Category: Cleveland Indians (Page 16 of 96)

A game that started out extremely ugly for the Tribe actually turned out to be rather interesting. After getting blown out of the water to start, the Indians put together a massive seventh inning to make it close but in the end the White Sox prevailed 10-8 Saturday night. The nightmare of a season for Fausto Carmona continues. Starting in an Indians uniform for the first time since April 29, Carmona allowed five runs in three innings as the Sox jumped out to a 10-1 lead after six innings. The Indians surprisingly were able to make a game of it when they put up seven on the board in the seventh inning to cut the deficit to two. Kevin Kouzmanoff highlighted the inning with a three-run homer but the Indians simply seemed to run out of gas the rest of the way.

Put him in the closer’s role, he struggles. Send him to Buffalo, he struggles. Bring him back to the Indians’ rotation, he struggles. Fausto may have a lot going through his head right now. Perhaps the organization has tried to do too much with him too soon.

The Indians went through quite an emotional roller coaster during their 7-6 loss to the White Sox Friday night. An impressive ninth inning comeback by the Tribe was all for naught as Tom Mastny blew his first save when he surrendered a walk-off two-run home run to A.J Pierzynski. Trailing 5-3 heading into the ninth, the Indians shocked the Sox faithful when they rallied with four straight doubles off closer Bobby Jenks to take a 6-5 lead. The Tribe went ahead but could have even added more to their slim advantage. With the lead, they had a chance at an even bigger inning with two on and nobody out until Ryan Garko hit into a double play. As it turns out, they would need another run or two. Mastny, converting his last five save chances, let up a single to Konerko before the Sox catcher took him yard to end it.

The blown save wasted a terrific night by Sizemore, both at the plate and on the basepaths. Grady finished 3-for-4 with a single, double, triple, and two stolen bases. But what has plagued the team all season came back to bite the Tribe again…the bullpen.

“This is still new to me,” he said of the ninth-inning job. “Anytime I get out there, it’s good for me. I can only build off this.”

The Indians had a heartbreaking end to their 2005 season and just barely missed a spot in the postseason. They are light years away from the playoff picture this season and have been for quite some time but still have a chance at ruining the chances of some other American League teams that are in the playoff hunt, namely the Chicago White Sox.

It was them who put the dagger in the hearts of Tribe players and fans at the end of last season and the Indians, should they choose to accept it, have an opportunity to give the South Siders a little bit of payback this September. As it sits now, the Sox are trailing the AL Central-leading Tigers by five games and are jockying for position atop the Wild Card standings with Minnesota. With six games remaining against Chicago, the Indians can really make life difficult for the Sox should they take care of business against them. As frustrating as the 2006 season has been for us Tribe fans, I for one would be able to sleep a little easier if the Indians somehow could play a tiny role in derailing the Sox’ playoff chances this season.

Thursday night, it was the Indians who played like they were in the midst of a postseason run, not the White Sox. The Tribe got on the board first and built a sizable 7-0 lead through five and put it in cruise control the rest of the way, beating the Sox 9-1. Cliff Lee was rock solid, carrying a no-hitter into the fifth. He gave up a run through six and the gave way to the bullpen. Rafael Betancourt and Jason Davis combined to throw the final three scoreless innings.

The Tribe’s offense came back to life and pounded 17 hits against Mark Buerhle and White Sox. They got home runs from Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez. In addition, Ryan Garko, Jason Michaels, Aaron Boone, and Andy Marte all enjoyed three-hit nights. Jhonny Peralta, finishing 0-for-5, was the only player left out of the Tribe hit parade.

Jake Westbrook has a knack for giving up double-digit hits in his outings. He allowed 11 hits and three runs in his six innings in a low scoring 3-2 loss to the guys up north. The Jays did all their damage in the second as they got three off Westbrook after a bunch of singles and a wild pitch. After a two-run double by Jason Michaels in the fifth, the Tribe found themselves right back in the ballgame. But with nobody out and Michaels on second, the Indians failed to bring him home, a problem that has plagued them often in their recent losses. That would prove to be their biggest opportunity in the ballgame to tie it or take the lead, as they only could manage five hits on the night off Jays starter Ted Lilly and the bullpen.

It would have been nice to watch the game had STO not have totally screwed up with their choppy broadcast. Somebody trip over a wire or what?