Off a 6-1 homestand, manager Eric Wedge speaks to the media following the latest Indians 4-2 win at Progressive Field over the A’s. Wedge talks about the homestand, the scoreless streak, the hitting coming around, the closer role, and the upcoming trip to Cincy. Click below to hear the Indians manager talk about this latest win and other topics.
While the Indians shutout streak may have ended today, the winning didn’t, as the team won their 6th home game in 7 tries, topping the A’s 4-2 at Progressive Field. The run for the A’s came about due to an error by pitcher Aaron Laffey in the 2nd that made it 1-1. The young pitcher made a throwing error that saw the ball went to right field that allowed Bobby Crosby to cross the plate. It was the first and only run that the A’s scored in the three-game set. Laffey had another good outing, going 7 innings, allowing the one run on five hits, walking one and striking out six. He lowered his ERA to 1.35.
On the offensive side, Ryan Garko started the scoring in the first inning with a double that scored Jhonny Peralta to make it 1-0 in the first off of A’s pitcher Greg Smith. After the A’s tied the game, the Indians jumped right back on top with two runs in the third inning, as Ben Francisco singled in Grady Sizemore to make it 2-1, and then Travis Hafner, who continues to make strides out of his slump, singled in Peralta to make it 3-1.
The offense has made a few strides all homestand, as they did have nine hits on the afternoon. Peralta wrapped up the scoring with a homer to deep left in the 7th that made it 4-1. It was Peralta’s 7th homer of the season. Rafael Betancourt was brought in to try and get his 5th save of the season, but was unable to get out of the inning and instead loaded the bases, bringing Masa Kobayashi in for the shot at the save. A wild pitch did allow a run to come across to make it 4-2. A pair of strikeouts ended the threat.
Overall the team outscored the A’s 9-2 during the three-game sweep, ending the homestand outscoring the Blue Jays and A’s 31-6. They went 6-1 overall in the seven games to improve to 22-19. The team moves now to Cincy to take on the Reds for the first of three on Friday night. Jeremy Sowers (0-0, 5.06) takes on Johnny Cueto (2-4, 5.91) at 7:05pm.
Indians pitcher C.C. Sabathia is on a roll, like the rest of the staff, and tonight after the game he talked to the media about his outing, the team and staff being on a roll, and what went his way against an A’s team that had done well against him in two previous outings in 2008. Click below to hear from the Indians pitcher post game Wednesday night.
Just another night at the office for the Indians pitching staff, as tonight it was C.C. Sabathia’s turn to do what the staff has done best as of late - throw a shutout in topping the A’s 2-0. Sabathia continued what is becoming a historic trend for the Tribe, as the staff threw its 7th shutout of the year, fourth in last five games, and fifth in last eight. The team also extended its streak of scoreless innings to 43 innings, and have allowed one run in 48 innings. Wow.
Let’s start with Sabathia, who was better than at any point in 2008, this vs a team that had been 2-0 against him and his ERA vs the A’s coming in was 14.54 in two starts. He dominated, allowing five hits, walking two and striking out 11. It was C.C.’s 2nd double digit strikeout game of the year, and 13th of his career. He moves to 3-5, and in his last three starts has allowed one earned run in going 2-1.
The offense was, as usual, not all that productive, but did the job. They got a homer to start the game from Grady Sizemore, his 7th of the season, to make it 1-0. Their other run came in the 4th when Ryan Garko hit his second homer in as many days, his 4th of the season, making it 2-0. That was all the team would need. They did pound out five hits, but other than the two homers off of A’s starter Joe Blanton, the team never was able to get anyone across home.
As far as the standings go, the win moves them to 21-19, they have won 8 of 10, and finally have started playing well at home, winning five of their last six on this homestand vs the Blue Jays and A’s. They will look for the sweep tomorrow vs the A’s at 12:05pm as Aaron Laffey (1-2, 1.83) will look to continue the shutout streak as he takes on Greg Smith of the A’s, who is 2-2.
Interesting dinner conversation tonight in the Indians press dining room, as I had the pleasure of catching up with media pals Greg Brinda of WKNR and the always entertaining Bruce Drennen of “All Bets are Off” on SportsTime Ohio. The topic turned to the Indians offense (or lack of), and the latest rumor mill that Bruce said was a topic on his show today, which was the rumor of the Indians having interest in Rockies 3B Garrett Atkins.
If you haven’t heard about it, Buster Olney of ESPN threw out the following on the possibility of the Indians taking a look at Atkins: If Colorado eventually turns the page on 2008, the Indians and the Rockies could match up well in a deal built around Garrett Atkins. The Rockies have a third baseman waiting in the wings, in Ian Stewart — although he is not faring well so far — and the Indians, as they look for ways to improve their offense, are flexible at first and third base.
Now if you don’t know much about Atkins, he’s a solid hitter (.335 with 7 homers and 26 RBI), and according to Drennen he’s more than serviceable at third. The Indians need a stick, no doubt, and third base is a question mark for the future with Andy Marte not doing much of anything, and Casey Blake is playing well, but he’s not your 3B of the future.
Atkins is not going to come cheap, and two names that Bruce brought up in a possible deal would be pitcher Aaron Laffey and 2B Josh Barfield, who is playing OK in Buffalo. Atkins last season had 25 homers, 111 RBI and hit .301. Follow this one closely, and while the trade deadline is a long way off, there is no doubt that this is an interesting rumor that could gain more steam before it’s all said and done.
It was another outstanding night for the Indians pitching staff, led by starter Paul Byrd, who went 7.1 shutout innings as he picks up his second win of the season. Byrd talked to the media after the game about his outing and about the great defense behind him tonight as the Indians moved to 20-19 with a 4-0 win. Click below to hear Byrd’s comments.
As wild as it is that the Indians pitching staff has been this good for this long of a stretch, here are some numbers to consider over the past few days here at Progressive Field and from last week at Yankee Stadium:
Tonight vs the A’s was the Indians 6th shutout of the season
The Tribe has now recorded shutouts in three of their last four games, and four of their last seven
The starters have a scoress innings streak at 34 innings, dating back to the 5th inning of Friday’s game vs Toronto
The Indians have allowed just one run in their last 39 innings overall
Who needs an offense when the pitching staff is doing this?
Matt has covered Major League Baseball and the "other two" Pro teams in Cleveland since 1994. He has been on the beat of the Indians in full-time mode since 1996, working for various raido and print networks around the country.
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