Indians Confidential

Who do you think breathed a bigger sigh of relief after Mark DeRosa made the final out Tuesday night in Pittsburgh – Eric Wedge or Kerry Wood? Either way, they probably both did, as Wood once again put the fear of another loss into Wedge and Indians fans across the country, only to finally get the final out as the Indians broke their 6-game losing streak with a 5-4 win over the Pirates.

The Indians built a 5-0 lead going into the 9th, only to see Matt Herges and then Wood allow 10 Pirates to come to bat, putting up four runs and running the bases loaded with two outs. On a 3-2 count, Wood got Adam LaRoche, who homered to start the inning, to fly out DeRosa to end the contest.

Wood came in and allowed a double, single and walk to make the Tribe dugout sweat once again. He blew two games in Chicago over the weekend, and another blown save could have destroyed his confidence for the rest of the season. Instead, he was able to gut it out and get the final out to push the team to 30-42 on the season.

The game was highlighted by the return to the lineup of Grady Sizemore, who showed little rust in his time on the DL. Sizemore went 2-for-5 with two RBI and he did K twice hitting in the two hole behind Jamey Carroll. He did though get the Tribe offense going in the 3rd with a two-run triple that made it 2-0.

Jhonny Peralta then singled to center to score Victor Martinez and Sizemore to give starter David Huff a 4-0 cushion to pitch with. Huff didn’t disappoint, as he pitched his best game as a pro, going 8 shutout innings, allowing four hits, walking two and striking out two.

Peralta finished off the offensive night for the Indians with a homer to the opposite field to make it 5-0 in the 6th. Huff earned the win to improve to 3-2 on the season, and Wood earned his 9th save of the year.

The two teams will continue their series on Wendesday in Pittsburgh.