Byrd Gives Up Three Bombs in Tribes 9-5 Loss to Angels
With thoughts of coming back to Cleveland in the back of their mind, the Indians played like a team with the plane already started, and Paul Byrd treated his second start like a pitcher throwing his first games of spring training. Byrd was beaten up by the Angels for three homers, with the big blow being a grand slam by Mike Napoli as the Angels topped the Indians 9-5 in the series finale.
Byrd has been pretty bad in his first two starts, today allowing six runs and five hits in just three innings. In two starts (Friday vs the A’s was his first), Byrd has a 11.05 ERA. “I just haven’t had my command at all and I haven’t had very good stuff,” Byrd said. “To pitch up here, you have to have one of the two, and I have neither right now.”
The other big blow in the contest was a three-run homer by Vlad Guerrero, his second in two days, that turned a 6-4 Angles lead into 9-4 lead, basically putting the Tribe away. The Indians did get a few long balls of their own on this 63 degree day, as Jhonny Peralta and Kelly Shoppach each went deep. The team did pound out 12 hits, but also left 16 men on base.
The team now is heading back to Cleveland, where they will start a seven-game homestand on Friday night with three vs the A’s, then two vs the Red Sox and two more vs the Tigers. They sit at 4-5 after starting 2-0. Below are some game stories from today’s loss.
Napoli’s slam, Guerrero’s 3-run shot highlight Angels’ 9-5 win over Indians
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.
