Author: John Blake (Page 61 of 68)

After a superb first two outings in which he allowed only three runs combined, Jake Westbrook had an uncharacteristically rough start Friday night, giving up five runs in six innings as the Tribe lost to the Tigers 5-1. Conversely, Tiger starter Kenny Rogers was very sharp, giving up only one run through eight. The lone Indians run came in the sixth when Eduardo Perez grounded into a double play, scoring Hafner.

Being a sinkerball pitcher, it’s unlike Westbrook to give up three home runs in a game. He missed his spots over the plate and Detroit made him and and the Tribe pay.

“I just got carried away with trying to throw the ball too hard,” he said. “You can’t make bad pitches against that team.”

What has been a strength for the Indians so far this season has doomed them the past two nights. The Tribe’s bullpen couldn’t hold a lead as they lost to the Mariners in the rubber match Thursday night, 9-5. Jason Johnson left the game in the sixth with a 5-3 lead but the bullpen was unable to sustain it. Indians pitchers as a whole walked nine Mariners in the game.

“We put them in position to win,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said. “It’s uncharacteristic of guys who are usually aggressive over the plate and throw strike one, strike two.”

Our relievers have not been sharp recently which has led to our two-game losing streak.

An old friend came back to haunt the Indians Wednesday night. With one out in the sixth, Richie Sexson launched a Danny Graves pitch over the wall in left for a grand slam to blow the game open. The Tribe battled back but fell short to the Mariners, 11-9. The Indians’ win streak came to a halt at six. Paul Byrd had a rough outing, giving up six runs in 3 2/3 innings. Offensively, once again, there were many bright spots. Pronk went yard for the seventh time in the last seven games. Casey Blake seems like a totally different hitter from last season. He went 3 for 4 with 4 RBI and raised his average to .429.

Though he got the win in his first outing, Paul Byrd has not looked sharp in the early going. However, he is a veteran and I’m not too terribly concerned at this point.