Josh Tomlin impresses in his Debut against Yankees, Tribe wins 4-1

Josh Tomlin made his Major League debut last night for the Indians, and he did not disappoint.  Derek Jeter picked up right where he left off and flied out to center, and Tomlin had officially retired his first major league hitter.  Maybe it was just me, but it looked like Tomlin couldn't help but smile as he worked through the 1st inning.  Swisher followed suit, and Teixeira popped up as well.  Tomlin looked impressive and cruised through the inning only throwing 9 pitches.  Pretty good start for a pitcher facing the Yankees in his first appearance. 

Shin-Soo got the Tribe's 1st hit, muscling a ball over the head of Rodriguez.  He wasted no time stealing 2nd, and then Kearns followed with a hit of his own which should have scored Choo.  Unfortunately, Gardner threw a beautiful one-hop to the catch Cervelli who did a great job blocking off the plate.  Choo was called out, but at least the Indians were showing early signs of life. 

Alex Rodriguez led off the 2nd for the Yankees, and after two whiffs he grounded out to Cabrera.  His 600th home run has eluded him in his last 21 bats and counting, and it would not come against Tomlin.  The new Tribe pitcher relies on location and his change-up, as opposed to over-powering hitters.  He did however challenge A-Rod with some fastballs throughout the game, and Alex whiffed on almost every one.  Josh Tomlin retired Cano and Granderson after that, and the rookie had a no-hitter through two innings. 

Gardner struck out to end the Yankees 3rd inning, and the mighty Pinstripes still didn't have a hit against Tomlin.  Yet again, Sabathia put the Indians batters down in order, and after 3 we still had a scoreless game. 

Jeter broke up the no-hitter getting the lead-off hitter in the 4th, but Swisher and Teixeira again would pop-up.  Trying to make something happen in the middle of A-Rod's second at-bat, Jeter was caught stealing 2nd on a great throw by Giminez and the inning ended. 

Cabrera singled to left to start the 4th and the Tribe had their first lead-off batter aboard.  Shin-Soo hit a tough pitch from Sabathia down the left field line, and all the sudden we had men on 2nd and 3rd with no outs.  On a Kearns grounder to 3rd, Rodriguez decided to come home and the throw easily beat Cabrera. 

However, Asdrubal made a heads-up play, kicking the ball out of Cervelli's glove after the tag was applied.  Cabrera was called safe, and the Tribe took an early 1-0 lead.  Shelley Duncan popped up to the 1st baseman, and the Yankees got their first out of the inning.  Jhonny Peralta hit what should have been a routine double play for the over-paid Yankees infield, but Robinson Cano pulled his foot off the bag and everyone was safe.  I'm not quite sure why manager Joe Girardi came out to argue, Cano clearly made a short-bus play by stepping off the bag before he turned the DP.  That gave LaPorta a chance with the bases loaded, and he hit a ball deep enough to serve as a sacrifice fly, scoring Choo.  Donald struck out but the 2 errors cost the Yankees both runs, and we took a 2-0 lead.

A-Rod hit another weak grounder to 1st and still couldn't hit the elusive 600th home-run of his career.  Another impressive inning by Tomlin who retired the Yankees in order for the 4th time so far.

To start the bottom of the 6th, Austin Kearns felt the need to smash a ball to deep center.  Granderson was on his horse and almost made a great catch, but after he collided with the wall, the ball was jarred loose.  Kearns made it all the way to 3rd base.  Duncan took a couple massive cuts but eventually struck out swinging.  After Peralta reached first, LaPorta finally came through and doubled, scoring Choo.  With runners on 2nd and 3rd Sabathia intentionally walked Donald to get to Giminez.  CC couldn't have thought he would walk Giminez to force another run in, but that's exactly what happened.  The Tribe took a 4-0 lead and then Crowe hit into a double play to mercifully end the inning for Sabathia. 

This whole time, Tomlin was making a solid case to be in the Indians rotation.  Through 6 innings, Tomlin had faced the minimum of 18 batters, and had only given up 1 hit to the Yankees.  Not bad for your first big-league outing.  Jeter grounded out to start the 7th and yet again proved why he is over-valued.  Swisher hit a 1-out double and then Teixeira grounded out on a nice play by Cabrera.  A-Rod was next, hoping to get the 600 Monkey off his back.  He did hit a ball pretty deep to right, but not dep enough.  The whole time I'm thinking, "Is Tomlin really shutting out the Yankees in his MLB debut?"  And , "Has CC really not lost a game since May?"  That streak was about to come to an end. 

After Tomlin gave up a lead-off double in the 8th, Manny Acta made the move to the bullpen, and Josh Tomlin walked off the mound to a standing ovation from the Cleveland crowd.  3 hits, 0 walks, simply beautiful shut-out baseball by Tomlin. 

Chris Perez came on to shut the door in the 9th, but it wouldn't come easy.  The Yankees started off the inning with back-to-back singles by Gardner and then Jeter.  Swish popped out for the 1st out, and then Teixeira did the same.  Alex Rodriguez would appropriately be the final batter, representing the tying run at the plate.  Would 600 finally come to fruition, on his 35th birthday?  Nope, groundout to Cabrera and the game is over, and Rodriguez is 0-8 in the series.  That's what you get for taking steroids.

A-Rod's Hitless Night keeps him at 599, Yankees win 3-2 at Progressive

Three* years ago from yesterday, the Indians traded Ben Broussard for Shin Soo Choo.. a great day in Tribe history.  The Yankees came to town for a 4 game series last night, and everyone wanted to know if Rodriguez would send his 600th homerun out at Progressive Field.

Derek Jeter started off the game with an out, confirming my belief that he is the most overrated player in baseball.  Swisher might be the only player that I have any respect for on the Yankees, and he flies out as Westbrook cruised through the 1st inning. 

You have to question Manny Acta's decision to bat Michael Brantley leadoff, I mean he's batting .157 on the season.. personally I'd sit him on the bench.  Regardless, Cabrera walks and then Shoo hits a screamer right to Teixeira, who steps on 1st and doubles up Cabrera.  Lucky break for the Yankees.

Travis Hafner keeps his ridiculous hot-streak going and absolutely demolishes a pitch over the right field wall.  That was his 5th straight hit in as many plate appearanaces.  LaPorta struck out after though, what's new.  The Indians took a 1-0 lead into the 3rd inning. 

Jake Westbrook was looking as good as he ever has, and he kept sitting down Yankees hitters.  After 3 innings against baseball's best offensive lineup, the Yankees had exactly 0 hits.  The Tribe unfortunately went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 3rd, I blame Michael Brantley. 

Swisher got the Yankees first hit, a monstrous jack to right field;  He even posed for a second to watch it go out.  I wasn't mad about it, Swisher is the man.  Teixeira walked, and then Alex Rodriguez came up to the plate for his second appearance.  Alex hit a ball into left field that was sinking fast, and Trevor Crowe either caught the ball or it short-hopped into his glove, either way Rodriguez was called out.  Teixeira gets doubled up, and Joe Girardi came out to argue but to no avail.  It was a pretty close call but it goes the way of the Indians. 

Fast-forward to the Top of the 5th when the speedy Curtis Granderson tried to get to 2nd off a hit to the right field wall.  Choo threw a laser directly to Asdrubal at 2nd and he's called out.  Replay showed Granderson was actually safe on the play but the Tribe catches another break.  Asdrubal did catch some spikes on the play but it appeared he would be alright.

At this point the Indians only hit so far was Travis' home-run, but that quickly changed when Jhonny Peralta ended the nonsense by doubling to right field.  LaPorta stepped up to the plate and surprise.. another strike-out.  Trevor Crowe grounds to 2nd and Peralta's leadoff double goes to waste. 

My personal highlight of the Yankees batting in the 6th inning was Derek Jeter striking out.  It is quite a beautiful site; Jeter and A-Rod combined to go 0-8 on the day.  Westbrook was still extra crispy and was working fast.  Jake struck out Swisher after that, Westbrook had 5 strike-outs.  Yankees go 1-2-3 again. 

Yet again in the Top of the 7th, another leadoff double for the Indians came from Jason Donald.  Our first 3 hits were all of the extra-base variety.  Unfortunately poor base-running lead Donald into a rundown after he tried to go to 3rd on a grounder to the pitcher.  I blame Brantley for not hitting it out of the infield. 

After that, it was about time for the Choo-Choo train to make an appearance.  Like clockwork, Shin-Soo doubled and Brantley scored all the way from 1st.  The Indians took a 2-1 lead, and all is well at Progressive.  Stat of the day:  Shin Soo ranks 5th in the American League in On-Base Percentage. 

After Pronk struck out in the bottom of the 7th, LaPorta finally got a hit to left field.  But time after time, we didn't capitalize having runners in scoring position.  The Yankees came up to bat and Westbrook made one critical error serving a pitch up to Granderson. 

Curtis certainly made him pay, obliterating a pitch to deep right field.  Yankees take a 3-2 on the game-changing 421 foot home run.  This has been a common theme for the Indians as of late:  Play well for most of the game but make one big mistake in the form of a multi-run HR.  Westbrook was visibly upset and justifiably so, he had been pitching a gem.  Jeter ended the inning with a grounder to Asdrubal.. Why do people think this guy is good?

The Indians bats stayed quiet for the rest of the night and the Yankees held on to win 3-2.  Westbrook was not about to allow Rodriguez to get #600 off of him last night.  He might have a better shot tonight, when the Tribe sends out Josh Tomlin for his major-league debut.  It's also A-Rod's birthday tonight, so maybe it will happen for him.  Let's say he does hit 600 tonight, how much will that ball go for?  Cleveland's economy could certainly use the boost.  CC Sabathia will be pitching for the Yankees, fans here still have respect for him.  Should be an interesting night, Tomlin will certainly have his hands full with the Yankees lineup.  It's time for the Tribe to start a new winning streak right about now.

The Tampa Bay Rays end their streak of futility in Cleveland

Since the All-Star break, the Tribe was 7-1 and had been playing great baseball.  After one hiccup in Minnesota, the Indians beat Tampa Bay 3-1 last night in a game called off because of rain in the 7th inning.  Carmona pitched solid, and Cleveland looked impressive.

Until tonight, it had been 18 games in a row the Rays had lost in Cleveland.  Talk about a drought.  Tonight featured Mitch Talbot vs. David Price, a great pitching match-up.  Talbot was facing his former team; He was traded for Kelly Shoppach last year so you knew he was going to come out throwing some heat.

After Talbot retired the Rays in order to start the game, David Price tried to do the same thing.  Not so fast.  Trevor Crowe walked, and then Shin Soo Choo doubled down the left field line; Crowe scored all the way from 1st.  As a result, Price gets pissed and throws four straight pitches at 99 mph.  The 1st inning ends, and the Tribe has a 1-0 lead. 

Mitch Talbot continues his dominance, and strikes out the side in the 2nd inning.  Give him 5 straight strike outs.  He honestly looked unhittable.  After a solid drawn-out walk by Matt LaPorta, Shelley Duncan steps up to the plate and sends a bomb into the left field bleachers on the first pitch he sees.  Duncan hits his 6th home run of the year, and has really been swinging the bat well as of late.  The Tribe takes a 3-0 lead on a pitcher who started the All-Star game, with a 12-5 record and a 2.84 ERA.  I'm starting to love this new-found Tribe Swagger. 

Talbot sits BJ Upton down to start the 3rd inning for his sixth straight strikeout.  Former Indian Kelly Shoppach (who looks like he's been to Burger King a few times since his days in Cleveland) lays off a 2-2 pitch that was clearly Strike 3, and Talbot now has to share the Indian record of 6 consecutive K's with the likes of Bob Feller and Bartolo Colon.  Bartlett gets the Rays first hit but Ben Zobrist grounds out to end the inning.

Fast-forward to the top of the 5th, where BJ Upton gets real ignorant.  After arguing a few strike calls mid at-bat, he tosses his bat towards the dugout after what was Ball 3.  Sorry BJ, you need 4 of those to get a free pass.  Uptown sheepishly has to return to the batter's box where he subsequently thinks he has a hit but is robbed by Choo on an unreal sliding catch.  Shin-Soo seems to make at least one spectacular catch every night out.

Unfortunately after that, the Rays rattled off 2 hits and then Ben Zobrist crushed a home run to the same spot on the top of the railing in the left field bleachers that Shelley Duncan hit his.  After the umpires confirmed with the use of instant replay, the game was tied at 3-3.

In the top of the 6th, Carlos Pena hits a solo jack to center field to give the Rays a 4-3 lead.  Uptown follows that with a deep ground-rule double and knocks in another run, make it 5-3 Rays.
The Tribe's bats remained quiet, as Price settled down and started mowing down the Indians batters.

Frank Herman (who?) comes in for relief and immediately drills Bartlett to start the top of the 7th.  Surprise surprise, Carl Crawford doubles to left field and Bartlett scores making it 6-3.  The Indians go 1-2-3 in the 7th and as we head to the 8th, and we start wondering if the Rays might actually win a game in Cleveland.

Of Course the Indians would make things interesting; in the 8th inning David Price walked Luke Donald on 4 straight pitches to put our lead-off batter on 1st base. Trevor Crowe was up next, and after an intense battle he struck out on a nasty splitter.  My boy Asdrubal flies out to center field and after that, we could only hope Shin-Soo would come up with some magic.  Like clockwork, the Korean comes through with a hit to right field, and it was up to Carlos Santana to keep the inning alive. Santana battles to a full-count and strikes out on what would have been Ball 4.

Just for good measure, we drill Bartlett in the same spot, on his left bicep, in the top of the 9th but the Rays don't make it count this time.  We head to the bottom of the 9th and hope for some late 90's Tribe Magic. 

Jhonny Peralta was safe on his infield grounder to 3rd base that Evan Longoria bobbled, but true to the form of the terrible umpiring in the MLB this season, he is called out. Austin Kearns follows suit by striking out, and we’re down to our last batter, Matt LaPorta.  LaPorta battles tough as well, but strikes out to end the game. 

After 18 games in Cleveland, the Rays finally head back to the Cleveland Ritz-Carlton a winner.  David Price gets his 13th win and Mitch Talbot wonders why he fell apart in the 5th inning.  His 8 strike-outs would not end up being enough.  Look on the bright side; The Tribe is 7-2 since the All-Star Break and have won 10 out of their last 13 games at home.  Hopefully we can take the series tomorrow at 1:05 pm.  This new-look Cleveland Indians team has been resilient and hasn't lost two straight games since the All-Star break.  It was about time Tampa won a game here.

The Cleveland Indians are on a Roll.. what up 6 game win streak

Things are finally starting to turn around for the Cleveland Indians.  Since the All-Star break, the Tribe has reeled of 6 straight wins.  That's a pretty decent turnaround for a team that was 33-54 at the break.  Manny Acta has finally started to put together lineups that work, and the Tribe is in the process of beating the Twins for a second straight night.

The emergence of several role players has been very important for the Indians.  Since losing Grady Sizemore, the Tribe had struggled to find the pieces that could win on a nightly basis.  Enter Trevor Crowe, and Nix.  These players have made an impact and have allowed the Indians to turn around their season.. somewhat. 

Tonight, Asdrubal Cabrera returned to the lineup and his presence was felt.  Not only did he rip a single into left field, he made a great diving play to throw a runner out at first.  Asdrubal is without a doubt the best shortstop the Indians have in their system, and his return was welcomed.  Manny Acta immediately re-inserted him into the starting lineup, and had him bat lead-off.  It must have been a confidence boost for Asdrubal to see his first Big-League action in over 2 months.

Justin Masterson has been pitching pretty well tonight.  After a shaky start, he calmed down and started striking out a bunch of Twins including former-Indian Jim Thome twice.  Masterson gave up a run in the 1st inning but settled down and really showed his ability to pitch in this league.  He sometimes can throw a wild pitch or two with his intense delivery, but that also throws off hitters some of the time.

It was also nice to see Shelley Duncan continue his hot streak, as he has now hit safely in a few straight games.  The Indians organization was expecting him to be a major piece this year, and he struggled to find his swing early in the season.  Personally, I think Duncan just needs to keep building his confidence and he can continue to help the Indians succeed this season.  His power is something that is missing in this lineup. 

Are the Cleveland Indians poised to make a run or is this just a lucky streak we have going?  I feel that the Indians are finally starting to find out what works for them, and some players we didn't expect to have an impact are starting to make their presence felt.  The only thing that is missing is a consistent bomb from Travis Hafner every now and then.  However, after the Twins tied up the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the 7th, Travis came up big for a clutch double in the top of the 8th that knocked in the game winning run.

With the emergence of LaPorta, Nix, Crowe, as well as Carlos Santana, the mid-level Indians have a chance to turn this season around and potentially compete late in September.  Who knows, maybe if we still had Cliff Lee this team could be competing for the playoffs?  The Tribe is starting to be fun to watch again, and I hope we can keep this streak going.  Let's do this.