Indians Confidential

All that Indians fans can say right now about the starting pitching is thank goodness for Cliff Lee.  Just like he did last Sunday in Oakland, Lee came out with another great outing as he went 8 innings in helping the Indians close out their three-game set with the A’s with a 7-1 win.  Lee allowed just one run, that coming in the 4th, and struck out eight and didn’t allow a walk.  He gave up just two hits.

The offense, which has had its issues over the weekend with A’s pitching, did manage 7 runs on eight hits.  Travis Hafner went 2-for-4 with a clutch RBI two-run single in the 3rd that made it 2-0 Cleveland.  After the A’s made it 2-1, the Indians were able to push another run over as Grady Sizemore hit a single to center that scored Jamey Carroll in the 5th to make it 3-1.  The team then had a big 8th with four runs being pushed across, the biggest hit being a Sizemore two-run single to make it 5-1.  David Dellucci then hit a two-run single to make it 7-1

In two games Friday and Saturday vs Oakland, the offense didn’t do much as starters C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona both struggled.  They were outscored in those two games 16-10, and both C.C. and Fausto lasted just 3.1 innings each.  Lee in two starts has allowed just two runs on six hits in 14.2 innings.  The team now at 5-7 will turn their attention to the Boston Red Sox, who come to town for the only time this season in the regular season on Monday and Tuesday for a short two-game set.