Indians Confidential

The Indians Sunday played with confidence, and it showed in their at-bats as well as their bullpen in their 4-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds, breaking their six-game losing streak. Jhonny Peralta drove in the game-winning run in the 6th inning with a big single that put the Indians ahead to stay.

It looked bad early for the Tribe and starter David Huff, as the struggling starter allowed a two-run homer to Scott Rolen in the first inning. The Indians though came right back right away, as they tied the game in the bottom of the inning with RBI hits from Travis Hafner and new LF Sandy Duncan.

“We can’t afford to be playing catch up baseball the way we’ve been playing,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “After the first inning you could feel ‘here we go again,’ we haven’t even hit and we’re trailing by two, it’s not a good feeling, especially when your in the middle of a losing streak.

“And the fact that they went out there right away and tied the ball game, it just gave us a new life. That’s why those shutdown innings are so important.”

They took a 3-2 lead in the 3rd when Russell Branyan hit a sac fly to center. They left 12 runners on base in the contest, and in the post Acta even pointed out the team should have scored more. Rolen tied the game up in the 6th with his second homer of the game off of Huff, who was pulled after the inning.

Again though the Indians responded, as with two outs Peralta hit a shallow single to center, driving in the winning run. It was the winning run after the back end of the bullpen, led by Kerry Wood who got his first save of the season in the 9th, finally did their job.

“It is a clutch win,” Duncan said. “We didn’t come out there and put a bunch of runs on the board, the pitching staff really nutted up today and helped us out.”

The Indians are now 16-26, and they start a series at home against the White Sox Monday at 7:05pm.

With an offense that has been anemic at best all season, Sunday the Tribe finally got some hitting from their bottom spots in the lineup, helping the team break their five-game losing streak with a 7-4 win over the Tigers. The win wraps up their homestand at 2-8, but in retrospect it’s better than 1-9, which is what it seemed they would be if they couldn’t get their bats on track like most of the homestand.

“Last week or so, week and a half we’ve found ourselves behind the 8-ball so to speak, getting down 3 or 4 runs early,” secondbasemen Mark Grudzielanek said. “It was nice to jump on them there and get ahead, get a lead, get our pitcher a little confidence, get him comfortable as possible.”

That pitcher was Mitch Tablot, who maybe got too comfortable as the team had a 4-2 lead after a four-run second inning, but Talbot allowed Detroit to get back in the game with a run in the 3rd and then two in the fourth. He was able to get the win however when the Indians scored a run in the 5th to go ahead 5-4.

They added two more in the 7th to go up 7-4, and relief pitchers Aaron Laffey, Kerry Wood, Tony Sipp and Chris Perez made it stand up. Sipp struck out the side in the 8th, and Perez allowed two runners on in the 9th, but was able to get out of the jam for his 5th and possible last save of the season.

After the game Manny Acta said that Wood will be the teams closer starting with their next game Tuesday night in Kansas City, and Perez will go back to a possible setup role.

The game was defined by the Indians 7-8-9 hitters, which combined to go 5-for-10 with 6 RBI, helped out by a rare big day for Andy Marte in the 8 hole, as he had a triple and three RBI. Grudzielanek had three hits and added two RBI, and over his last 12 games is hitting .326.

The club now is at 11-18 on the year, and will start a road trip with a series against the Royals in KC, and then will play in Baltimore and two in Tampa Bay before they come home for an 8-game homestand starting next Wednesday night.

The lack of big hits as well as the continued blunders on defense Saturday afternoon spelled defeat once again for a young Indians team that seems to be ready to throw in the towel on the 2010 season just a month and a week in. The latest effort, a 6-4 setback to Detroit, was complete with 15 strikeouts against Detroit pitching, a pair of defensive mistakes by Luis Valbuena, and the return of Kerry Wood, who gave up two runs and took the loss.

The offense put up 4 runs on 7 hits, but if it were not for Austin Kerarns, who clearly has earned a spot in this lineup right now, things would have been real ugly. Kearns had 3 of the teams four RBI, and is hitting the ball better than anyone in the 1 through 9 lineup right now.

Justin Verlander threw 9 strikeouts against the Tribe, and then two Tigers relievers completed the K fest with six more to equal 15 on the day. The two teams combined for 26 strikeouts, but give some of that to mother nature and the wind gusts and on and off rain throughout the afternoon for that as well.

Wood, who came off the DL on Friday, pitched well to start the 7th inning, getting two quick outs, but his downfall started with a walk to Johnny Damon, then one to Mags Ordonez. Then Miguel Cabrera, who was hitting .372 at the start of the day, rapped a two-run double to give the Tigers a 5-3 lead after the Indians had tied the game on Kearns’ two-run single in the 6th.

Valbuena once again goofed at short, first not able to backhand a ball earlier in the game, allowing Detroit to load the bases, then in the 8th with two on and two out, a routine ball was hit to him that Manny Acta said simply got tied up in his glove, and by the time he threw to second for what should have been a routine force, Ramon Santiago was safe and the Tigers led 6-3.

The Indians had runners on second and third with no outs in the 8th, and Kearns sac fly made it 6-4. Then though Jhonny Peralta and Valbuena went back to back with strikeouts, ending a final threat and putting the season into a microscope.

The series finale and the homestand ends Sunday at 1pm with a Mother’s day affair.

Kerry Wood is back on the MLB roster for the Indians, as Friday the team deemed him well enough and ready to go to get back in the pen and throw for a team that clearly needs more pitching (hitting could be helped out too). Wood hasn’t thrown a pitch yet in the 2010 season, and now it means Chris Perez, who gave up a win on Thursday with no help to Luis Valbuena, goes back to the middle of the pen.

Jensen Lewis gets the ride down to AAA, he was 2-1 with a 2.61 ERA in 10 1-3 innings.

“I’m ready,” said Wood, who has been sidelined since straining a muscle in his upper back during spring training. “I feel fine. I’ve had a lot worse injuries. This one has been more frustrating than painful.”

As far as Friday night goes, the game between the Indians and Tigers was a rain out after four complete. The Indians trailed 7-6, and David Huff is about to be the next to lose his roster spot, as for the 2nd straight start, he was totally awful, allowing 7 runs in 2.2 innings.

The Indians got back in the game with Grady Sizemore’s first homer of 2010, and then a couple big hits in the 3rd inning got the team to within one before a two hour rain delay with hail included washed away everything.

The team will NOT play a double header tomorrow, but likely will schedule the makeup against the Tigers sometime within the next 24 hours.

Kerry Wood was back on the mound Friday in Oakland, trying to make it back from the injury that has kept him on the 15-day DL from the start of the season. Wood said on Friday after throwing an inning that he wasn’t happy with his outing. Now we’ll have to see what Manny Acta and the Indians do to try to get him back on the mound in a meaningful game.

Wood said he was sore and not sharp in the one inning thrown.

“We have to wait until he comes in tomorrow and see how he feels,” said Acta following the Friday 10-0 loss to the A’s. “Then (we’ll) make a decision whether we’re going to have another simulated game or whether he goes on a rehab or rest.”

Every once in awhile, the Indians show signs of being an actual baseball team. Saturday night was one of those nights, as they got 8 very good innings from Carl Pavano, as usual having to hang on in the end as they beat the Tigers 5-4.

The reason they had to hang on was – why else – the pitching of closer (and I use that term loosely) Kerry Wood, who allowed a two-run homer from Miguel Cabrera to make it a 5-4 game.

Wood though did enough to wrap it up, getting a fly out and line out to end the game. The save for Wood was his 12th of the season. As for Pavano, he was the story, allowing two runs on seven hits, not allowing a walk and striking out six. It was his best outing in some time, as his control was very good, and he stayed out of bad innings for the most part.

The win for Pavano improves him to 8-7 on the season, dropping his ERA to 5.13. On offense, the Tribe got a run in the first on a sac fly from Victor Martinez, then after the team fell behind 2-1, the got the lead for good when Travis Hafner got a two-run RBI single scoring Grady Sizemore and Martinez to make it 3-2 in the top of the third.

An Asdrubal Cabrera single scored another run in the 7th to make it 4-2, and a Jhonny Peralta double gave the team the 5-2 lead in the top of the 8th. Little did the team know that they would need each and every one of those runs, as Wood almost gave it all back in the 9th.

The offense outhit the Tigers 12-8, as Hafner went 2-for-4 to raise his average to .288. Cabrera is hitting .304 after he went 3-for-5. Sizemore is hitting .232 after going 2-for-5.

The team is now 35-53, 18 games below .500. They will have Tomo Ohka (0-2) vs Justin Verlander (9-4) Sunday at 1:05 in the last game before the All-Star break to wrap up this awful first half.

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.

Maybe Kerry Wood is secretly still playing for the Chicago Cubs?

How else can you explain how Wood, who had blown two saves in 10 chances entering Friday, has already blown two saves in two games in Chicago, as Saturday he basically threw the game away, allowing the Cubs to rally for two 13th inning runs in beating the Indians 6-5.

It was much the same for Wood Friday, when he allowed a homer to Derrick Lee in the 9th to turn a Tribe 1-run lead into a tie game. Chicago then won the game an inning later. Saturday, the teams battled all day in the hot Chicago sun, only to once again go extra innings with the game tied at four.

The Indians scored a run in the 13th as Luis Valbuena, who has been a bright spot in a rather dark strech, homered to give the Tribe the 5-4 lead. Valbuena is starting to hit much better, as he was 3-for-5 with a pair of homers, and is now hitting .223

The bottom of the 13th saw Wood enter, allow a single to Kosuke Fukudome, he stole on a strikeout, then an error allowed him to go to third. A single by Andres’ Blanco tied the game, then after a Arron Miles single put runners on the corners with one out, Blanco came home on Wood’s final meltdown – a wild pitch.

Since the team is going nowhere, and is now 12 games under .500, about the only bright spots were Valbuena, and Jhonny Peralta also homered, his 3rd. The pen actually did a nice job till Wood, as Jensen Lewis, Matt Herges, Joe Smith and Rafael Perez went a total of 6 innings allowing no runs on just three hits with a pair of walks and 5 strikeouts.

Of course Wood’s awful inning erases all that, and once again, there’s not much you can say about how this team simply has shown nothing to not start thinking about tearing the team down and going in a totally different direction. Let’s just say if this team loses Sunday and then doesn’t play well vs Pittsburgh, could we possibly see a change at the top when the team comes home Friday? Stay tuned.