages.

Fausto Carmona had an awful start. 1.1 innings pitched, 5 earned on 3 hits and 5 walks. He threw 60 pitches. Jensen Lewis came in relief, throwing 1.2 innings and also giving up 5 earned on 3 hits, but only 2 walks came from Jensen.

Then they brought in Jeremy Sowers. 5 solid innings of work, 3 hits, 0 earned runs.

Entering the bottom of the eighth, the Indians had a seemingly insurmountable lead to overcome, if they wanted a Memorial Day win.

With maybe 2,500 to 3,000 fans left in the stadium, and that's being generous, the Tribe began their comeback.

Rookie relief pitcher Dale Thayer came in for the Rays in relief of Joe Nelson.

Shin-Soo Choo lead off the inning with a base knock. Mark DeRosa and Ryan Garko followed with singles of their own, bringing up rookie Matt LaPorta. After LaPorta grounded into a, potentially, rally-killing double play, Ben Fransisco came in and produced an infield single, scoring DeRosa.

The Tribe now had a 10-4 hill to climb in the bottom of the ninth.

Now let's get to the real fun.

The inning lead off with a Grady Sizemore walk, followed by a Victor Martinez pop-out. Then, Jhonny Peralta had a base hit, leading to a Tampa Bay pitching change. The new victim was left-hander Randy Choate.

Shin-Soo Choo hit a double play ball to shortstop Reid Brignac that would have ended the game, except the rookie threw the ball wide of second. Sizemore scored, Peralta moved to third and Choo was safe at first. Maddon again went to his bullpen—now it was Grant Balfour. Now the Tribe had something to believe in.

With a 10-5 game and runners on, DeRosa lined out. The real spark was yet to come. With the Indians down to their last out, Ryan Garko sent his second bomb of the night into the left field bleachers, a three-run shot.

We now had a 10-8 ballgame.

Asdrubal Cabrera was now up, pinch hitting for rookie Matt LaPorta. He walked on four pitches. That was all for Balfour. Next up, closer Jason Isringhausen.

Isringhausen's first assignment was Ben Fransisco; he walked on four pitches. Jamey Carrol followed with a walk of his own and the bases were now loaded for Grady Sizemore. Isringhausen took Grady to a full count, but ended up walking him as well. This forced in a run, making it 10-9, and bringing up the 0-5 Victor Martinez.

He knew he was due.

After taking a few pitches and ending up with a 2-2 count, Victor made his swing count. He took it right back up the middle and into center field, making the unsung hero, Jeremy Sowers, the winning pitcher. Fransisco and Carrol scored and immediately took off for Victor Martinez.

There was jubilation at Progressive Field for the first time in a while, and I was certainly able to enjoy it to the fullest.