Indians-Tigers: Cleveland Wins 1-0 To Split Four-Game Series

You win one, you lose one. That has been the theme of the Tribe for about one month. The Indians latest series split with the Tigers was nothing spectacular, just the same old story that has been told all season long.

Spotty hitting and a shoddy bullpen has been popping up all year long. The total self-destruction of Dontrelle Willis also aided in the series split, as he was downright horrible on Monday. The Tribe again attempts to win its second game in a row since May 15.

Highlights

Ryan Garko: 3-for-12, 2 HR, 7 RBI. At least someone in the order is finally driving in some runs.

Shin-Soo Choo: 3-for-7. I like his bat, but his defense is not too great. His best fit is as a platoon player.

Paul Byrd: 7 IP, 4 Hits, 2 earned runs, 0 walks, 2 K's. Paulie is a gamer.

Cliff Lee: 5 IP, 6 Hits, 2 earned runs, 2 walks, 5 K's. Cliff is now 10-1 and one of the few bright spots on this team.

Franklin Gutierrez: Made an unbelievable catch on Sunday to save Betancourt from serving up yet another home run. His defense is outstanding, but his bat seems to be just average.

Areas of Concern

Rafael Betancourt: (Saturday) 1 IP, 4 earned runs, 1 Grand Slam. Killed the potential winning streak Saturday, I sure miss the 2007 version of Raffey. CONQUEST!

Ben Francisco: 1-for-14 with 4 K's. Benny cooled off considerably over the weekend, as did the rest of the offense. Has real trouble with the outside fastball. If he can start seeing and taking that pitch the other way, he could be even more dangerous.

Jeremy Sowers: 4 IP, 7 Hits, 5 earned runs, 2 walks, 2 K's. Never had any flow to the game, as his seven-day layoff from his previous start in Buffalo may have gotten to him.

2008 Season: Slowly slipping away, as the Indians are 8 1/2 games behind the Chicago White Sox.

The Minnesota Twins invade Progressive Field Tuesday, as Scott Baker takes on C.C. Sabathia.