Indians Confidential

Instead of the Indians taking advantage of a beautiful Sunday afternoon beating on a pitcher they have had great success against over the years, they allowed struggling Royals starter Gil Meche to dominate them over 7 innings as they were shutout for the second straight Sunday, this time 2-0 at Progresive Field.  It’s the end of another sad homestand in which the Indians looked as if they were going to turn their season around after two straight wins over the Yankees to start the 10-game in 10-day affair.  Instead, they lost 5 of their last 7 of the homestand (with one rain out Friday) to head on the road going 4-5 after the longest home stretch of the year.

Once again, spot starter Aaron Laffey did a nice job, giving the team a good chance at ending the day on a happy note.  He went 7 innings, allowing just one run, it was unearned, on four hits.  He walked two and struck out five.  In two outings vs the Yankees and Royals, Laffey has an ERA of 2.84.  He was good, but Meche was better, handcuffing the Indians with ground ball outs and pop outs.  The top three hitters in the order (Sizemore, Gutierrez and Dellucci) went 1-for-10, while the rest of the order didn’t fare much better, going 3-for-20.

The Royals scored when Casey Blake tried an off balance throw to second for a force out with a runner on third in the fifth that sailed over Asdrubal Cabrear’s head into right field to make it 1-0.  That run held up till the 9th when Rafael Betancourt gave up a solo homer to Royals DH Miguel Olivo that gave KC some breathing room to make it 2-0.  It was just last Sunday when Yankees pitcher Chein-Ming Wang shutout the Indians and C.C. Sabathia 1-0.  Today was more frustrating considering it came vs a pitcher in Meche they were 7-2 against.  Today they were no match for him, much like the offense that has been overmatched it seems like much of the season.

More changes will be made, that can be a for sure.  The Tribe has been shutout three times in 31 games, has been held to four hits or less four times, five hits or less seven times, and were held to four hits in consecutive games by the Royals, who came to Cleveland having lost 7 of their last 10 games.  Just like it’s been all season, the Indians offense is just what a pitcher needs to get healthy in a hurry.

The Indians are off Monday, then travel to New York to play the Yankees starting on Tuesday for three days.  Tuesday Fausto Carmona (3-1, 2.60) goes against Andy Pettitte (3-3, 3.93) at 7:05pm.