The Tampa Bay Rays start a different kind of streak in Cleveland

The night after they ended their 18 game losing streak in Cleveland, the Tampa Bay Rays felt entitled to take another one before they left town.  Justin Masterson vs. Wade Davis was the match-up.  The Tribe came out strong.  Mastterson cruised through the 1st, and the Indians took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice by Carlos Santana.  However, similar to the night before, the Rays would answer quickly. 

Reed Brignac stepped up to the plate with two on, and 2 outs.  Masterson threw the one pitch he regrets and Brignac made him pay, hitting a 3-run homer.  The Indians showed some of their new-found resiliency, and got one of those runs back in their half of the inning, make it 3-2 Tampa.

Sanatan reaches 2nd in the bottom of the 3rd, but Matt LaPorta strikes out to end the inning.  LaPorta did not have his best day, at least offensively.

A leadoff walk to start to the 4th inning did not end up helping Masterson.  After a single past the outstretched arm of Nix put runners on 1st and 3rd, LaPorta made his one good play of the day.  For an inexperienced 1st baseman, Matt made a heads-up move when the ball was hit to him, looking the runner back at 3rd and still turning the double play.  At that point in the game that was a huge play, because the Rays didn't end up scoring in the inning and the Tribe was still within one run.

Hafner stepped up to the plate in the 4th and crushed a nice double to the gap in left field, and Nix gets hit by a pitch vegas-style.. right in the kneecap.  After a textbook sacrifice by Trevor Crowe that moved Hafner and Nix to 2nd and 3rd respectively, Andy Marte couldn't hold up on a check swing and strikes out.  Michael Brantley does what he usually does and makes another out, and we squandered one of our many chances to put some runs on the board.

Bartlett started things off for the Rays in the 5th by hitting a routine grounder to Marte who came up with an ugly error, allowing Bartlett to reach 1st safely.  That would come back to haunt us after he stole 2nd soon thereafter, and reached 3rd on a groundout.  Carl Crawford did what Marte should have done the inning before, and hits a ball deep to left that serves as a sacrifice to get Bartlett home, making it 4-2 Rays.  Epic fail by Andy on multiple fronts. 

The Indians went in order and then in the top of the 6th the Rays followed suit; Masterson started to work quickly and looked like he had settled down.  Yet again, Travis "Pronk" Hafner tried to keep us in the game by getting his 3rd straight hit, making him 3-3 on the day so far.  Other than Pronk, the Tribe's bats were unusually quiet, and we headed to the 7th still down 2 runs.

Fast-forward to 2 down in the bottom of the 7th, where Brantley and Cabrera advanced to 2nd and 3rd after a Choo groundout.  After a questionable first pitch strike, Santana sent a rocket in between 1st and 2nd base but got robbed by Brignac.  6 outs left for the Tribe batsmen, and it's still 4-2 Tampa. 

Tony Sipp picked off Evan Longoria (who has a pretty legit Mullet going) to end the top of the 8th, and we're thinking it's time to get at least one of those runs back.  Travis Hafner must have been seeing the ball well, because he hit his 4th hit of the game right after LaPorta predictably flied out.  Nix followed Travis by flying out as well, but Crowe got a 2-out hit up the middle of the infield to keep the inning alive.  Manny Acta decided to pinch-hit Shelley Duncan for Marte, good move.  Considering that Duncan has the highest batting average for pinch hitter appearances this season at a .417 clip, there was still some hope left at Progressive.

Unfortunately, Duncan popped up to right field, and it's all but over.  Choo made it interesting by knocking a 2-out double in the bottom of the 9th, and yet again the game was up to the bat of Carlos Santana.  With one deceiving crack of the bat it looked like he maybe had tied it up, but his drive to center field was not deep enough.  The Indians left 8 runners stranded which would explain why we're now on a 2-game losing streak.

The New York Yankees come to town tonight for a 4-game series; Westbrook will take on Javier Vasquez in the series opener.  The real story of this series is clearly Alex Rodriguez, who is sitting on 599 career home runs.  Alex suffered a hand injury last night after being hit by a pitch, and it's unclear if he will even play tonight.  If he does, will A-Rod become only the 6th player ever to hit 600 home runs, and will he do it at Progressive Field?  Does it even matter, considering he's a self-confessed steroid user?  Is Derek Jeter the single most overrated player in the League?  Likely.  Did I mention I hate the Yankees?

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.