Category: Cleveland Indians (Page 84 of 96)

The offense is officially on a roll. The Indians pounded the Diamondbacks for 10 runs in the third inning on their way to a 13-6 victory. It was their seventh-straight win, and for a change the offense carried the day. Aaron Boone contines his resurgence, and Casey Blake hit another home run as he works to break out of his own slump.

Meanwhile, Grady Sizemore continues to make Shapiro look like a genius. Three years after the Bartolo Colon trade, Sizemore and Cliff Lee have become important components of this team, and Brandon Phillips still has great potential. Not every one of Shapiro’s trades yielded gems like Sizemore and Lee, but it’s hard to argue with the salary dump he initiated once it became clear that the Tribe needed to rebuild. Even the Robbie Alomar deal is paying dividends as Shapiro parlayed Matt Lawton into Arthur Rhodes, transforming the bullpen into a real asset this season. It remains to be seen whether the current roster can make it to the playoffs, but the Indians are certainly better off than they would have been had Shapiro held on to Colon and fading stars like Alomar and Thome. The salary structure is under control, and there is real hope for this season and beyond with guys like Sizemore and Lee leading the way.

The Indians now find themselves four games above .500 and 8.5 behind the White Sox and 3 games behind the Twins after beating the Rockies 2-1 Thursday night. In his first start back from the DL, Kevin Millwood shut Colorado out for five innings to earn his second win of the year and give the Indians their second-straight series sweep. Now sitting at 34-30 on the season and hosting the struggling Diamondbacks this weekend, the Indians have a chance to pad their record and make up even more ground in the Central.

C.C. Sabathia had a rough night, but the bullpen and the offense bailed him out in a dramatic 7-6 victory in ten innings. Jhonny Peralta tied the game with a home run in the bottom of the ninth, and then Aaron Boone won it with a blast in the bottom of the tenth. Suddenly, the offense is looking strong and the Tribe seems poised to make a serious run at the White Sox and Twins. Maybe we’ll have a fun summer after all.

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.