Indians Confidential

Pitcher Anthony Reyes said Sunday after the Indians were swept by the Tigers that once the team started playing better, they would be fun to watch. Monday night, while most Cleveland fans were watching the Cavs sweep the Hawks, the Indians did play better, and yes, for the first time in awhile – they were fun to watch.

They hit well, pitched pretty good, and played solid defense, and with it came their first win since Wednesday, a 9-4 beating of the rival Chicago White Sox. The win puts them at 12-21, and while it still seems like we’re in for a long season, 12-21 is better at this point than 11-22.

The offense finally came out of their funk against White Sox starter Gavin Floyd, who could not get first pitch strikes and couldnt’ get his curveball over. They pounded out 13 hits, and four players had two or more hits, led by Jhonny Peralta who was 3-for-5 with three RBI. Peralta, who was sat down for two games by Eric Wedge, is 6-for-9 since being put back in the lineup Sunday.

Shin-Soo Choo also had a pretty good night at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three RBI. The team got off to a good start, scoring two runs in the first and then putting up a nice to see four-spot in the 4th to take a 6-0 lead. That would be all it would take for Carl Pavano to throw his 3rd win of the season. He was solid, not outstanding by any means, but was able to get out of trouble a couple of times.

Pavano went 6.1 innings, allowing four runs on 10 hits with no walks and three strikeouts. Since starting the season 0-3, he’s won three in a row, throwing 7.1 innings in a May 1st win over the Tigers, 6 innings in a win last Wednesday vs the Red Sox, and against the White Sox went into the 7th to gain the win. His ERA has dropped from an 81.00 after his first start to 6.45.

“It finally felt like a real baseball game,” Mark DeRosa said. “Any win right now is big.”

You can say that again. A couple more wins and the team can start thinking about getting back into the race in the AL Central. For now, a win tomorrow and they will win a series – and that’s good news any way you look at it.