Page 110 of 357

For the second straight night, Grady Sizemore led off the game with a home run as the Tribe yet again exploded in the first inning and went on to win 6-5 against the Rangers. Most of their offensive power, however, came from the bat of a surprise guest. DH Kevin Kouzmanoff, called up from Triple-A Buffalo and filling in for the injured Travis Hafner, launched a ball into the seats for a grand slam in the Tribe’s five-run first inning. Not only was it his first major league home run and grand slam, it was on the first pitch in his first at-bat. What a way to enter the big leagues.

Cliff Lee got his first win since August 10, allowing two earned runs in seven innings. Tom Mastny gave up a run in the ninth and experience more trouble than usual but still was able to save his fifth straight game.

There was a bittersweet moment in the eighth for Travis Hafner and the Indians. Hafner, with the bases loaded, got beaned on the hand. The HBP awarded Pronk his 110th RBI, which breaks a single-season Indians record for RBIs by a DH. He reached a treasured milestone in the game, but at what cost? Unfortunately, Travis had to be taken out of the game after his hand swelled up. No word yet on the extent of the injury. Let’s pray it’s not a broken bone.

Nothing can seem to stop the Tribe these days. Not even a day off. The Tribe continued on the winning trail with a 7-2 win over the Texas Rangers Friday night, making it their fourth win in a row and 17th in the last 22 games. Grady Sizemore got it all started in the first with a leadoff double. The Indians turned it into a three-run inning and didn’t look back. Sizemore, however, was not done. He ripped a home run the very next inning and added another double later on to finish the night 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. Andy Marte also had a solid night, going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Jake Westbrook won yet another game, his 12th of the season and fifth in his last six starts. He gave up two runs and struck out six in seven innings.