Author: John Blake (Page 47 of 68)

Jake Westbrook rebounded from his last ugly start as he pitched seven shutout innings in the Tribe’s 5-0 win over the White Sox. It was the first time Chicago has been shut out all season. Jake only surrendered six base hits and did not walk a batter as he got his fifth win. The Tribe end the month of May right at the .500 mark with a record of 26-26.

“My changeup worked well,” Westbrook said. “A lot of times it’s not what I rely on to get outs, but I use it to set up my sinker. That’s what I did tonight.”

The top of the Indians’ lineup led the way. Grady Sizemore continues to be locked in at the plate, going 3 for 4 with a triple and two RBI. He has now hit safely in 19 of his last 22 games. Jason Michaels stayed hot as well, adding a double and two RBI. Ben Broussard gave the Tribe the early lead with a solo homer in the second on a 3-o pitch.

Jake really had his sinker working Wednesday night and pitched much more effectively than his last outing when he left most of his pitches up in the strike zone. As for Grady and Michaels, they are starting to light up the top of the order.

The Indians got another great performance by ace C.C Sabathia as they edged the White Sox 4-3 Tuesday night. He allowed only two unearned runs in six innings and got his fifth win of the month. The White Sox were able to take an early lead with a Jermaine Dye solo homer in the first. They were able to add two more in the second, partially due to Victor Martinez’s throwing error to first base. However, the Tribe came right back in the bottom of the inning and scored four. Jhonny Peralta had a two-run line drive home run and Travis Hafner and Martinez both followed with doubles. The Tribe bullpen did a superb job holding the one run lead and Bob Wickman picked up his eighth save of the season.

“That was awesome,” Sabathia said of the performance of the much-improved ‘pen. “If we can get that every night, the starters will be a lot more comfortable coming out of the game after the sixth.”

Sabathia was really impressive in a couple of situations. In the fifth when the Sox had two on, C.C battled with Konerko and ended up striking him out. The next inning, Sizemore, Michaels, and Peralta had communication problems on a high fly ball that dropped between the three to put runners on first and second with one out. With the game being tight, C.C really focused following the blunder and retired the next two hitters. The old Sabathia would have gotten upset when his defense would make a mistake and would let it affect his performance. The new and improved C.C did not let it go to his head and just did his job. The game was close and he showed great poise on the mound in those two innings.

The Indians’ promising game Sunday did not carry over into Memorial Day. Their holiday was anything but fun and enjoyable as they were hammered by the White Sox 11-0 Monday afternoon. The game was rough from the start as Cliff Lee was rocked for seven runs in 2 2/3 innings. Lee gave up three bombs, including one in the first inning to Jim Thome, who had two on the day. Javier Vazquez was dominant for the ChiSox and the Indians’ anemic offense couldn’t do anything all day, which finished with only two base hits. For the Indians, when it rains, it poors. Aaron Boone, attempting to catch a foul ball near the camera bay, went head over heels and winded up banging his head and getting a mild concussion.

Jhonny Peralta is really starting to annoy me. In the first inning, he gave somewhat of a nonchalant effort towards a hard ground ball hit to him. The ball went right past him and although it would not have made a difference in the outcome of the game, the play once again emphasizes Peralta’s laziness. I’m sure he is trying but it with his body language sometimes it just doesn’t seem like he’s giving full effort on plays.

“It was one of those days,” Lee said, “where nothing went our way.”

Umm, Cliff, nothing has been going your way for awhile now, not just today. Sabathia needs to be the stopper tomorrow and get us a victory.

The Indians were finally able to get to Kenny Rogers for once. The Tribe scored five runs off the lefty in 4 1/3 innings as the Indians avoided the sweep and pounded the Tigers 9-0. Travis Hafner homered in the first to put the Indians on top and Jason Michaels displayed some rare power as he hit a grand slam in the eighth to seal the deal. Aaron Boone also had a solid game, going 3 for 5 and scoring two runs. Tribe starter Jason Johnson bounced back with a suprisingly fantastic outing, throwing six innings of shutout ball. His side work with pitching coach Carl Willis must have temporarily paid off. Johnson was able to keep the ball down in the strike zone and might have saved his job with this performance. Granted, it’s only one start but hopefully he can build on this and pitch like he did his first few starts of the season.

As for the Indians as a team, I still don’t really understand this ballclub. They play horrible games for a stretch and then throw in the occasional 11-0 or 9-0 blowout of the opponent. What’s up with that? This team is so inconsistent it’s unbelievable. But great win nonetheless and Wedge seemed very pleased with the effort.

“This was a big win for us today. With the way we played the last couple of nights, playing the team leading our division that we had lost a bunch in a row to [five straight],” said Indians’ manager Eric Wedge. “Certain points in time during the season when wins mean a little more and I think that was one of them.”

The Tigers won their eighth straight Saturday night as they beat the Indians 3-1. The Tribe got the pitching they were looking for but more squandered opportunities led to another defeat. Paul Byrd pitched seven innings of solid ball but the Tribe failed on a golden opportunity in the sixth. Aaron Boone led off with a double and Casey Blake was hit by a pitch but they both were stranded as Jhonny Peralta and Travis Hafner both struck out. In the eighth inning, the Indians had a runner on third with one out but could not bring him home. Casey Blake struck out on a fastball right down the middle and Jhonny Peralta grounded out. Magglio Ordonez homered in the first to give the Tigers the early lead, one that they would not relinquish. Hard-throwing Tiger starter Justin Verlander improved to 7-3 on the season, giving up the lone Indians run in seven innings.

And the beat goes on for the Tribe. Nothing can seem to go right for them these days. One day it’s the pitching, the next it’s non-clutch hitting. They now fall to 11.5 games behind the Tigers in the Central. They MUST salvage this series and avoid a sweep Sunday afternoon.