Indians Confidential

All those fuzzy warm feelings you were getting about the Indians as they started this 9-game homestand 4-2 – throw em away. In a 72-hour stretch, the Milwaukee Brewers came into town and ripped out any good feelings you should have had about the Indians, sweeping them with a 11-inning 9-8 win on Wednesday night.

It was a long night all the way around, as the game was delayed 34 minutes by rain, and then as it did get started, Indians starter David Huff allowed single runs in the first three innings to put the Brew Crew up 3-0. Jeff Suppan looked like Randy Johnson in his prime, getting tons of early ground ball outs till finally the Indians started swinging the bats in the 4th.

Three straight doubles tied the game at three, and finally there was a feeling of momentum for the Indians. It lasted till the 7th, with Huff long gone the Brewers scored three runs, Bill Hall starting it with a solo homer off of reliever Joe Smith. Then the reliever gave a walk, then Matt Herges allowed a pair of doubles to make it 6-3.

Milwaukee added a single run in the 8th, and then the Indians came back with a run in the bottom of the inning when Luis Valbuena singled to make it 7-4. The Brewers then added a Corey Hart homer in the 9th to make it 8-4, and most of the 15,000 + on hand headed home.

The Indians though had one of those 1995 comebacks, as off of Trevor Hoffman in the 9th, the team pushed across four runs, the big hit a Ryan Garko bases clearing double with one out. Problem was Garko fell rounding second, tweaking his ankle and being tagged out.

The Brewers then put together an efficent 11th, as against Greg Aquino, they got a single, walk, wild pitch, walk and then a sac fly to make it a 9-8 game. The Indians put two on with one out, but Shin-Soo Choo struck out on a 3-2 pitch, and Ben Francisco did the same swinging on a 2-2 pitch to end the game.

The Indians had their chances as usual, as they put up 13 hits, left 9 on base, and the pitchers allowed three homers. The Brewers have dominated the Indians, winning 7 straight, and are 11-7 vs the Indians since 1997. The Indians are now 10 games under .500, and with the off day on Thursday, I wouldn’t doubt some roster moves tomorrow as the team heads to Wrigley this weekend.