TRADE NOW COMPLETE: Today, the Indians have announced that they have sent RHP SEAN SMITH to the Colorado Rockies. The transaction completes the trade of December 8, 2007 in which the Indians received INF JAMEY CARROLL. Smith, 25, was 0-1 with a 4.00 ERA (18.0IP, 14H, 8R/ER, 10BB, 20K) in 4 starts for the AAA Buffalo Bisons this year.
Indians second baseman Jamey Carroll was a spark plug on Thursday night, going 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs scored, and two RBI to go along with a walk. Postgame in the Indians locker room, Carroll talked about just doing his part, having a role on the club, the upcoming trips to Minnesota and KC, and how well the team came together tonight. Click below to hear comments from Jamey.
Needing a spark in the worst of ways, the Indians finally got it on Thursday night in the finale of their seven-game homestand with that ends with a much needed 11-1 win over the rival Tigers. The spark came from starting pitcher Fausto Carmona, who picked up last night’s poor outing from C.C. Sabathia with a solid 6.2 innings of one run, 7-hit ball. He walked just one batter after issuing eight walks in his previous outing, and struck out two to move to 2-1 on the season.
The offense also came to life against Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander. Both Ryan Garko and Travis Hafner hit bombs off of Verlander, and every starter in the lineup had at least one hit. Franklin Gutierrez, Jason Michaels and Jamey Carroll all each had two hits. The Tribe put up three runs in the second, with Michaels, Casey Blake and Carroll getting RBI’s in the frame.
Garko’s two-run homer in the fifth made it 5-0 and gave Fausto some breathing room. After the Tigers made it 5-1 in the 6th, the Indians put the game away with a five-run bottom of the sixth that included a Carroll triple that scored a run, a Hafner homer that scored two, and and Michaels single that scored Jhonny Peralta and Garko to make it 10-1. The Indians pushed across another run in the 7th when Victor Martinez hit a double that scored Carroll to make it 11-1.
The bullpen did its job as well, as they got Jensen Lewis got one out, Masa Kobayashi pitched an inning, and then Rafel Betancourt pitched a perfect night to wrap up a night that the team sorely needed.
The team now heads on the road as they continue to try and work their way to .500 with games over the weekend vs the Twins, then they get their first look at the Royals for a three-game set starting next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Friday night at the dome in Minneapolis it’s Cliff Lee at 2-0 vs Francisco Liriano (0-1, 7.71) for the Twins.
All that Indians fans can say right now about the starting pitching is thank goodness for Cliff Lee. Just like he did last Sunday in Oakland, Lee came out with another great outing as he went 8 innings in helping the Indians close out their three-game set with the A’s with a 7-1 win. Lee allowed just one run, that coming in the 4th, and struck out eight and didn’t allow a walk. He gave up just two hits.
The offense, which has had its issues over the weekend with A’s pitching, did manage 7 runs on eight hits. Travis Hafner went 2-for-4 with a clutch RBI two-run single in the 3rd that made it 2-0 Cleveland. After the A’s made it 2-1, the Indians were able to push another run over as Grady Sizemore hit a single to center that scored Jamey Carroll in the 5th to make it 3-1. The team then had a big 8th with four runs being pushed across, the biggest hit being a Sizemore two-run single to make it 5-1. David Dellucci then hit a two-run single to make it 7-1
In two games Friday and Saturday vs Oakland, the offense didn’t do much as starters C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona both struggled. They were outscored in those two games 16-10, and both C.C. and Fausto lasted just 3.1 innings each. Lee in two starts has allowed just two runs on six hits in 14.2 innings. The team now at 5-7 will turn their attention to the Boston Red Sox, who come to town for the only time this season in the regular season on Monday and Tuesday for a short two-game set.
Kobayashi throws: RHP MASA KOBAYASHI threw a 10-minute bullpen today and will also throw bullpens on Sunday and Monday. His catcher was VICTOR MARTINEZ.
Here is a list of players in camp:
47 BOROWSKI, Joe, RH
36 BYRD, Paul, RH
55 CARMONA, Fausto, RH
46 FULTZ, Aaron, LH
30 KOBAYASHI, Masa, RH
32 LAFFEY, Aaron, LH
58 LARA, Juan, LH
31 LEE, Cliff, LH
50 LEWIS, Jensen, RH
69 LEWIS, Scott, LH
40 MASTNY, Tom, RH
72 MILLER, Adam, RH
49 MUJICA, Edward, RH
53 PEREZ, Rafael, LH
52 SABATHIA, C.C., LH
64 SANTOS, Reid, LH
70 SIPP, Tony, LH
54 SLOCUM, Brian, RH
45 SOWERS, Jeremy, LH
37 WESTBROOK, Jake, RH
CATCHERS
41 MARTINEZ, Victor
10 SHOPPACH, Kelly
76 TOREGAS, Wyatt
INFIELDERS
29 BARFIELD, Josh
7 CARROLL, Jamey
25 GARKO, Ryan
15 MARTE, Andy
2 PERALTA, Jhonny
OUTFIELDERS
17 CHOO, Shin-soo
75 SNYDER, Brad
Non-Roster Invitees
Pitchers
27 BAUER, Rick, RHP
39 ELARTON, Scott, RHP
56 GINTER, Matt, RHP
34 HARRIS, Jeff, RHP
71 LOFGREN, Chuck, LHP
66 MARTIN, JD, RHP
61 RUNDLES, Rich, LHP
65 STEVENS, Jeffrey, RHP
Catchers (4)
74 CAMACARO, Armando
79 GIMENEZ, Chris
73 HAAD, Yamid
77 WALLACE, David
Infielders (5)
67 BROWN, Jordan
26 GONZALEZ, Andy
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.
There are 771 Posts and 68 Comments.
