Indians Confidential

When Cliff Lee walked two of the first three hitters on Sunday night, it looked like it was going to be one of THOSE nights for the Indians and last years Cy Young award winner. What we all didn’t know was that 8 innings later, Lee would still be throwing without allowing another walk, and even better, not allowing a hit.

For the first time in quite awhile, an Indians pitcher flirted big-time with a no-hitter, as Lee took a no-no into the 8th inning as he finally got some run support as the Tribe won another series, topping St.Louis 3-0. Lee finally allowed a hit with no outs in the 8th, giving up a clean double off the wall to Yadier Molina.

The funny thing is that Lee wasn’t phased by the hit, and knew that he had to keep throwing zeros, as the Indians held the three-run lead, but he wasn’t secure in thinking that the game was over by any means. He was able to get the last six outs, and ended up allowing two walks and three hits in the shutout win.

For Lee it was his 3rd career shutout, 8th career complete game, and he’s now 4-4 with a 2.07 ERA over his last 12 starts. The club has won 12 of their last 20 games, and have won 10 of their last 15 at home, which is a nice sign for a team that couldn’t win anywhere early in the season.

The offense didn’t let Lee hang on for some runs too long, as Mark DeRosa hit a two-run homer in the first off of Chris Carpenter for a quick Tribe lead. Kelly Shoppach, was was thrown out at the plate earlier in the game, hit a solo homer in the 5th to round out the scoring.

Carpenter was no pushover for Indians hitters, as coming in he was 4-0 with a 1.23 ERA. The Indians should be proud with the fact they have won games the past few days going up against two of baseballs best – Carpenter and KC’s Zack Greinke.

Back to the offense, DeRosa is hitting .340 in his last 12 games and has hit safely in 10 of his last 12 games, with three homers and 10 RBI. Over his last four games he has gone 6-for-1 with a homer and two RBI.

The Indians will look to keep the wins at home going on Monday, as they start a three-game set vs the Milwaukee Brewers. Now at 29-36, the club is in last in the division, but just 6 games out.