Author: JEC (Page 19 of 46)

The Indians won their fourth-straight game Tuesday night, whooping up on the visiting Rockies 11-2. Everybody in the lineup had at least one hit and scored at least one run, led by Travis Hafner (2-4, HR, 2 RBI), Grady Sizemore (3-5) and Jose Hernandez (3-5). Jake Westbrook, meanwhile, avoided his 10th loss of the season (really?) by pitching seven strong innings, allowing two runs and striking out five. Let’s go for two-straight sweeps!

For a road trip that started out so badly, losing two of three to both the White Sox and Twins, it sure ended on a high note, taking two of three from the first-place Padres and then sweeping the hapless Giants. Now above .500 for the first time all season (31-30), the Indians have a chance to get fat against some weaker opponents: the Colorado Rockies (21-40) are in town for a three-game series starting Tuesday, followed by a three-day visit from the struggling Arizona Diamondbacks over the weekend. The Red Sox series after that will be tough but then they’ve got three more at home against the Reds.

Believe it or not, this team is still far from out of it in the Central. Sure, they’re 10.5 games behind the White Sox and 5.5 behind the Twins, but it’s still June 13 and it looks like the offense is finally starting to wake up just as the schedule offers a bit of a break. Unfortunately, the Twins close June out against the Giants, Tigers, Brewers, Royals and Devil Rays while the Sox have the D-Backs, Tigers, Royals, Devil Rays and A’s on their schedule. Still, if the Indians continue to play well in the next couple of weeks against some very beatable opponents, they could be within striking distance by the All-Star break.

A three-run lead heading into the ninth inning turned into an eight-run win for the Indians after they scored five runs on seven-straight singles with two outs in the top of the ninth. In the end, the Tribe beat the Giants 10-2 behind another superb performance from C.C. Sabathia (5-3), who allowed two runs on five hits in eight innings of work with six strikeouts. Grady Sizemore had three hits and scored two runs from the leadoff spot while Aaron Boone continued to warm up, driving in and scoring two runs with two hits, giving him four multi-hit games in his last six, a 10-for-22 streak (.455) that’s raised his average all the way up to .188. Woo hoo! Omar Vizquel, meanwhile, went 0-4 against his former mates. Man, was it weird seeing Omar in that uniform or what?

On another note, Jhonny Peralta is sleeping with Eric Wedge’s wife. Well, that’s my guess, anyway. How else can you explain Peralta being benched for Alex Cora the past two games even though Cora is mired in a 1-for-18 slump while Peralta is one of only two guys on the team (Coco Crisp) slugging above .490?

Coco Crisp hit a solo home run in the eighth and Jody Gerut delivered a pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth, but the Indians still came up short in their bid to sweep the San Diego Padres, falling 3-2 Thursday afternoon. Jake Westbrook pitched a solid game, giving up three runs (only one earned) on three hits in six innings, and the Indians out-hit the Pads 9-3, but they couldn’t complete the sweep.

Things may have turned out different had third-base ump Tim Welke not rung Grady Sizemore up on a check swing in the ninth with two outs and the tying run on first. To have a game end on a call like that is a joke, because it sure looked like Grady held up. Why the hell wasn’t Eric Wedge in Welke’s face after that call?