Lewis Named AL Rookie of the Month for September
Indians pitcher Scott Lewis has been named the September recipient of the American League Rookie of the Month Award presented by Gillette.
Lewis made four starts in September and went 4-0 with a 2.63 ERA in 24.0 innings pitched. The 25-year-old left-hander permitted 20 hits with six walks and 15 strikeouts and held opposing hitters to a .222 batting average. In his Major League debut on September 10th at Baltimore, Scott tossed 8.0 scoreless innings of three-hit ball with three strikeouts in the 7-1 victory.
The 8.0 shutout innings by Lewis was the second-longest starting debut since 1956 by an Indians pitcher without allowing a run. Only Luis Tiant’s complete-game shutout in 1965 tops Lewis. The West Covina, California native hurled 6.0 shutout innings in his next start on September 15th against the Minnesota Twins, and allowed just three hits with two walks and five strikeouts in the 3-1 win. The 14.0 scoreless innings streak to begin his career was the longest by an Indians pitcher since 1969.
Lewis, who was selected by the Indians in the third round of the 2004 First-Year Player draft out of The Ohio State University, closed the month with victories against the Detroit Tigers on September 21st and at the Chicago White Sox on September 26th, pitching 5.0 innings in each of the two starts.
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.
