Bleacher Report - Articles by David Wiley

Indians-Red Sox: Boston Tops Tribe, 6-1

David Wiley — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 05:13:13 -0400

The Minnesota Twins are fresh off a sweep of the Chicago White Sox, and have a half game lead in the AL Central. The Indians travel to Chicago Friday with an opportunity to become the Twins’ best friends forever, and an opportunity to finish out the season at .500.

Cleveland dropped three of four against Boston this week and have fallen one game below the even-steven mark with three games left on the schedule. The Tribe will need to win at least two of the three to finish at .500, and a three game sweep would be even better.

If you call the Twins, they’d be in complete agreement. While the Twins lead the AL Central, it’s the White Sox that have the extra game and can pull even with Minnesota by winning the additional game.

The Indians were completely stymied by Boston pitcher Jon Lester. He held the Indians hitless through five innings, and then gave up two hits and a run in the sixth before departing with a 5-1 lead. Boston added a run in the seventh for the 6-1 win.

Boston jumped all over Jeremy Sowers in the first two innings.

In the first, they scored three runs. Jacoby Ellsbury and Jed Lowrie singled, and Dustin Pedroia sac-flied Ellsbury home for the first run and first out of the inning. Sowers then proceeded to walk Kevin Youkilis and Jason Bay, loading up the bases. Jason Varitek hit the second sac-fly of the inning for the second run of the inning, and Mark Kotsay drove home the third run with a double.

In the second, Boston added a pair. Ellsbury doubled, and Lowrie doubled Ellsbury home. Pedroia flied out, but moved up Lowrie, and Youkilis singled home Lowrie. That put Boston up 5-0 until the sixth.

The Indians scored on a Barfield double, a balk by Lester that moved Barfield to third, and a Jamey Carroll single. Prior to Barfield’s double, the only way the Indians could get on base was to walk or get hit by a pitch.

Youkilis hit a home run in the bottom of the seventh off Tom Mastney, rounding out the scoring.

The two hits by the Indians in the sixth were it. Masterson, Okajima, and Papelbon all no-hit the Indians after Lester.

The Indians head to Chicago for the last series of the year. Zach Jackson (1-3, 5.96 ERA) goes up against Javier Vasquez (12-15, 4.46 ERA).

Cleveland Indians Are Back to .500

David Wiley — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 05:07:00 -0400

As bad as this season has appeared to be, the Indians are back to .500. Sure, having an even record just means you win as much as you lose, but as far down as the Indians were in the win column compared to the loss column, getting back to .500 was a pretty amazing second half feat. Kudos to the Tribe players!

Saturday nights’ win against the Detroit Tigers culminated the climb back to .500. Jeremy Sowers picked up the win, surrendering five hits and a run on six innings of work. He worked himself out of trouble early and settled later for the victory.

Detroit opened the game with an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Placido Polanco doubled with one out, and moved to third on a Sowers’ wild pitch. Sowers got Magglio Ordonez to ground out, but that scored Polanco from third for the 1-0 lead.

The Indians answered in the bottom half of the first, as Justin Verlander started the game wild. He hit Jamey Carroll, walked Shin-Soo Choo, and allowed the runners to move up on his wild pitch. Jhonny Peralta grounded out, but scored Carroll, tying the game at one.

The Indians took the lead in the bottom of the second. Kelly Shoppach doubled and moved to third on a Ryan Garko ground out. After Franklin Gutierrez walked, Verlander was called for a balk and Shoppach walked home.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Indians opened up a 4-1 lead, scoring a pair on three hits. Garko and Sizemore singled, and Carroll walked loading the bases for Choo. He drove both Garko and Sizemore home on an infield single of all things.

The Tigers narrowed the gap to 4-3 on a Curtis Granderson home run after Ryan got on first. Rafael Betancourt gave up the Ryan single and Rafeal Perez gave up the homer.

The Indians upped the lead to 6-3 in the bottom half of the seventh, taking advantage once again of the walk. Shoppach walked, Garko singled, and Cabrera singled, scoring both Shoppach and Garko and rounding out the scoring for the game.

Jenson Lewis registered his eleventh save of the year to close out the ninth.

The Indians last home game of the season is Sunday at 1:05. Dontrelle Willis (0-1, 8.82 ERA) takes on Indians lefty Scott Lewis.

Indians Within One Game of .500 with Win Over Detroit

David Wiley — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 02:33:25 -0400

The Indians crawled to within one game on Friday night in a wild win, beating Detroit 6-5. Shin-Soo Choo smacked a pair of home runs, one opening the score, the other tying it at five in the bottom of the eighth, and after a combination bullpen hold in the ninth, Jamey Carroll to right with Barfield on third scored the winning run.

The Indians will be going for .500 Saturday, and distancing themselves from the Tigers for third place.

Choo put up the only run in the first with his 12th home run of the season.

In the top of the fourth, the Tigers took the lead. Curtis Granderson opened the inning with a lead-off double. After a Placido Polanco strikeout and a Magglio Ordonez groundout that moved Granderson to third, Miguel Cabrera powered a two-run home run to right field, his 35^thof the year, and first of his multi-homer night, giving the Tigers a 2-1 lead.

The Indians tied up the game on Grady Sizemore’s 33^rd home run of the season.

Cabrera opened the lead back up to 4-2 with his 36^th homer and second two run shot of the night, just after Ordonez singled to right. Fausto Carmona hit Gary Sheffield with a pitch, getting just one out in the seventh, ending his night at six and a third.

Edward Mujica came on in relief, getting the last two outs of the seventh.

In the top of the eighth, Ramon Santiago opened the inning with a triple, and scored one batter later when Dusty Ryan delivered a sacrifice fly. 5-2 Tigers.

Indians faithful put on their rally caps in the bottom of the eighth and it worked. With two outs, Sizemore doubled, Ben Francisco walked, and Choo hit his 13^th homer of the season a long way, tying the game at five all.

Rafael Betancourt came on in the ninth, got a pair of outs, and yielded to Rafael Perez for a strikeout of Joyce to end the Tigers half of the inning.

The Indians Kelly Shoippach was hit by a pitch, and Barfield came on as a pinch runner. Travis Hafner struck out, and Ryan Garko, pinch hitting for Aubrey, singled, moving Barfield to third. That set the table for Jamey Carroll’s game winning single, scoring Barfield and propelling the Indians to within one game of .500, a place they haven’t been since May 24^th.

Saturday nights 7:05 start time pits Justin Verlander (10-16, 4.78 ERA) against Jeremy Sowers (3-8, 5.70 ERA).

Indians Peck Away, Beat Orioles 6-1

David Wiley — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:16:30 -0400

Travis Hafner returned to the Indians lineup on Tuesday evening and immediately made an impact. Batting fifth, he went 2-4 with a walk, as the Cleveland Indians defeated the Baltimore Orioles 6-1.

Jeremy Sowers put together a string of 10 straight batters twice and picked up the win, going eight strong innings, giving up four hits, a walk, one earned run, and recording seven strikeouts in victory. While the Indians scored six, it wasn’t in their normal breakout style.

They pecked away, putting up one in every inning but the second, sixth, and ninth. None of the runs came via the long ball. In the first, Grady Sizemore got the Indians rolling by taking a walk and swiping second, his 37th stolen base on the season. With two out, Jhonny Peralta singled, scoring Sizemore.

Travis Hafner registered his first hit during his first at bat, singling Peralta to second, but the Indians could do no more damage, even though they loaded the bases on a Kelly Shoppach walk. Michael Aubrey flied out to end the inning. In the fifth, Aubrey came through.

With two out and Peralta and Hafner on first and second, Aubrey singled to center, scoring Peralta. The Indians would manufacture a run in the fourth as well. Asdrubal Cabrera walked, and then ended up scoring on a David Dellucci triple. The Orioles scored their only run of the game in the bottom of the fourth. Nick Markakis walked.

Aubrey Huff doubled, and Ramon Hernandez grounded out, scoring Markakis. The Indians continued their one-run wonder innings in the fifth, seventh, and eighth. In the fifth, doubles by Shoppach and Marte resulted in a run.

The seventh it was Shoppach again crossing the plate, this time via a walk, an Aubrey single, a Marte single, and a Cabrera sacrifice fly. In the eighth, Shoppach was on the other end of the run, driving in Franklin Gutierrez with a double, after he singled to right and Hafner was intentionally walked, putting runners on first and second.

Overall, a very good night by Shoppach. He ended the day two for three, scored a pair, and drove in one. Baltimore used six pitchers in this one. Starter Radhames Liz took the loss, going 4.2 while surrendering eight hits and four runs. All told, the Indians tallied 12 hits. Marte got two of the hits, raising his batting average to .207 on the year.

The Orioles and Indians go at it two more times in this four-game set. Wednesday night marks Scott Lewis MLB debut. He’ll go against Chris Waters. Game time is 7:05. Assuming the addition of Lewis to the starting rotation of the Tribe means they’ll go six for the rest of the season, Cliff Lee would not get enough starts to reach 25 wins.

4 Homeruns Lead Rout of Indians 14-3

David Wiley — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 02:34:56 -0400

Aubrey Huff took two games off to hang out with his wife and welcome his son into the world, then returned and hit a grand slam, the biggest of the four home runs the Orioles pounded, and Baltimore beat the Cleveland Indians 14-3 Monday night in Baltimore.

The stat line read 11 hits apiece for both teams, but the game wasn’t anywhere as close as the hit totals might suggest.

The Indians have been the recipients of some great starting pitching all year, so they were due to get slammed by somebody. Fausto Carmona gave up seven runs on six hits, lasting 5.1 innings and surrendering one of the four Baltimore home runs. As bad as his stat line looked, he really didn’t pitch that badly until the sixth.

The Indians held the lead early, scoring one run in the second on a Shin-Soo Choo double, a Ryan Garko walk, and an Asdrubal Cabrera double that scored Choo.

Baltimore answered the run in the bottom half of the inning, stringing together a pair of singles by Huff and Ramon Hernandez that put Huff on third. Luke Scott hit into a fielder’s choice, but it plated Huff making it a 1-1 affair.

The Indians went back on top in the fourth. Choo once again started things off, singling. Garko singled as well. With runners on first and second, Cabrera singled Choo home and Garko to third. Franklin Gutierrez hit a sacrifice fly that scored Garko, and the Indians were up 3-1.

Then the home runs started. Scott hit his 22^nd of the year, narrowing the Indians lead to 3-2.

In the bottom of the sixth, Baltimore broke the game wide open, putting up a seven spot, the highlight being Huff’s grand slam.

Carmona got himself into trouble with the walk, issuing a free pass to Hernandez and Kevin Millar with a Scott single sandwiched in between. Salazar came on as a pinch hitter and singled home Hernandez and Scott. Carmona issued his third free ride of the inning to Roberts, and he was gone.

Rincon relieved, and gave up a single to Adam Jones, scoring Millar. With the bases still loaded, Huff hit his grand slam, capping the seven run inning and making it a 9-3 Orioles lead.

The home-run derby reconvened in the bottom of the eighth. With Brendon Donelly on the hill, he gave up a pair of walks to Juan Castro and Brian Roberts, then dished up a home run ball to Adam Jones on his first offering. After a Huff single, Hernandez went yard, making it 14-3 Baltimore, and that would be the way it ended.

Huff led the way for Baltimore, going 3-5 with 4 RBI. That put him over the 100 mark for the year at 102. Jones also went 3-5 with 4 RBI for Baltimore. Cabrera paced the Tribe with a 3-3 night and two RBI, his 31^st and 32^nd of the season.

The two teams meet again Tuesday at 7:05. Jeremy Sowers (2-8, 5.97 ERA) versus Radhames Liz(5-4, 7.92 ERA).

0-1 : Browns Tackle Dummies lose to Dallas 28-10.

David Wiley — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 04:10:56 -0400

So, who thinks the Browns are the cream of the crop in the AFC North? Buehler? Buehler? Apparently no one attending today’s class. The Browns got spanked at home 28-10 with not much to be hopeful about for next week’s game against Pittsburgh.

After an atrocious showing against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday afternoon, the only good thing about Cleveland was the weather, oh and Cliff Lee won his 21^st game of the year for the Indians. On a warm sunny afternoon, you’d have never known the Browns are the supposed to be the “team to beat” in the AFC Central.

Was there anything positive to take out of Sunday’s game? Yes. It’s over.

Cleveland’s offense sputtered, only mounting one, possibly two good drives. On defense, you could only compare them to one kind of cheese, that being of the swiss variety.

Then there was the coaching. Down 28-7, searching for any ray of sunshine in an otherwise abysmal display of football, the Browns coaching staff thought, “Hey, this is a great time to kick a field goal, moving us only THREE scores away from winning instead of, let’s see – THREE SCORES”.

All I could think was “What the Favre!”. With thirty-seven ticks on the third quarter, Cleveland’s offense had the ball and moved down the field on only their second worthwhile offensive possession of the game. The Browns motored along on three consecutive passes of 12, 9 and 18 yards just after a Stephan Steptoe 15 yard run. They stalled a bit on a fumble, but faced a fourth and three on the Dallas seventeen.

Down by three touchdowns, they inexplicably kicked a field goal.

Let’s think about this a moment. Defense? Bad. Offense? Bad. Opportunity for momentum swing by going for the TD instead of the extra point? Good! Kick the field goal. Bad. Let’s go with, oh, um, ---------- Kick the field goal!

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist for a lot of things, and this was a great example of common sense over the safe three point play. So we know one good thing about the Browns. Safety first!

The same holes in the swiss cheese that were evident in pre-season were there in regular season as well. The secondary is scary bad and the defensive line applies about as much pressure as that air thing they use to test eye sight.

Tony Romo was 24 for 32 with 320 yards and a touchdown pass. Derek Anderson went 11 for 24 for 114 yards and a score.

Dallas had three receivers within a catch or two of eclipsing 100 yards on the day. Cleveland’s top receiver Kellen Winslow had 5 catches for 47 yards. OW!

Cleveland heads back to the drawing board, and let’s hope it’s a big one, to prepare for division foe Pittsburgh. They take the national stage for the Sunday night 8::15 game.

Indians-Royals: Lee Wins 21st As Indians Down KC, 3-1

David Wiley — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:51:26 -0400

Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’...Along...

Cliff Lee won his 21st game of the season Sunday against the Kansas City Royals, but they did make him work for it. He also had to rely on Victor Martinez to knock in all three of the Indians' runs, but hey, that’s what teammates are for, right?

Since returning from the disabled list, Martinez is 7-for-21, not too shabby when you’ve had most of the summer off due to injury.

Lee went seven-and-a-third, giving up seven hits, one earned run, a walk, and registered five strikeouts in the victory. He even lowered his ERA a bit to 2.28. All in a days work.

The Royals did their best to hand Lee his third loss of the season, but every time he got into a jam, he also bailed himself out.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Royals put runners on first and second with one out. Lee picked up one of his five strikeouts for the second out, and induced a groundball to squeak out of that inning.

In the sixth, he ended up costing himself a run, hitting the first batter Jose Guillen with a pitch. Guillen later scored on a pair of singles strung together by John Buck and Alberto Callaspo. Once again, Lee staved off the big inning by getting a flyout and limiting the damage to one run.

In the eighth, the Indians used a trifecta of pitchers to hold off the Royals. Lee gave up a leadoff single to Guillen, and then got a flyball out. Rafael Perez came on, but he gave up a single to Mark Teahen, putting runners on first and second. He struck out Buck for the second out, and Rafael Betancourt came on, getting Callaspo to fly out, preserving Lee’s 3-1 lead.

Jensen Lewis earned his eighth save of the season, not giving up a hit, issuing a free pass with two out, but striking out the last batter to end the game.

On the Indians' offensive side, they put up a pair of runs in the first inning. After two quick outs, Shin-Soo Choo started things for the Indians with a single. Jhonny Peralta also singled, moving Choo over to second.

Victor Martinez picked up his first two RBIs of the game by singling both Choo and Peralta home. Ryan Garko flied out, and the top of the first ended with the Indians on top 2-0.

Their only other run came off the bat of Choo and Martinez—again—with both hitting doubles, Choo scoring, and Martinez picking up the third of his three RBIs.

Royals starter Zack Greinke went six innings, giving up five hits and all three earned runs, taking the loss for the Royals. He moves to 10-10 on the year.

Cleveland heads to the East Coast for a four-game set against Baltimore, still chasing that elusive .500 mark for the season. Fausto Carmona (8-5, 4,51 ERA) battles lefty Garret Olson (8-7, 6.53 ERA) on a 7:05 Monday evening start time.

The Indians are 69-72 on the year, eight games back of the Minnesota Twins and 10.5 games behind the division-leading Chicago White Sox.

Indians over Royals 9-3.

David Wiley — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:24:49 -0400

The Indians sent the entire lineup to the plate in the top of the fifth, reeling off six runs in route to a 9-3 victory on Friday night to open the series in Kansas City against the Royals.

Anthony Reyes, the Indians starting pitcher, only went three innings. He had tightness in his throwing arm during warm-ups that never seemed to loosen up, so he was pulled even though he’d pitched one-hit ball through three.

When he left, the Indians were up 2-0. Royals starting pitcher Brandon Duckworth was his own worst enemy in this inning. He started the top of the second with a walk to Jhonny Peralta. Victor Martinez singled Peralta over to second. Duckworth then walked Shin-Soo Choo on a full count.

He almost bailed himself out of the inning after getting Ryan Garko to ground into a double play that allowed Peralta to score, but another free pass on four pitches to Franklin Gutierrez gave Asdrubal Cabrera the chance to single in Martinez, making it 2-0 Indians.

Edward Mujica ended up with the win. He relieved Reyes in the fourth, went two innings, and was the recipient of the six run Indians inning. He pitched two innings, allowing four hits and no runs.

Cabrera started the six run fifth with a single. Grady Sizemore singling him over to third. Carroll also singled, scoring Cabrera. Those three hits sent Duckworth to the showers, and both runners would eventually score, handing Duckworth the loss.

Joel Peralta relieved Duckworth, and gave up an infield single to David Dellucci, scoring Sizemore. Next up was the Indians Jhonny Peralta. In the battle of the Peraltas, Jhonny won, hitting a single to bring in Carroll. Martinez singled next, scoring Dellucci.

That was it for Kansas City's Peralta, as he could not even register an out. That brought on Yashuhiko Yabuta. Choo greeted him with an infield single, scoring Peralta.

Ryan Garko, or affectionately known as Abner Double Play, dished up the first two outs of the inning by hitting into, you guessed it, a double play, but he did score Martinez from third. Gutierrez grounded out and the single-fest six-run inning was over.

All told, the Indians had seven singles in a row during this six run outburst.

The Royals registered a hit parade of their own in the bottom of the seventh. They went double-single-single-double in their three run inning.

Ross Gload doubled off the third Indians pitcher of the night Tom Mastny. After a Roberto Callaspo fly-out, Kila Ka’aihue singled moving Gload over to third. David DeJesus hit a sacrifice fly that scored Gload. Mike Aviles singled, and with runners on first and third, Jose Guillen doubled in both runners, making it 8-3 Indians.

Billy Butler grounded out to close out the inning.

Mujica was on the hook for all three Royals runs; another shaky outing for him. Mujica is the poster child for the Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde season the Indians bullpen help has exhibited all season.

The Indians tacked on one more in the top of the ninth on a Peralta walk, a Choo single, and a Garko single that scored Peralta. Probably felt good not to hit into a double play!!

Masa Kobayashi pitched the ninth for Cleveland going 1-2-3 on a pair of ground outs and a line-out.

The Indians scored nine runs on twelve hits, while Kansas City could only muster three runs on a nine hit night.

Franklin Gutierrez was the only Indian not getting a hit in this one. Carroll, Martinez, Choo, and Cabrera all had a two-hit night.

The Royals got two hits and two RBI from Jose Guillen.

These two meet for the second of three Saturday evening at 7:10. Zach Jackson(0-1, 6.00 ERA) takes on Gil Meche(10-10, 4.07 ERA).

Sunday’s game features twenty game winner Cliff Lee against Zack Greinke.

Cleveland-Chicago: Indians Pummel White Sox, 9-3

David Wiley — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:13:54 -0400

The Indians' scoring train is back on track after a brief hiatus while Seattle was in town.

Cleveland hitters knocked John Danks out of the game after just four innings, tagging him for eight hits and four runs in a 9-3 win.

With the victory, and a Minnesota loss, Cleveland is 9.5 games back of the White Sox and the Twins in the AL Central.

The Indians still have seven games against the front-runners, four more playing the White Sox, and a set of three against the Twins. A three-game set in Chicago closes out the Indians season.

While a white-hot September by the Indians and a meltdown by both Chicago and Minnesota is the only chance Cleveland has, it’s better than nothing.

Fausto Carmona registered all zeros on the scoreboard until the top of the sixth, giving up all three Chicago runs before yielding to Rafael Betancourt. Betancourt slammed the door on the rally by striking out Jerry Owens for the third out.

Victor Martinez hit his first home run of the season, a two-run shot, in the bottom of the second, opening up a 2-0 Indians lead. No, that was not a typo. If anyone would have predicted Martinez first home run of the season would come on Sept. 2, prior to the season starting, they should definitely start playing their hunches in the Ohio Lotto.

The Indians would stretch the lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the fourth. Andy Marte singled with one out, and Asdrubal Cabrera followed with a single as well. After a Grady Sizemore foul-out, Franklin Gutierrez delivered a double to right field, scoring both Marte and Cabrera.

In the top of the sixth, Chicago closed the gap to 4-3. Carmona started the inning with a strikeout of A.J. Pierzynski. After issuing a walk to Jermaine Dye, ex-Indian and pain-in-the-Indians'-rear Jim Thome singled Dye over to third. Carmona threw a wild pitch to Paul Konerko, and the Sox were on the board. Konerko then connected with a single, moving Thome to third. Nick Swisher hit a sac-fly that scored Thome.

The next batter, Alexei Ramirez, was hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second. The White Sox sent Juan Uribe in as a pinch hitter for Joe Crede, and he delivered with a double to left, scoring Konerko and putting the tying run on third base.

That ended Carmona’s evening, and his win was definitely in jeopardy. That’s when Betancourt pulled a strikeout from his bag of tricks and bestowed it neatly on Owens, preserving a 4-3 lead and Carmona’s eventual victory. Somebody owes somebody a steak.

The Indians weren’t content to sit on the 4-3 lead, breaking out the hitting sticks and the walking shoes for five runs in the bottom of the seventh. Gutierrez opened the inning with a walk, and Francisco was beaned, putting runners on first and second with nary a hit.

Jhonny Peralta added to his RBI total (75) on the year by singling home Gutierrez. That prompted a pitching change by the Sox. Octavio Dotel came on and got the first two outs of the inning, getting Martinez on a popout, and a groundout fielder’s choice by Ryan Garko that erased Peralta at second.

Kelly Shoppach walked, loading the bases. Shin-Soo Choo pinch hit for Marte and drew a free pass, walking home Francisco. Cabrera singled, scoring both Garko and Shoppach. Sizemore singled, scoring Choo and moving Cabrera over to second, making it 9-3 Indians.

The White Sox brought in Mike McDougal. He got the final out of the inning on a Gutierrez fielder’s choice groundout.

Betancourt pitched an inning, registering a hold. Rafael Perez pitched an inning and a third, also getting a hold while surrendering no runs and one hit. Brendan Donnelly pitched a one-hit ninth, finishing out the game.

The Indians ended up with nine runs on 13 hits. Everyone but Choo registered a hit, and he drew a walk in his only at bat. Asdrubal Cabrera led the way with three hits and two RBI, and he also scored a run.

The White Sox managed three runs on seven hits, dropping to 77-61 on the season. They stayed deadlocked with Minnesota for first place, since the Twins lost to Toronto 7-5.

The Indians and White Sox close out the three-game set this afternoon at 12:05. Jeremy Sowers (2-7,5.92 ERA) will face off against Javier Vasquez (10-12, 4.38 ERA).

This is the last meeting for these two in Progressive Field this year. They still have a three-game series in Chicago to close out the season.

Lee First to 20 Wins with Shutout

David Wiley — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:56:46 -0400

After winning ten in a row, crawling to within two games of .500, then losing three in a row, the Indians needed some sort of spark. Enter Cliff Lee. Baseball’s first 20 game winner of the season, Lee was masterful in a 5-0 victory over AL Central leading Chicago White Sox.

Lee pitched a complete game five hit shutout, not allowing a walk, and striking out four in the victory. His shutout comes on the heels of ex-teammate CC Sabathia’s one-hit complete game just days before.

Could the Cy-Young winners from both leagues be opening-day teammates? Probably not. While Lee is the probable winner in the AL, Sabathia is a long shot in the NL given the likes of Arizona’s Brandon Webb. Then again, Webb missed his 20^th win in a meltdown during his last start.

Lee started the game by giving up a two of the five hits he surrendered all game, but with runners on first and second and nobody out, Lee got a strikeout and a Jermaine Dye line drive double play, getting out of the inning with no damage.

The Indians would get the only run they’d need in the bottom of the second. Jhonny Peralta opened the inning by drawing a walk. Ryan Garko singled Peralta over to second, and Peralta scored on a Shin-Soo Choo single, making it 1-0 Tribe.

The Indians added runs in each of the next two innings, roughing up White Sox starter Clayton Richard for six hits and four runs, three of them earned, in four innings of work.

In the third, the Indians went up 2-0 after Grady Sizemore landed on second base after a routine ground-out to Richard turned into an error and Sizemore standing on second base after the overthrow to first. Ben Francisco delivered a clutch single, scoring Sizemore.

The Indians had back-to-back-to-back doubles in the bottom of the fourth, resulting in a 4-0 lead. With two out, Franklin Gutierrez doubled. Kelly Shoppach doubled him home, and Asdrubal Cabrera doubled Shoppach in before Sizemore struck out to end the inning.

The Indians tacked on one more run in the bottom of the eighth. Garko singled. Choo doubled Garko over to third, and after Gutierrez was hit by a pitch, loading the bases, Cabrera got his second RBI of the night on a sac fly that scored Garko.

The Indians couldn’t get anyone else across the plate, but with a five run lead and Lee heading out for the finishing touch on his shutout, it didn’t matter.

Lee did allow his fourth and fifth hits in the bottom of the ninth, but closed out the game the same way he opened it, with a double play ball, this time a ground-out, that sealed the deal and made Lee the first Indians pitcher to win 20 since Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry did it in 1974.

The only other Indians pitchers to ever make 20 wins were Bob Feller and Bob Lemon, both Hall of Fame inductees—not bad company.

The Indians move to 10.5 of the White Sox with the win. The loss puts the Sox in a virtual dead-lock for first place with the Minnesota Twins at 77-66. The Indians are sitting at 66-70.

These two go again with a 7:05 start time. Fausto Carmona(7-5,4.50 ERA) takes the hill against John Danks(10-7, 3.3 ERA)

It's the Story, of a Man Named Grady..

David Wiley — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:27:54 -0400

Grady Sizemore needed one more home-run to become the second Indians player ever, and fourteenth in MLB history, to join the 30-30 club. He hit two. The Indians needed both, pulling out a ten-inning win 4-3. The only other Indians player to reach the mark was Joe Carter in 1987.

The Tribe moves to within half a game of passing up the Detroit Tigers for third place in the AL Central. Additionally, the winning streak they are on is still alive at eight.

Zach Jackson once again registered a no-decision, as Masa Kobayashi relieved him with one on in the middle of the seventh, and could not get an out, allowing the base runner Jackson was responsible for to score and tie the game.

Jackson went 6.1 innings, throwing 96 pitches, allowing three runs on seven hits, striking out six, and not walking anyone in the no-decision.

The long ball was the key to this game. Five of the seven runs in this one were solo homers, two of those off the bat of Sizemore.

Sizemore wasted no time raising his career high home run total, taking the first strike he saw in the game over the center field wall, his eighteenth leadoff homerun.

The Tigers Marcus Thames would answer that spank in the second with a home-run of his own, making it 1-1.

In the top of the third, Sizemore belted his 31st over the right-field wall. Replays and a side-by-side comparison showed the pitch in almost the exact same location as his first jack. The Indians were back on top 2-1.

In the top of the fourth, the Indians would score their only run that took more than one swing of the bat, as Shin-Soo Choo doubled to open the inning, and Ryan Garko singled Choo home for a 3-1 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Tigers narrowed the deficit to 3-2 on an Edgar Renteria home-run, and the home-run fireworks guy was probably clocking in overtime at this point.

Everything would remain as is until the bottom of the seventh. Jackson, on a short leash at this point with roughly 90 pitches in the books, got Ryan Raburn on a ground-out. Thames singled to center, and that was it for Jackson.

He’d watch from the bench as Kobayashi delivered a wild pitch that moved Raburn to second. Next, he watched Andy Marte bobble an Edgar Renteria grounder, putting runners on the corners with still only one out.

After Joyce came on to pinch run for Raburn, Jackson would see his win evaporate into thin air on an infield single by Brandon Inge, scoring Joyce. That was if for Kobayashi. Three batters, a wild pitch, and nary an out.

Rafael Perez came on and induced a ground-ball comebacker, but the Indians were a hair late turning the double play, leaving the Tigers with runners on the corners with two out. Perez induced an inning ending ground-out to Curtis Granderson, but by then the game was a 3-all affair.

Perez shut the Tigers down in the eighth, yielding to Donnelly in the bottom of the ninth after the Indians failed to push a run across.

Donnelly threw one of his patented belt high fastballs that Renteria hit just two feet shy of ending the game. After the scare Donnelly closed down Detroit and the game headed to extra innings.

There was really only way for this homer-fest to end, and Franklin Gutierrez gave the game a chance to do so by powering one to left and giving the Indians a 4-3 lead.

On came newly-found closer extraordinaire Jensen Lewis. He also gave up a long out warning-track shot off the bat of Polanco as a tying scare, but ended the game with that fly-out and a pair of groundouts, the last being a shattered bat that flew over the head of Andy Marte while he fielded the ball for the last out.

These two battle again on Tuesday at 7:05. Cliff Lee (18-2, 2.43 ERA) looks for his 19th win of the season against Chistopher Lambert, a guy with a stat line that reads --, --, --. This is Lambert’s first time in the bigs. Let’s hope the Indians make it an amazing experience and a very bad memory as they go for nine in a row.

Cleveland Indians Win Seventh in a Row, Sweep Rangers

David Wiley — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:55:18 -0400

The Indians completed the sweep of the Texas Rangers with a ninth-inning tie-breaking single by Franklin Gutierrez and now hold the cards on a seven game win streak.

Next up is a trip to Detroit and a chance to catch the Tigers for third place in the division. The Indians are currently 1.5 games back of the Tigers and have three cracks at them in the next three days.

In his fourth start for the Indians, Anthony Reyes went seven innings, allowing one run on four hits, while striking out four and walking four. His 107 pitches, 61 for strikes, was his highest pitch count to date in a Tribe uniform.

Just like his last three outings, Reyes got ahead in the count early on most hitters. He left the game up 3-1 and in line for a win. Unfortunately he didn’t get it. The Rangers took a 1-0 lead in the third.

Joaquin Arias opened the frame with a single to center field. After a Frank Catalanotto pop-out for the first out of the inning, Arias swiped second. Michael Young walked, Josh Hamilton struck out, but ex-Indian Milton Bradley singled to left, scoring Arias.Hank Blalock flied out to end the inning, but Texas was up 1-0.

Meanwhile, Texas starter Vincente Padilla was on cruise control through the first three innings. He struck out the side in both the first and the third, and had another strikeout in the second.

That made seven strike-outs recorded for the first nine outs. Pretty impressive, and he looked all of that going into the fourth. While Padilla would get another K in the fourth, he also allowed three hits.

Jhonny Peralta registered the first Indians hit of the evening, singling to left with one out. Shin-Soo Choo, the extra-base hitting machine, tripled to center field, scoring Peralta. Ryan Garko sac-flied, scoring Choo and giving the Indians a 2-1 lead. They’d add another in the fifth.

Franklin Gutierrez started the Indians off with a single. After a Marte ground-out, Grady Sizemore walked, and Jamey Carroll was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. David Dellucci also got plunked, walking in Gutierrez, and making it 3-1 Indians.

Padilla, the same guy who struck out seven batters in three innings, walked three guys in a row, demonstrating just how easy it is to go from great to mediocre. Peralta bailed him out by grounding into an inning ending double play.

Joaquin Benoit relieved Padilla in the sixth, and picked right up on the strikeout total, getting two of his three outs on whiffs. Additionally, Benoit is the second guy on the Rangers lineup with the first name Joaquin. It’s not just me typing Joaquin over and over.

In the bottom of the eighth, Juan Rincon came on for the Indians. After getting Hamilton to ground-out, Bradley hit an infield single. The Rangers substituted Jason Ellison as a pinch runner. Blalock singled him over to second. Marlon Byrd struck out for the second out of the inning.

Rincon then got charged with a wild pitch, moving Ellison to third. Gerald Laird doubled, plating Ellison and moving Blalock to third. Rincon then walked Chris Davis on four pitches, and Rafael Betancourt took over. Ramon Vasquez pinch hit for Arias, and drew a free pass, making this the second walked in run of the game, one for each side, and the score was tied up 3-3.

Betancourt then got Catalanotto to ground out, keeping the game tied at three, but earning a blown-save in the process. Eddie Guardado came on in the ninth for Texas, and by doing so earned the loss. He gave up a single to Garko. Gonzalez was sent in to pinch run.

Shoppach sacrificed Gonzalez to second for the first out of the inning. The Sacrifice paid off when Gutierrez hit a single to centerfield, scoring Gonzalez. Marte and Sizemore registered successive strike-outs, but the Indians led 4-3.

Betancourt came back out in the ninth, pitching a 1-2-3 inning and the Indians win 4-3. The Indians scored four runs on eight hits, while the Rangers managed three runs on seven hits. Gutierrez and Peralta each had a pair for the Indians. Milton Bradley had two for the Rangers.

And if you’ve been wondering about Andy Marte: yes, his batting average is still in the ones.

The Indians are right back in action on Monday night, taking on the Detroit Tigers.

Cleveland is 13-3 in their last sixteen games, including three sweeps out of the last five series. Zach Jackson(0-0, 5.17 ERA) will try to keep the Indians seven game win streak alive against Detroit’s Armando Gallaraga(12-4, 3.17 ERA). Gallaraga beat the Indians once already this year on July 29th with an 8-5 win. Game time is 7:05.

Indians win six in a row, beating Texas 8-7.

David Wiley — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 19:14:58 -0400

The Indians were down 7-1 and came back. Best story of the night? Maybe. The Indians posted their longest win streak of the year. Possibility. Jensen Lewis struck out the side in the ninth with the game on the line at 8-7? Hey take your pick baby, its all good!

After Jeremy Sowers left in the third and the Indians were down, most would say game over. This new group of late-season Indians said no problem.

The Indians weren’t behind all night. They started the first just like they’ve been doing, taking a 1-0 lead. Grady Sizemore manufactured the first run. He walked, and stole second.

Then, David Dellucci walked, negating the steal, but putting runners on first and second. Sizemore, not content with the steal, swiped third as well on a double steal move with Dellucci taking second.

The move paid off when Jhonny Peralta sac-flied Sizemore home, opening up the 1-0 lead. That double steal would prove the right move, as Shin-Soo Choo struck out to end the inning. Without the base advance, the Indians would have come away with a big-ole zippo.

One of the great things in the last x number of games has been the Indians going for broke with a national league mentality, stealing, bunting...doing the little things that ended up being runs that mattered.

Basically, you could say the Indians stole a run, and they’d need it.

The Rangers tied the game in the third, scoring one run on three hits. Afterward, Rangers starter Brandon McCarthy bailed himself out of second and third inning jams with inning-ending double play grounders.

Chris Davis doubled to right with one out. In a questionable call, Joaquin Arias singled by hitting a grounder to short. The question wasn’t whether Arias was safe, but whether the hit was not an error.

Cleveland shortstop Peralta fielded the ball and threw to first, pulling Ryan Garko off the bag. Cleveland announcers claimed foul, saying the error should have been a throwing miscue on Peralta or a fielding error on Garko, but not a hit.

They also claimed this was the second time in two nights that Rangers hitters were given a huge benefit of the doubt, questioning their ranking of second in the AL in hitting stat.

Objectively, I’d have to agree with the Indians announcers. Both hits should have been registered as errors. I have no idea whether the ranking should be questioned.

Bottom line, the game was tied at 1-1.

The second time through the lineup, Sowers got shelled big-time. He ended up giving up six runs on five hits in the bottom of the fourth, a geometric progression that can not be ignored by straight-out-the-door math majors, ending his evening pretty darn early.

The shelling went as such. Milton Bradley earned a walk right out of the gate. Hank Blalock singled, moving Bradley to second. Marlon Byrd doubled, scoring a pair and clearing the bases. Davis struck out for the first out of the inning.

Joaquin Arias singled, and scored Byrd. Brandon Boggs flied out for the second out of the inning, leaving Arias on first. Arias stole second, and went to third on a wild pitch from Sowers. None of that ended up mattering since Michael Young homered to center, chasing Sowers.

Edwardo Mujica came on and got Josh Hamilton to fly out, ending the inning.

Mujica has been either cover-your-eyes awful or lights-out all year, and hopefully the fly-out meant Tribe fans were looking at Mr. Lights Out.

They were. Mujica carried the Indians into the seventh, going two and a third, giving up two hits and no runs and registering himself as lights-out Mujica.

In the meantime, the Indians pulled off a six-spot inning of their own, tying the game.

They didn’t take McCarthy, as he was replaced by Josh Rupe. Rupe got hammered for five runs in two-thirds of an inning.

He started off the fifth walking Asdrubal Cabrera. Sizemore singled, but Dellucci grounded into a double play, moving Cabrera to third with two outs.

That’s when the wheels came off for Texas. Ben Francisco walked, and Peralta was hit by a pitch in a disputed play that looked like it hit his bat. That loaded the bases of Shin-Soo Choo, who walked, scoring Peralta.

Garko singled, scoring a pair and leaving runners on first and second. Warner Madrigal came on in relief of Rupe, but surrendered a home-run to Kelly Shoppach, tying the game at seven.

The relief pitching held both teams in check until the bottom of the eighth, when the Indians took the lead for good. Shoppach scored an infield single with one out. Jamey Carroll entered for Andy Marte and, on a passed ball, Shoppach moved to second.

Manager Eric Wedge gambled and pulled Shoppach for pinch runner Franklin Gutierrez. It didn’t take long for this move to pay off, as Carroll singled, and Gutierrez motored home, giving the Indians an 8-7 lead.

Rafael Betancourt would hold the lead. Enter Jensen Lewis. He struck out the side, picking up his sixth save, and giving the Indians an 8-7 win.

The Indians win six in a row for the first time his season, and they have a chance for the sweep on Sunday. The Indians don’t pick up a game on the Detroit Tigers. They beat Kansas City 4-0.

Sunday’s game is another 8:05 central start. Indians Anthony Reyes(4.96 ERA)goes up against Vincente Padilla(12-7, 4.96 ERA).

The Indians are gunning for their seventh win in a row and second series sweep.in a row.

Rafael Perez gets the win, Jamey Wright picks up the loss. The Indians score eight runs on eight hits. Sizemore, Garko, and Shoppach each register a pair of hits apiece for the Indians.

The Rangers register seven runs on ten hits. Young, Laird, and Arias score a pair a piece in the loss.

Texas drops to 63-67 on the season. The Indians improve to 61-67. The Indians are still 2.5 back of the Tigers for third in the AL Central.

The Rangers are in second in the AL West but 16 games behind the Angels.

Indians-Rangers: Cleveland Holds on to Preserve Win for Fausto Carmona

David Wiley — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:18:16 -0400

The Indians jumped out to a 5-0 lead over Texas in the first two innings, then held on tight, winning, 7-5, in the opener of a six-game road trip that will see three against both the Rangers and Detroit, a team they trail in the AL Central standings by 2.5 games.

Fausto Carmona picked up his sixth win of the season, just barely, as Jensen Lewis looked human for the first time in his short tenure at closer, giving up a pair of hits and a run to Texas in the bottom of the ninth. He still picked up the save, though, his fifth of the year.

The Indians offense came through right away in the first. With one out, Jamey Carroll walked. Ben Francisco hit a single, his first of three hits on this particular evening. After a Jhonny Peralta flyout, Ryan Garko smacked a big two-out double, scoring Carroll and Francisco and handing Carmona a 2-0 lead before he even stepped onto the field.

The Indians tacked on three more in the top of the second, opening up a 5-0 lead. Sal Fasano led off the second with a single. He lumbered home on an Andy Marte triple. Asdrubal Cabrera hit a sacrifice fly to bring Marte home. Next batter Grady Sizemore walked and moved to second on Francisco’s second hit of the night. He scored on a Peralta single, but Garko struck out, squelching the scoring at three for the inning.

Carmona pitched most of the first few in trouble, but didn’t give up a run until the fourth. Chris Davis landed on first after a Carmona error, then moved to second on a Carmona wild pitch. Jarrod Saltalamacchia singled Davis home, narrowing the Indians lead to 5-1.

That was the only run Carmona surrendered. His went six innings, giving one earned run on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts in the win.

His pitching counterpart, Rangers rookie Matt Harrison, picked up the loss, giving up five runs on seven hits with three walks and two strikeouts over 3.2 innings.

Kameron Loe, the second pitcher of the night for Texas, held the Indians in check for 4.1 innings, giving Texas a chance to climb back in this one.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Rangers offense did just that, scoring three and drawing to within 5-4. Milton Bradley walked and was lifted for pinch-runner Jason Ellison. Ellison moved to second when Blalock walked, putting runners on first and second with nobody out. Marlon Byrd made sure the walks would not go to waste with a three-run home-run. That was it for the Rangers in the eighth, but it put them in position to win.

Rafael Perez was the pitcher of record for the Indians, on the hook for three.

The Indians added a couple of insurance runs in the top of the ninth and, as things turned out, they needed them. Eddie Guardado came in for Texas, issuing a walk to Cabrera. After a Sizemore popout, Carroll singled Cabrera to third. Francisco, the Indians' man of the day, doubled to score Cabrera and plant Carroll on third. Peralta was intentionally walked. Garko fouled out for the second out of the inning. Gutierrez walked on a full count, scoring Carroll. Texas brought on reliever Frank Francisco, and he struck out Fasano, getting Texas out of the inning.

Lewis took the hill for the Indians and gave up his first run in the closer role, but still got the job done; he's converted every save opportunity he’s had since assuming the role a couple weeks back. Boggs homered, Young singled, and it looked like a Texas comeback was in the making. Two strikeouts later, Lewis got Blalock to line out, ending the game.

The Indians had seven runs on 11 hits, Francisco leading the way with three. The Rangers had five runs on nine hits, Saltalamacchia recording a pair.

These two square off again with an 8:05 p.m. start time. Indians lefty Jeremy Sowers (2-6, 5.46 ERA) pitches against righty Brandon McCarthy (5-10, 4.87 ERA).

Indians-Royals: Cliff Lee Wins 18th as Tribe Roll 10-3

David Wiley — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:09:39 -0400

The Royals had two errors in the first three innings, and the Indians capitalized on both, putting Cliff Lee up 5-0 through three innings of play. For his part, Lee didn’t give up a hit until the fifth, and he earned his AL leading 18th win of the season while completing the three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals. He ties Arizona’s Brandon Webb for most wins so far this season.

In the "Battle for the Basement," the Indians came out on top, literally, opening up a 5.5 game lead on the dungeon-dwelling KC.

The Indians put up three in the bottom of the second. The first man aboard, Ryan Garko, was the result of a fielding error by shortstop Tony Pena Jr. Jamey Carroll singled, and after a Shoppach strikeout for the second out of the inning, Asdrubal Cabrera singled, loading the bases.

Grady Sizemore came through with a two-out triple, allowing all three runners to score.

The Indians picked up two more in the bottom of the third on Ben Francisco reaching first after a Billy Butler throwing error, Peralta reaching safely on a fielder's choice that bagged Francisco, and Shin-Soo Choo’s sixth home run on the first pitch he saw, making it 5-0 Indians.

Cliff Lee didn’t allow a hit until the sixth. He then gave up three runs on four hits, two of the runs earned, narrowing the lead to 5-3 Indians.

Jason Smith reached first on a hit off the end of the bat and an error on third baseman Jamey Carroll. John Buck singled. Mark Teahen doubled both runners in, and Pena Jr. singled Teahen home.

Lee got a bit of insurance from a sixth-inning run on a Carroll walk, a Cabrera groundout, which moved up Carroll, and a Sizemore single to left that scored Carroll.

The Indians would add another in the seventh when Peralta homered over the left-field fence, his 21st of the year.

Cliff Lee left the after seven with a stat line that read six hits, 2 earned runs, 7 K’s, and 2 walks, not to mention a comfortable 7-3 lead.

Rafael Betancourt took over, giving up a pair of singles, but getting a double play on a liner to Garko that caught German off guard at first. Garko pulled off the unassisted double play. Guillen popped out, ending the inning and leaving a runner stranded on third.

The Indians piled on three more in the eighth on a pair of walks to Carroll and Cabrera, and Sizemore’s 29th home run of the year. 10-3 Indians.

Brendan Donnelly took over in the ninth, getting the first two batters on flyouts and striking out John Buck to end the contest.

Sizemore’s 29th home run set his career high for a single season, eclipsing his previous mark of 28 in 2006. For his career, Sizemore has 107 homers in five seasons. The only season he hit less than 20 in a year was his first year (2004) in the majors. He was up for 43 games that season.

The Indians had 10 runs on 10 hits, while the Royals managed three runs on eight hits. Both teams had two errors each, and three of the four errors accounted for runs on both sides.

The Indians leave the confines of Progressive Field and head to Arlington Texas, taking on the 63-65 Texas Rangers on Friday evening at 8:05 EDT.

The Indians are 7-3 in their last 10, while Texas is 3-7. Cleveland lefty Fausto Carmona (5-5, 4.71 ERA) squares off against lefty Matt Harrison(5-2, 5.77 ERA).

Indians Crown Royals again 8-5

David Wiley — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:02:58 -0400

When the Royals broke out with four runs in the top of the fifth, it appeared the game might be out of reach, but the Indians had a five run eighth, coming back from a 5-3 deficit to win 8-5 Wednesday night at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio.

Zach Jackson made his second start for the Indians, and just like the first time, he came away with a no-decision. Jackson gave the Tribe seven innings, giving up five runs, four of them earned, while surrendering seven hits; most of those coming in the first and fifth innings.

In the first, he allowed three hits, but got out of the inning unscathed via the double play ball after the Royals loaded the bases. Mike Aviles, Esteban German, and David DeJesus all singled, bringing up Jose Guillen with nobody out. Guillen sac-flied in Aviles for the first run and out of the game.

German moved up to third, putting runners at the corners with one out. Billy Butler saved Jackson’s bacon by grounding to Asdrubal Cabrera, who flipped to Jhonny Peralta turning a big inning into an inning-ending double play. The Indians broke on top in the bottom of the first after they hit into a double play of their own.

Grady Sizemore walked, but Gutierrez grounded into the double play. With two out, Ben Francisco was safe at first on an error by third baseman Alex Gordon. Peralta took advantage of the miscue by blasting 20th home run of the season and registering his 69th RBI of the year, giving the Tribe a 2-1 lead.

In the bottom of the second, Shoppach joined the homer-club-of-the-day, belting his 13th of the year and putting the Indians up 3-1. Jackson would throw zeroes until the fifth, when the Royals put up a four-spot for a 5-3 lead. They loaded up the bases again with nobody out on a pair of singles and a hit batsman.

Aviles doubled, scoring all three runners. After a German fly-out, and a DeJesus strikeout, Avilesstole third, and came home on a Shoppach throwing error. In the bottom of the eighth, Shoppach atoned for his blunder by homering for the second time inn the game, his 14th of the year, making it 5-4 Royals.

Shin-Soo Choo, the master of pinch hitting and drawing a walk, pinch hit and drew a walk. Cabrera sacrificed Choo to second, and the Royals brought in reliever Joakim Soria. He walked Sizemore. Franklin Gutierrez delivered the fourth Indians home run of the night, making it 7-4 Tribe.

The Indians would tack on another run via Peralta being hit by a pitch, Dellucci walking, and Garko singling home Peralta. Four of the five runs scored this inning were guys crossing the plate after being walked. Jensen Lewis picked up his fourth save of the year. Gutierrez made a great diving catch on Gload for the first out.

Lewis struck out Olivo, and finished the game on a Gordon lineout. The Indians go for the series sweep on Thursday, finishing off their home stand. Cliff Lee (17-2, 2.43 ERA) takes the mound hoping for his 18th win of the season. He’ll battle Royals righty Zack Greinke (9-8, 3.29 ERA). Game time is 12:05.

Could be a good day to play hooky, get the blue flu, or be Ferris Buehler.

Indians-Royals: Cleveland Clobbers KC 9-4

David Wiley — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:35:53 -0400

In the AL Central divisional matchup of the Indians and Royals—which could be dubbed, “The Battle of the Basement”—Cleveland hosted Kansas City in the first of a three-game series at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH.

Current cellar-dweller Kansas City jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Indians pitcher, Anthony Reyes, jumping ahead in the count and throwing a load of strikes in his previous starts, opened this game by walking Mike Aviles.

After a groundout moved Aviles to second, David DeJesus doubled to center, making Reyes pay for the walk. A pair of flyouts limited the damage to one run.

The Indians struck back in the bottom of the second.

Shin-Soo Choo hit the first pitch he saw out of the park over the center-field fence, making it a 1-1 game. Ryan Garko singled to left. On a Kelly Shoppach double, Garko motored all the way around from first base after it appeared left fielder Jose Guillen pulled up instead of cutting the ball off.

That made it 2-1 Indians, with one out. Andy Marte flied out for the second out, and Asdrubal Cabrera delivered the two-out RBI single, scoring Shoppach. Royals starting pitcher Luke Hochevar had an extremely slow delivery to the plate, and Cabrera, not known for his wheels, stole second, his third stolen base of the season.

His slow-motion burst of speed was wasted when Grady Sizemore ended the inning with a flyout.

The Indians added a run in the fourth when Garko homered to left with nobody on and nobody out.

The Royals got the run back in the top of the fifth, narrowing the lead to 4-2. Aviles was the guy crossing the plate again for the Royals. He singled and moved to second after Esteban German walked. DeJesus grounded out, but moved both runners up, and Guillen’s groundout scored Aviles.

Mark Teahen flied out to end the inning.

Donnelly came on in relief of Reyes in the top of the sixth. He walked Gload with one out, and then gave up singles to Olivo and Smith, scoring Gload. Choo backhanded Smith’s single and fired a one-hop strike to third, nailing Olivo for the second out.

Aviles had his third hit of the night, which would have easily scored Olivo from second had he not tried for third, and the game would have been tied. As it was, Donelly struck out German to hold the lead at 4-3.

In the bottom of the sixth, Hochevar left the game before throwing a pitch, pulling a muscle in his side during warm-ups. Nunez relieved, and the Indians took advantage. With one out, Shoppach walked.

Marte ripped a double to the wall, moving Shoppach to third. The Royals played Cabrera perfectly, shading the shortstop toward second, and Cabrera was thrown out while the runners stayed put. Sizemore jumped all over the first pitch for his 28th home run of the year, giving the Indians a 7-3 cushion.

Perez pitched a one-two-three seventh, and the Indians came back and scored a pair on three hits, opening up a 9-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth.

Masa Kobayashi came on in the ninth, hoping for a quick inning. That wasn’t to be, as he allowed a run on three hits, but did finish off the game, winning 9-4.

Reyes ended up picking up the win, even though he left after five. Hochevar took the loss.

These two resume play Wednesday night at 7:05. Righty Gil Meche (10-9, 4.13 ERA) goes up against Cleveland's lefty Zack Jackson (0-0, 5.19 ERA).

Rafael Betancourt came on in the eighth, taking the Royals down in order. The Royals matched the Indians in hits—13.

The Indians had three home runs: Choo (fifth), Garko (10th), and Sizemore (28th). Sizemore, Gutierrez, Garko, and Cabrera had two hits. All nine guys for the Indians registered a hit in the win.

MLB: Indians Hand Angels Second Loss in Three Games

David Wiley — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 04:17:04 -0400

The Indians completed the weekend against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim by winning 4-3, scoring them a 2-1 series win. Heading into Monday’s day off, that had to feel pretty good.

Jeremy Sowers came out on top of a back and forth contest, even while giving up two runs in the first.

The Angels got on the board with three straight singles before Sowers had even registered an out, and were up 2-0 after a fielder’s choice was the first out of the inning. Sowers issued a free pass but squeezed out of the inning with no further damage.

Sower’s albatross this entire season has been the first inning. This coming Christmas when making out his wish list, getting out of the first inning unscathed will probably be pretty high.

The Indians put Sowers right back in the driver’s seat, registering a pair of their own in the bottom of the first.

After a Grady Sizemore fly-out, Jamey Carroll and Ben Francisco each singled putting runners on first and second. Jhonny Peralta failed in his bid to move anyone up, flying out for out number two. Ryan Garko was hit by a pitch, loading up the bases for Franklin Gutierrez. He singled home both Carroll and Francisco, tying the game at two.

The Indians took the lead in the bottom of the third with pretty much the same suspects from the first inning. Carroll walked, Francisco singled, and once again, there were runners on first and second. Peralta grounded into a double play, but after the dust settled, Carroll was standing on third with two out.

Garko hit a rare infield single, rare because he is about as speedy as a three-legged turtle, and Carroll scored. In actuality, it was a high, bouncing, checked swing infield collision, not Garko, that registered the single.

The Angels got out of the inning with no further damage, but the Indians were up 3-2.

In the top of the fifth, the Angels would even the score. Chone Figgins opened the inning with a single. After an Aybar pop-up, Mark Teixiera singled Figgins over to second. Vladimir Guerrero hit into a second-out fielder’s choice, but a past ball with Torii Hunter at the plate allowed Figgins to score from third.

The Indians scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth. Sal Fasano made up for his past ball by starting the inning off with a double. He’d score after a sacrifice by Cabrera and a bloop single by Grady Sizemore. The Indians have been playing a bit of small ball in the last few games, and it's been working.

Jensen Lewis came on for the Indians in the ninth and got his third save of the year, albeit not an easy one.

Juan Rivera started the inning off with a single. Gary Matthews Jr. came in as a pinch runner, and the Angels also sent in Sean Rodriguez as a pinch hitter. Rodriguez sacrificed Matthews Jr. over to second for the first out of the inning. Kendry Morales, the second pinch hitter in a row for the Angels, singled Matthews to third. With runners on the corners and one out, Figgins popped out to third. Aybar fouled out to end the game.

Lewis appears to have taken to the closer role like a duck to water, a good sign for an Indians staff that has tried everyone but Slider the mascot at that position this year, with absolutely poor results.

Monday is an off day for the Tribe. They are back in action Tuesday night playing against last place Kansas City.

A sweep would be a nice boost toward overtaking Detroit, while three losses would put the Indians right back into the cellar. Luke Honchar (6-11, 5.44 ERA) goes against Anthony Reyes (1-1,3.67 ERA).

Indians-Orioles: Baltimore Scores Eight in the Eighth

David Wiley — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 03:16:25 -0400

Pop Quiz: What do you get when an Indians starter goes five innings and you have to rely on the bullpen to hold the opposition while you catch up.

A) A loss

B) Something else

Answer?

11-6 Baltimore win.

Zach Jackson went five innings, giving up eight hits, three runs, one walk, and a strikeout on 97 pitches in his first outing as a Cleveland Indian. Not bad, but not great. He did his job by keeping the game close; when he left, the Indians trailed 3-2. Most teams would take that kind of effort from a guy just called up.

Problem is, five innings can't cut it for an Indians' starter because the bullpen is such a train wreck. Sometimes eight innings aren't even enough.

The Indians relievers did hold the game until the eighth. Enter Rafael...Perez?

Perez, the brightest light in the Indians' bullpen, couldn’t register an out and gave up four runs while taking the loss.

Now what? Einy, meenie, miney, Mujica...four more runs score before the eighth ends...11-3 Baltimore. That is one tough inning.

The Indians scored three in the bottom of the ninth, just enough to make the average fan stay up an extra half hour for nothing. The Indians did end up staying out of the cellar after Kansas City lost as well. Woohooo!!

Both teams scored two in the first. Baltimore’s pair came on three hits: a single by Brian Roberts, a double by Melvin Mora, combined with an Asdrubal Cabrera error, and a single by Hernandez. 2-0 Baltimore.

The Indians pair came on three hits as well. Grady Sizemore singled, Ben Francisco singled, and then Shin-Soo Choo doubled in both Sizemore and Francisco, knotting the contest a two-all.

In the top of the fifth, back-to-back doubles by Hernandez and Millar gave the Orioles the 3-2 lead.

Juan Rincon took over in the sixth for the Tribe, putting up two innings of zeros, exactly what Cleveland needed in this tight one, and handed the game to Perez with the game all tied up at 3-3.

That's when the wheels fell off. Millar singled. Payton was safe on a Gonzalez error. Montanez doubled. Castro singled, and by now three runs crossed the plate with nary an out.

Mujica came on for this result: Roberts groundout...Hoo ha! One out!! Intentional walk to Cleveland slayer Markakis. Mora double. Intentional walk to Huff. Unintentional walk to Hernandez. Millar, first batter of the inning way back when, single. Payton foul out...two outs!! Montanez single. Castro pop-out. In case you lost count of the outs between all the hits and walks, that would be three. Runs across the plate? Eight.

I can hear Eddie Murphy as the nutty professor singing, “Thursday night score eight...It’ll be so great.” The same week as 08-08-08...Score the runs in the eighth...

Sheesh!! Well at least it wasn’t news on Brett Favre.

In the ninth, the Indians put three up just for the fun of it. Franklin Gutierrez homered. Did this prompt me to sit closer to the edge of the couch? No, not really. After a pair of outs, Choo doubled. Shoppach singled Choo home. Garko doubled, scoring Shoppach.

Yes, I admit it, I was moving a little closer to the edge of the couch. Gonzalez walked. Oh yea...groundout Cabrera, game over.

Let’s go to the big board and see what the prize is for an eighth-inning implosion, Bob!! Oh, a three-game series against the Angels—the leaders of all of baseball in wins!!

Cliff Lee (16-2, 2.45 ERA) will be gunning for his 17th win of the year against Jered Weaver (10-9,4.51 ERA). Game time is 7:05.

Factoid of the day: Cliff Lee’s full name is Clifton Phifer Lee.

Baltimore stops Indians win streak at 5: Beat Tribe 6-1.

David Wiley — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:31:32 -0400

Anthony Reyes continued his strike-pitching ways in his second outing with the Indians, throwing 101 pitches, but leaving after six down by a 2-1 score. Cleveland would eventually lose 6-1, giving up four in the ninth.

The Indians posted a four-spot in the first inning in the first two meetings with the Baltimore Orioles, but apparently nobody posted the memo to keep ‘em coming for Reyes.

Reyes final numbers? Six innings, two hits given up and two earned runs, no K’s, two walks, and no chance for a win. Strikes to balls was about a 2-1 ratio. Reyes spent a lot of time ahead in the count, many times 0-2, but had a hard time getting the third one past Baltimore hitters.

The Indians were gunning for their sixth win in a row and bragging rights to their longest winning streak of the season after tying five in a row on Tuesday.

Baltimore took the lead in the second on a home-run by Aubrey Huff. They’d take a 2-0 lead shortly thereafter. Millar walked following the Huff homer. Luke Scott singled Millar to second.

Hernandez grounded out, but moved up both runners in the process on a bullet shot that Andy Marte let trickle away far enough where he couldn’t tag third base and take out lead runner Millar. The miscue ended up costing the Indians a second run, as Payton grounded out to Cabrera at second, scoring Millar.

The Indians offense just couldn’t seem to get on track against Guthrie, but did manage a run in the bottom of the fifth on a pair of doubles by Marte and Sizemore, the second scoring Marte with two out.

Rafael Betancourt came on for the Indians and pitched two innings of shutout ball, although he did get himself into a jam in the eighth, giving up a walk, a single, and a fly out that put a runner on third with one out before getting a foul out and a ground-out, holding Baltimore to just the one-run lead.

Guthrie left after seven, relieved by Cherry. Cherry, roughed up a bit one day ago, got Cabrera on a ground-out, and struck out Sizemore before issuing a free pass to pinch hitter Ben Francisco. Shoppach was the next guy up, and on a 2-2 pitch, the Indians sent Francisco toward second. Shoppach fouled it off, and Francisco jogged back.

The Tribe stayed aggressive, sending Francisco again, Shoppach fouling off another one. The next pitch Francisco did not take off, and the 2-2 slider was in the dirt, allowing Francisco the easy pass to second. Shoppach missed the 3-2 low ball, and was thrown out at first after the ball skipped away from catcher Hernandez, finishing off the Indians in the eighth.

Brendan Donnelly took over for Betancourt in the ninth, and allowed Hernandez a single right off the bat. The next batter Payton dropped a flyball on the third base line in front of Choo and behind Marte, putting runners on first and second with nobody out. Juan Castro came up trying to bunt the runners over.

He fouled off the first two bunt attempts, wondering what the Orioles would try next. Castro squared off and got the bunt down, but Garko was practically standing on top of him and threw to third picking off lead runner Hernandez. Brian Roberts grounded into a fielders’ choice, getting Castro at second.

Nick Markakis was next. Being seven for eleven in the series thus far, Donnelly tip-toed around Markakis, working up a 3-2 count. Donnelly threw a fastball straight down the pike, and Markakis drilled it right back at him, making Donnelly dive for cover and scoring Payton from third.

Next batter Melvin Mora looped on into right-center, putting runners on first and third with Aubrey Huff due up. Huff blistered a double down the first base line, scoring two and chasing Donnelly. Juan Rincon came on and immediately threw a wild pitch that scored Mora and put Huff on third, making it a 6-1 lead. The Indians finally registered the last out on a fly-ball to right.

Indians pitching did not record a single strikeout during the game, prompting announcer Rick Manning to dig into the archives and find out that hadn’t happened since April of 1994.

Jhonny Peralta would get the fifth Indians hit in the bottom of the ninth, but the Tribe’s five game winning streak was dead in the water with the 6-1 loss.

Guthrie picked up the win for Baltimore. Reyes dropped to 1-1 with the Indians, taking the loss.

Zach Jackson will make his Indians debut on Thursday, called up to take Paul Byrd’s spot in the rotation. Daniel Cabrera pitches for the Orioles. Jacksonis a lefty, and was called up instead of Aaron Laffey for the start.

Cliff Lee Wins 16th as Indians Sweep Blue Jays

David Wiley — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:47:11 -0400

Cliff Lee pitched eight innings of scoreless, eight hit ball. Rafael Perez insured Lee his 16th win with a lock-down ninth, and the Cleveland Indians won 4-0 over the Toronto Blue Jays Sunday afternoon. Lee is now 16-2 on the season with a 2.45 ERA.

The Indians offense jumped on the Jays 2-0 in the first and never looked back. Grady Sizemore led off with a single. David Dellucci doubled him home and after a Kelly Shoppach strikeout, Jhonny Peralta singled home Dellucci for the early lead.

The Indians added a run in the third on a two-out Shin-Soo Choo double and a Ryan Garko single to left that scored Choo.

In the eighth, they’d strike for their fourth of the game. Taking advantage of a lead-off Garko single, Franklin Gutierrez walked, and Sizemore singled home Garko.

The Blue Jays came the closest to getting to Lee in the fifth. Stringing together a single and a bunt single, they had runners at first and second with nobody out when Cliff Lee helped himself out. The Jays went to the bunt again, trying to advance the runners and Lee fielded it cleanly, throwing to third and picking off the lead runner. Lee got the next batter to ground into the inning-ending double play, keeping his shutout intact.

Rafael Perez continued his pitching dominance, striking out the side in a 1-2-3 ninth inning. The Indians come home Monday night to face a struggling Baltimore Orioles team. Fausto Carmona (5-4, 4.46 ERA) pitches against Dennis Sarfate (4-2, 4.58 ERA). Game time is 7:05.

Cleveland will play the next ten at home, the first four against the Orioles, three against the Angels, and three against Kansas City. The Indians are 6-4 in their last ten and 5-1 in the last six. They are one game back of the Kansas City Royals for last place in the AL Central. Cleveland is 52-64. Kansas City is 54-64. The White Sox lead the division by 13 games over the Indians at 65-51.

Too Early to Award the AL Cy Young?

David Wiley — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:19:39 -0400

The Indians pulled off a sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays this weekend, but there was an important sub-text going on.

Saturday, Cleveland beat AL Cy Young candidate Roy Halladay, and Sunday, Cy Young frontrunner Cliff Lee notched his 16th win of the season.

Halladay threw an incredible 130 pitches in Saturday's loss, surrendering four runs on 10 hits. His record fell to 13-9 on the season, with a 2.72 ERA. He lasted six-and-two-thirds.

Sunday, Cliff Lee threw 104 pitches, allowing nary a run on eight hits. His record rose to 16-2 on the season, with a 2.45 ERA.

So, is the AL Cy Young decided?

Of course not, but in the grand scheme of things, you’d have to say Lee was the one gaining a step on Halladay.

Lee has roughly nine more starts left on the season and needs four wins to hit the 20-win mark. It appears like he and Brandon Webb are the two pitchers that might eclipse 20.

Tampa Bay Pounds Three Homers in The Seventh, Bests Cleveland 8-4

David Wiley — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 02:14:59 -0400

The Tampa Bay Rays finally broke out of their losing streak with the Cleveland Indians, winning 8-4. The long ball played a large role in stopping the 0-5 skid they’ve claimed this year as a record against the Indians.

All three of their home runs came in the seventh inning. The first two came at the hands of Rafael Betancourt. He gave up a total of three runs in two-thirds of an inning. Evan Longoria spanked a two run shot after Carlos Pena walked. Cliff Floyd hit his over the right field fence on a 2-1 offering. Juan Rincon relieved, surrendering the third homer of the inning to Dioner Navarro.

The home-runs put the Rays up 8-3, squelching any thought of a Tribe comeback.

Longoria’s home run set the rookie homer mark for the club. It was his 22^nd of the season.

Fausto Carmona only lasted four in this one, giving up four runs on three hits, striking out four and walking five. With a tight strike zone on the lower half of the plate, Carmona could not catch a break, and the five walks were his albatross on this particular evening.

The Indians and Rays each scored a run in the first, Cleveland on three singles by David Dellucci, Kelly Shoppach, and Shin-Soo Choo, scoring Dellucci; the Rays on an Akinon Iwamura triple, and a Pena sac-fly.

In the third, the Indians would go up 3-1. With one out, Shoppach walked, and Jhonny Peralta delivered his 18^th home-run of the season and his 62^nd RBI, continuing his hitting-hot streak.

Carmona’s lack of command led to a three-run fourth for the Rays. After walking the first two batters of the inning, Carmona struck out Hinske. Floyd grounded out, but moved up both runners.

With two out, Navarro delivered a two-single, scoring both the earlier walks. Gabe Gross, then hit a triple, plating Navarro and getting his 23^rdRBI of the season. Carmona issued another free pass prior to an Iwamura groundout that ended Fausto’s night.

After the three homer outburst in the seventh by Tampa and an 8-3 lead, the Indians did muster one more run in the eighth off an Andy Marte double and a Grady Sizemore RBI single.

That capped the scoring for both teams at 8-4.

With the score 4-3 Tampa Bay, the Indians had numerous chances to tie and/or go ahead, but could not deliver on either occasion.

In the top of the sixth, the Indians had the bases loaded with two out. Ben Francisco came in to pinch hit for Dellucci, since Dellucci would have been a lefty-lefty matchup against Ray’s pitcher Howell. Francisco drove one deep to left that appeared to be a grand slam at first glance, but was actually a running over-the-shoulder catch made by center fielder B.J. Upton.

In the top of the seventh, the Indians had runners on the first and third with nobody out after a Shoppach walk and a Peralta single. They could not push home a run, registering a strikeout and a pair of fly-outs to end that threat.

The Indians out hit Tampa Bay 12-10. Dellucci, Peralta, and Franklin Gutierrez had two hits each. Navarro led the way for the Rays with two hits and three RBI.

These two teams meet for the last time on Wednesday in an afternoon start. Jeremy Sowers (1-6, 5.82 ERA) has his work cut out for him going up against Scott Kazmir (8-5, 2.89 ERA). Game time is 12:10.

Cliff Lee Wins 15th, Cleveland Continues its Dominance of the Rays 5-2

David Wiley — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 02:06:36 -0400

Cliff Lee may not have pitched one of his better games of the season, but he fought through it and still ended up picking up his 15^th win of the season in a 5-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Lee went seven innings, giving up eight hits and two runs, combined with two walks and a pair of strikeouts in the win.

The Indians won their fifth straight against Tampa Bay and are 5-0 on the season versus the AL-East leading Rays.

While Lee did not have his best stuff, Rafael Perez pitched two innings of lights-out ball, picking up the save and propelling Lee into a tie for the highest win total to date in the Majors with Arizona’s Brandon Webb. Webb’s Diamond Backs sit atop the NL West at 58-54, while the Indians are mired in last place in the AL Central at 49-62, making Lee’s 15 almost a third of the Tribe’s total victories.

Lee didn’t look like a guy gunning for his 15th victory from the get-go. He bailed himself out of a two-on one out situation in the first. In the second, Tampa Bay loaded up the bases before Lee escaped with another zero, making his first two innings somewhat shaky.

Meanwhile, the Indians scored in the top of the second with Jhonny Peralta singling and Kelly Shoppach doubling him home, making it 1-0 Tribe.

In the third, Asdrubal Cabrera hit a 2-2 pitch from Matt Garza over the right field fence, making it 2-0.

Tampa Bay scored both their runs in the bottom of the fourth. Willy Aybar opened the fifth with a single. After a pair of fly-outs, Gabe Gross doubled to left, moving Aybar to third in the process. Akinori Iwamura singled both runners home, tying up the game at two all.

The Indians matched the two run outburst with one of their own in the top of the fifth. Franklin Gutierrez started the inning off with a single. After a Cabrera strikeout and a Grady Sizemore fly-out, David Dellucci delivered a two-out home-run, his tenth on the season and second in the last two outings, staking the Indians to a 4-2 lead.

Lee struggled through the seventh, allowing a pair of singles to Iwamura and Upton. Edwardo Mujica started warming up in the Indians bullpen, but Lee got himself out of the game with a popout, a flyout, and a groundout, preserving the lead.

The Indians added an insurance run in the top of the eighth when Peralta drew a free pass, stole second, and moved over to third on the throwing error by catcher Navarro. Shoppach singled him home.

Rafael Perez entered in the eighth, striking out two and not allowing a hit in two innings of relief. He picked up his second save of the season.

The Indians and Rays meet for the second of their three game series on Tuesday with a 7:10 game time. Fausto Carmona (5-3, 4.19 ERA) goes up against Edwin Jackson (7-7, 4.20 ERA).

Francisco Liriano Returns as Minnesota Twins Defeat Cleveland Indians 6-2

David Wiley — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 03:22:27 -0400

In addition to last season’s Tommy John surgery, it appeared all that Francisco Liriano needed was a good dose of ‘Tribe offense.” Liriano came into Sunday's game with an 11.32 ERA and no wins.

He exited with his first win of the season and a 7.16 ERA. The Minnesota Twins won two of their three-game set with the Indians copping a 6-2 victory and the AL Central division lead on Sunday.

Matt Ginter was cruising along for the Indians without any run support, but ended up stumbling in the fifth and again in the sixth, allowing a total of five runs on five hits with three strikeouts and a walk.

The Twins got on the board first with a one-out Brendan Harris home-run (his sixth) in the third inning.

They added a pair in the fifth. Jason Kubel led off the inning with a walk, scoring on a Mike Lamb triple to right. Brian Buscher singled, scoring Lamb.

In the sixth, the Twins tacked on another two runs, one of those again via the triple. Denard Span started off the inning with a bunt single. Nick Punto tripled him home. Justin Morneau was intentionally walked, but Ginter threw a wild pitch, allowing Punto to score.

Both starting pitchers did not return for the seventh. The Twins brought in Crain, and he gave up a single to Franklin Gutierrez. After a pair of Indians strikeouts, Grady Sizemore delivered an RBI double for the Indians' first run of the night.

The Indians' second run of the afternoon came in the eighth on a Ben Francisco homer to left.

Span homered for the Twins in the bottom half of the eighth off Juan Rincon, rounding out the scoring.

The Indians head off to Tampa with the Rays looking for revenge. Last time these two played was right before the All-Star break, with the Indians winning all four games.

Cliff Lee (14-2, 2.58 ERA) will pitch against Tampa’s Matt Garza (9-6, 3.56 ERA). Game time is 7:10.

Cleveland Suffers Another Loss, Falling 4-1 to Minnesota

David Wiley — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 00:44:25 -0400

Jeremy Sowers is definitely making a case for remaining in the big leagues, you’d just never know it by his record. Sowers pitched five innings of perfection on Friday against the Minnesota Twins and still ended up with a 4-1 loss.

Five innings of no hits and no walks was broken up in the bottom of the sixth. The first batter Sowers faced was Brendan Harris, and he leveled a double into left. Adam Everett laid down a nice bunt, moving Harris to third.

The second hit of the night by the Twins came at the hands of Carlos Gomez, a single scored Harris and made it a 1-0 Twins lead.

Nick Blackburn, the starting pitcher for Minnesota was almost as good in the hit department, and came out better in the offensive run support category. After five, he’d only giving up three hits coupled with no walks, and nary a run.

In the top of the seventh, the Indians had an opportunity to rough him up for a few. Unfortunately, they could not deliver in the same fashion as the Twins had earlier, but did tie up the game at 1-1.

Kelly Shoppach opened the seventh with a double on a very close play at second. Good hustle and keeping his foot on the bag, Shoppach just barely beat out the tag, hanging on to second with about one toe while falling over. He was safe.

Ryan Garko singled to right, moving Shoppach over to third. Jhonny Peralta came on as a pinch hitter for Andy Marte, and delivered an RBI single just out of the reach of shortstop Everett.

With runners on first and second, and nobody out, Franklin Gutierrez laid down the bunt, but it was not far enough toward the third baseline. Because of the placement, Minnesota third baseman Harris didn’t have to charge the plate, since the ball was fielded easily by Blackburn, and the Twins picked off lead runner Garko for the first out.

Really a turning point in the game, Minnesota executed when they needed a sac-bunt, and the Indians did not.

Asdrubal Cabrera grounded out to first, advancing both runners in the process, but Jamey Carroll struck out for the last out of the inning, and the game was tied at 1-1.

Nick Punto opened up the bottom of the seventh with a single off Sowers. Joe Mauer pounded his seventh home run of the year, spoiling Sowers outing.

Sowers got the next couple of batters, but the Twins weren’t done. In his third plate appearance ever in the big leagues, designated hitter Randy Ruiz singled to right, ringing up his first hit in the majors. He’d also register his first run scored.

Harris knocked a double into the left field corner that took a weird bounce off some sort of gate in the home-run wall that gave a lumbering Ruiz just enough time to rumble home from first.

That sent Sowers to the showers a loser after a strong outing. On a positive note for Sowers; he continues to look better and more comfortable with each game. His night ended giving up six hits and four runs, all of them in his last two innings of work.

Jensen Lewis relieved, going 1.1 innings, hitting a batter, and retiring four.

Blackburn’s night was over as well. The Twins sent out Guerrier in the eighth. He shut down the Indians for closer Joe Nathan’s entrance in the ninth.

After Garko roughed up Nathan for a double, Peralta fouled out. David Dellucci pinch hit and grounded out, and Cabrera grounded out as well, finishing out the game.

The Indians out-hit the Twins 7-6 in the losing effort. Shoppach and Garko each had two hits apiece in the loss.

The Twins remained a half-game out of the Central lead as the White Sox also won.

The Indians hold tight in the cellar.

Play resumes Saturday in Minnesota at 7:10. Cleveland’s Paul Byrd (5-10, 4.93 ERA) versus Minnesota’s Keven Slowey (7-7, 4.00).

Cleveland-Detriot: Indians Beat Tigers 9-4

David Wiley — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 09:13:44 -0400

When the Indians and Tigers play, it’s not over until the fat lady sings. In another crazy one, Cleveland prevailed 9-4 to end with a split in the four game series.

Both teams got on the board in the first after taking basically a breakfast break from the marathon thirteen inning game Wednesday night to the 12:05 afternoon start on Thursday at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

Detroit scored their run on a Carlos Guillen sac-fly to center that plated Curtis Granderson. Cleveland got their first score on back-to-back doubles from Ben Francisco and Jhonny Peralta. At the end of one, it was tied 1-1.

Francisco Carmona pitched as well as a guy should be expected to in his second outing after a long trip to the DL. It even appeared he might cruise to an easy win.

Then again, this is the Indians and Detroit we are talking about.

The Indians put up a three spot in the bottom of the fifth, opening up a 4-1 lead. After Sal Fassano was hit by a pitch, Asdrubal Cabera worked a work after a full count, setting the plate for Grady Sizemore’s 27^th home-run of the season.

The Tigers got a run back in the top of the sixth. Ramon Santiago was hit by a pitch and Carlos Guillen moved him to second with a single. Matt Joyce was safe on a fielder’s choice. A rare fielding error by Cabrera allowed Santiago to score. With two out, Carmona bailed himself out by getting Marcus Thames to foul out to Indians third baseman Andy Marte.

The Indians padded their lead in the bottom of the sixth. Shin-Soo Choo singled with one out. After a Marte foul-out, Ryan Garko walked. With runners on first and second, Fasano singled home Choo. Detroitwent to the bullpen, bringing in Clay Rapada. Cabrera greeted him with a single to right, loading the bases. Sizemore was hit by a pitch, walking in Garko. Franklin Gutierrez grounded into a fielder’s choice, ending the two run inning.

The Tigers finally chased Carmona in the seventh. Edgar Renteria started the inning off with a double. Ryan Raburn singled Renteria to third, and a Carmona’s wild pitch scored Renteria. On a Fasano error, Raburn ended up on third. He scored on a Dane Sardinha groundout, and Rafael Perez came on in relief of Carmona.

Perez got the Tribe out of the jam after adding to the malay and then struck out the side in the bottom of the eighth paving the way for Masa Kobayashi to close down the Tigers in the ninth.

In the meantime, the Indians added three runs in the bottom of the eighth on a Garko single, and Fasano double that scored Garko. Cabrera and Sizemore drew back-to-back walks, loading the bases. Gutierrez hit a sac-fly that scored Fasano and moved Cabrera over to third. When Sizemore swiped second, Tiger catcher Sardinha registered a throwing error, and Cabrera scored.

The Indians finished the day with nine runs on eight hits, but had a whopping three errors. Detroit, not much better in the field, had four runs on six hit with a pair of errors.

Carmona went six and a third, giving up four runs on five hits, while striking out three and walking one. Two of the runs were earned. He also came out just shy of 100 pitches at 99 and moves to 5-3 on the season.

Rafael Perez got the hold and deservedly so. Jason Verlander earned the loss, going five and two-thirds while surrendering six runs on five hits, all six earned. He did strike out nine and walked three.

Cleveland travels to Minnesota Friday, taking on a Twins team just a game and a half out of first place in the Central. Game time is 8:05. Jeremy Sowers (1-5, 5.86 ERA) goes up against Nick Blackburn (7-6, 3.69 ERA).

Detroit Bests Cleveland 8-5.

David Wiley — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 01:13:48 -0400

Jim Leyland decided to give his Detroit Tiger Squad a day off from hitting, and they responded by pounding the cover off the ball in an 8-5 win over the Cleveland Indians.

Detroit amassed eight runs on fourteen hits, knocking Indians starter Matt Ginter out of the game and handing him the loss as he gave up four runs on eight hits.

Detroit’s first run came via the long-ball. Miguel Cabrera tagged Ginter in the second inning, hitting his 17^th homerun of the season, and gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

In the fourth, the Tigers would add three. Maglio Ordonez opened the third with a single. After a Cabrera pop-out, Matt Joyce doubled to center, moving Ordonez to third.

Ginter struck out Gary Sheffield and appeared he might squeak out of trouble, but that pipe-dream was squelched one batter later when Edgar Renteria doubled to left, scoring both runners.

Detroit wasn’t finished, as Brandon Inge also doubled, scoring Renteria from second. Ginter walked Curtis Granderson, but induced an inning-ending ground-out to Placido Polanco, ending the inning and his night.

He wasn’t the only Indians pitcher getting knocked around. Juan Rincon gave up two runs on three hits in his one inning of relief.

Jose Guillen greeted Rincon with a single to open up the fifth. Cabrera singled, putting runners on first and second with one out. Rincon struck out Joyce for the second out.

Can you say theme of the day? One out away from getting out of the inning just like Ginter, Rincon gave up a double to Renteria, plating both runners and giving Detroit a 6-1 lead.

The one for the Indians came in the bottom of the fourth. Back-to-back doubles by Grady Sizemore and David Dellucci got the Indians on the board after being stymied by Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga through three. Galarraga had set down nine Indians in a row until the Sizemore double.

In the meantime, the Indians score a pair in the sixth. Ben Francisco walked with one out, and scored on a Johnny Peralta triple.

One batter later, Peralta trotted home on a Shin-Soo Choo double. That ended Galarraga’s evening with a tag line of three runs on five hits through 5.1 innings. Freddy Dolsi took over for Detroit and retired the Indians with no further damage.

Jensen Lewis kept the Indians in the game with his two innings of no-hit relief, proving Detroit hitters could actually be stopped.

Then again, he only proved they could be slowed down a bit until Rafael Betancourt came in and gave up a pair of hits and a pair of runs in his one inning of work.

Joyce welcomed Betancourt to the field with a lead-off single, and with two outs yet again, Inge homered to left, rounding out Detroit’s evening by making it an 8-3 Tiger Lead.

Peralta started off the bottom half of the eighth with a single. Choo walked, and the Tribe was on tap for a big comeback. Kelly Shoppach struck out, and Andy Marte popped out while both runners held their positions on the field.

Ryan Garko came through with a big two-out double, scoring Peralta. With runners on second and third, Cabrera struck out, ending the threat.

Masa Kobayashi finished the game for the Indians with a one hit, no run ninth.

Down 8-4, the Indians offered a weak comeback attempt. Sizemore walked and took second on a defensive indifference call. After a Franklin Gutierrez ground-out, Francisco flied out, moving Sizemore to third. On a Fernando Rodney wild pitch, Sizemore scored, making it 8-5. Peralta struck out to end the game.

Game three of the four game series is a 7:05 start time. Cleveland Lefty Cliff Lee (14-2, 2.29 ERA) goes up against Detroit Lefty Nate Robertson (6-8, 5.63 ERA)

Indians Shutout the Tigers 5-0

David Wiley — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:59:09 -0400

It was a more than nice opening to the series against the Detroit Tigers. The 5-0 victory was one of the better games of the season for the Indians.

Paul Byrd was sharp until the last out in the eighth, surrendering only four hits. The only real challenging inning he had up to that point was when Curtis Granderson tagged him for a lead-off double in the sixth. Granderson was still standing on second when the last out was recorded in the inning.

The Indians offense did their part in the victory. Grady Sizemore opened the game with a lead-off double after falling behind 1-2 in the count. The double missed being a home run by about a foot when it careened off the wall. Franklin Gutierrez grounded out, but moved Sizemore over to third.

After Ben Francisco was plunked by a pitch that Detroit pitcher Kenny Rodgers complained Francisco made no effort to move out of the way of, Jhonny Peralta hit into a fielder’s choice, but hustled down the line, avoiding the double play and scoring Sizemore. Shoppach grounded out, but the Indians were on the board.

In the bottom of the third, they’d extend the lead by one. Gutierrez singled with one out, and Peralta doubled him home, making it 2-0 Tribe.

The bottom of the sixth broke the tightly contested game open.

Kelly Shoppach started off the inning with a homerun on a 3-1 count. Andy Marte flied out for the first out of the inning, then Ryan Garko doubled to left. After a Gonzalez strikeout, Asdrubal Cabrera put the icing on the cake, hitting a homerun on a 2-0 count and giving the Indians a 5-0 lead.

The Tigers finally put Byrd in a bit of trouble in the seventh. Granderson singled with one out. Polanco fouled out, then Byrd walked Guillen. Byrd, already over 100 pitches was relieved by Edward Mujica. He got Maglio Ordonez to ground into an inning-ending fielder's choice, preserving the five run lead.

Mujica would close out the ninth with a fly-out sandwiched in between a pair of strikeouts. He is really establishing himself as the setup man and possibly the inside track guy for the closer position.

The Indians logged 10 hits total. Sizemore, Shoppach, and Garko had two hits apiece, while Gutierrez, Peralta, Gonzalez, and Cabrera each had one.

Paul Byrd gets to 5-10 on the season with the win. Kenny Rogers is 8-7 and takes the loss. Game two of the four game set is a 7:05 start time featuring 8-4 Righty Armando Gallaraga (3.27 ERA) against 1-1 righty Matt Ginter (2.45 ERA).

Can Grady Sizemore Win the Home Run Derby?

David Wiley — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:45:37 -0400

Eight hitters take the field tonight in New York for the 23rd Major League Baseball Home Run Derby.

For the American League, Tampa Bay Rays' Evan Longoria, Minnesota Twins' Justin Morneau, Texas Rangers' Josh Hamilton, and Cleveland Indians' Grady Sizemore will go.

On the National League side, Houston Astros' Lance Berkman, Florida Marlins' Dan Uggla, Philadelphia Phillies' Chase Utley, and Milwaukee Brewers' Ryan Braun will hit.

Hitting in Yankee Stadium favors lefties because of the infamous “short porch” in the right field corner. Four of the eight hitters are left-handers.

Since its 1985 inception, the Cleveland Indians have sent six participants to five home run derby competitions. In 1995, two of the four AL sluggers were Indians with Albert Belle and Manny Ramirez both going.

Three Indians total have gone for Cleveland. Jim Thome went twice. Albert Belle participated three times. Manny Ramirez went as an Indian once. Jim Thome came the closest to winning it for Indians fans, finishing second in 1998.

When Grady Sizemore heads to the plate, he will be the fourth Indian going for the Home Run Derby win. He is one of the four lefties in the Derby.

A dark horse in the field, Sizemore definitely has a chance to bring the title back to Cleveland. He’s one of the hottest home run hitters in the league coming into the All-Star break. Of his 23 AL leading home runs, 11 have come in the last 28 games, almost a home run every other game.

The Home Run Derby, though, is all about finding your stroke. It has made the likes of all past Indians' sluggers look bad.

Jim Thome’s first appearance yielded him exactly zero home runs and a first round exit. Manny Ramirez had three and a first round exit in his only appearance. Albert Belle? Same numbers in his first try...three home runs and a first round exit.

While Sizemore is overshadowed by the likes of Josh Hamilton, four-time participant Lance Berkman, and the only repeat person from last year in Justin Morneau, this writer thinks he has the odds on favorite to win the Derby because of his youth. Or maybe it's just because I’m from Cleveland. Either way, Grady has a one-in-eight shot.