Game 48: Indians 12, Rays 7
by Ryan on May 28, 2009 1:19 AM EDT
in Game Threads
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PrintLast season, when the Indians were playing their worst leading up towards the All-Star Break, the Rays came to town the surprise leader of the AL East. The Indians swept the four-game series, and had an excellent second half. This season, the Rays came to town with the Indians in a similar circumstance. The Tribe rotation was in shambles, and a couple innings into the first game of the series, hit a new low, as Fausto Carmona flamed out early. But somehow there seems to be some supernatural force at work preventing the Indians from losing to the Rays at home no matter how dire the circumstances might be.
Tonight, again, the game started out badly. Starter Zach Jackson gave up five runs in the first inning, and would be out of the game after the fourth inning. But the Indians quickly hit their way out of the early hole, and chased Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine in three innings. The offense continued to add runs against the back end of Tampa's bullpen, and they continued to get decent innings from the likes of Greg Aquino and Luis Vizcaino, who together saved the rest of the bullpen by pitching the final five innings of the game.
The Indians aren't exactly playing good baseball, but they're now the proud owners of a three-game winning streak for the first time all season.They've now won an incredible 16 straight game against the Rays at home; their last lost to Tampa Bay at Jacobs/Progressive Field came against Seth McClung in the last week of 2005.
| Highest WPA | Lowest WPA | ||
| Ben Francisco | .236 | Zach Jackson | -.441 |
| Jamey Carroll | .170 | Mark DeRosa | -.002 |
| Ryan Garko | .128 |
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ESPN
Francisco powers Indians to sweep of Rays
Francisco homers to help Indians to first sweep of season
FE WEE
Add epic to both fails and you’ve got it.
by ClemsonGirl on May 28, 2009 11:03 AM EDT up reply actions
Man, you just tricked me into looking at a box score from that last week in 2005. That’s like showing someone goatse.
That line-up had the classic “Killer Bees” of Belliard, Broussard, Boone and Blake guaranteeing four consecutive outs. I went to 5 of the last 6 games that week. Guess which one I missed (hint: I made it to the Seth McClung atrocity.)
No, not you. Your helmet!
by PatBordersHelmet on May 28, 2009 8:34 AM EDT up reply actions
According to retrosheet.org, Francisco’s four homers in four plate appearances against a single pitcher fell one short of a Major League record. That record is held by the Dodgers’ Frank Howard, who ripped a homer in five straight plate appearances against Bob Hendley of the Milwaukee Braves and San Francisco Giants between 1963 and ’64.
-Castrovince
The Rays’ first inning: Most unimpressive-looking 5-run rally ever.
by fleerdon on May 28, 2009 6:44 AM EDT reply actions
hey, we’re better than Oakland now. FIRE BILLY BEANE!
by APV on May 28, 2009 7:33 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I love Day baseball. Today, my cubicle will have a glow of positivity around noon. Lets just hope it remains a cheery place at 3pm
by Les Fleurs Du Mal on May 28, 2009 8:32 AM EDT reply actions
The radar doesn’t look great, so the rain might push the game into your evening.
No, not you. Your helmet!
by PatBordersHelmet on May 28, 2009 8:37 AM EDT up reply actions
what do you have against day baseball, huh?
by Les Fleurs Du Mal on May 28, 2009 8:42 AM EDT up reply actions
A rain delay followed by a 2pm start would be fine by me as well. that will keep me distracted from doing actual work until 5pm.
by Les Fleurs Du Mal on May 28, 2009 8:48 AM EDT up reply actions
Gray and misty here in NYC. How is it looking there?
by Les Fleurs Du Mal on May 28, 2009 10:42 AM EDT up reply actions
likes of Greg Aquino and Jose Vizcaino
You mean Luis, but it’s not like it matters that much.
Juan Salas: Smartest man in baseball?
Fact: in games in which Aquino and Vizcaino both pitch, the Indians are 2-0, and VizAquino have pitched 9 scoreless innings. In games in which one pitches but not the other, the Tribe is 1-4.
Why doesn’t Shapiro consider signing a savvy vet like Paul Byrd or Pedro?
by Les Fleurs Du Mal on May 28, 2009 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions
Because we already have that savvy vet in the organization. His name is Tomo Ohka. And he’s also much cheaper than Byrd or Pedro.
Are you being serious about Ohka? He is and never was on the same level as even Byrd . . . Cheap, yes. Savvy, not so much . . .
by Les Fleurs Du Mal on May 28, 2009 11:43 AM EDT up reply actions
Of course not. But have you been watching our season now? Look where we are in the standings. If Byrd and Pedro choose to pitch again this season, I bet they would choose big budgeted contending teams instead of a last place team in a crappy division.
I had the same thought, and that might be true of Pedro but Byrd had his last good year in Cleveland and might feel compelled to come back. Especially if we can creep up towards .500 by the break.
by Les Fleurs Du Mal on May 28, 2009 12:04 PM EDT up reply actions
wow. i learn something new here every day.
by dgcambridge on May 28, 2009 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions
I hate to point out the obvious, but looking at our season so far, it’s pretty clear that there’s only enough mojo for one Cleveland team at a time. sigh
This gives the Cavs fans some hope – it [i]is[/i] possible to win three games in a row. (Plus, we can draw parallels to the fact the Indians were “down” 3 games to 1 against the Rays after the previous series)
Hey – I’m reaching, but it’s all we got right now…
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge..." C. Darwin
Looking at our #4/5 starts this year (every start outside of Lee, Carmona, and Pavano), there have been
18 starts
84.3 IP (about 4 2/3 per)
73 ER
for a 7.79 ERA.
That includes Laffey’s 4 decent starts. I could subtract those out, but that wouldn’t be fair. (ok, it’s 9.10) You could explain a lot of our record with these numbers and our top 5 bullpen guys.
I assume Huff is smart enough to not do anything stupid like pitching a quality start today, because that would just make everyone else look bad. That’s why nobody likes Laffey.
if huff craps the bed again, i presume he gets sent down and we’re left with:
Lee
Pavano
Carmona
Ohka
Sowers
Really though, Huff would have to be really horrible again, and maybe another time or two after that, before he gets bumped for Ohka and Sowers. No?
by dgcambridge on May 28, 2009 11:22 AM EDT up reply actions
I don’t know, maybe not. How about 4? There is no way that Sowers and Ohka are both better than Huff. I refuse to believe this universe exists. What is going on? Can we just get a fifth starter who will limit himself to 4 runs over 6 innings?
by dgcambridge on May 28, 2009 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions
fifth starter who will limit himself to 4 runs over 6 innings
I think we already have pitcher this season. Check out the 2009 game by game log of this guy.
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