Series #12: @Texas

[Special_K19]

Friday May 9 8:05
Jake Westbrook vs John Thompson

Saturday May 10 8:05
C.C. Sabathia vs undecided

Sunday May 11 3:05
Ricardo Rodriguez vs Colby Lewis

All-Time Match-Up: Rangers lead 187-162 all-time, but trail 1-2 this year.

[Special_K19]

Jake Westbrook (1-2 3.07)
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/150414.jpg

vs

John Thompson (2-3 4.61)
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/123307.jpg

LET'S GO JAKE, BIG WIN TONIGHT!!!! :dance2:

[Special_K19]

WOOOOOOOOO!!!! :dance2: Let's play Texas every game all season. :D



Westbrook, Tribe roll past Rangers
By Ken Sins / Special to MLB.com

ARLINGTON -- The Indians produced a commodity on Friday night that's been in short supply for them this season. They scored early and they scored in bunches.

Cleveland put up seven runs over the first three innings, providing starter Jake Westbrook a rare comfort zone as the Indians rolled to a 9-5 victory over the Texas Rangers.

"Our starting pitchers have been doing a great job and we haven't been scoring runs for them," said Indians third baseman John McDonald. "It's important to put some hits together, run the bases and score some runs."

Westbrook (2-2) avoided the infamy of allowing the 500th homer to Rangers slugger Rafael Palmeiro, who remains stuck on 499 after going 2-for-2 with a two-run double, a sacrifice fly and two walks in five plate appearances.

Palmeiro drove in a run in the first with a sacrifice fly, and later walked and singled off Westbrook. He had also drew an eighth-inning walk off reliever David Elder, then had a two-run double to right against Terry Mulholland in the ninth. Palmeiro hit a long fly ball down the right field line in his final at-bat that came close to going out but fell foul.

"Sure you think about it (being known as the pitcher who gave up the milestone homer)," said Westbrook. "You're just trying to keep the ball down and do what you can to get him out. Anytime you can keep anybody in the park, you're happy."

Westbrook hit Palmeiro on the right elbow with a pitch last weekend in Cleveland, and the sore elbow has affected Palmeiro's swing. He has one homer since he was plunked.

Palmeiro wants to get No. 500 out of the way as soon as possible in order to remove himself from the media spotlight, but Westbrook kept Palmeiro well inside the confines of The Ballpark in Arlington, disappointing the crowd of 25,106.

Westbrook allowed two runs and seven hits over 6 2/3 innings.

"Jake had outstanding command and worked out of the situations he got himself into," said Indians manager Eric Wedge. "He did a great job shutting them down after we got some runs."

Offense has been a problem all season for the Indians, who started the night 13th in the league in runs scored and 13th in batting average.

But the Indians matched their highest scoring output of the year and established a season high with 16 hits, eight for extra bases.

Matt Lawton led the way for Cleveland with a homer and a double, Brandon Phillips added a pair of doubles and Omar Vizquel went 3-for-4 as the Indians won for the 10th time after suffering a three-game series sweep in Anaheim.

"It feels good for a day," Vizqual said. "Now we'll see if we can stay consistent. It's nice to see. With the nice weather here, we'll try to keep it up and get more confidence."

The Indians grabbed a 3-1 advantage in the second on consecutive RBI doubles by Casey Blake and Phillips, the Nos. 8 and 9 hitters.

Cleveland stretched its lead to 4-1 against John Thomson on Shane Spencer's RBI single in the fourth. Travis Hafner followed with a run-scoring single, knocking out Thomson (2-4). Hafner injured his left toe when he he was hit by a Thomson pitch in the second, but didn't leave the game until after the third.

Hafner said the toe may be broken. He'll learn more on Saturday following X-rays.

"Right now it hurts like heck," said Hafner. "It's either a small fracture or nothing. I feel like I'm walking like a caveman right now."

Tim Laker added a two-run double off reliever R.A. Dickey to complete the four-run third and stretch the Indians' edge to 7-1.

Lawton kept up the offensive pressure in the sixth with a leadoff homer into the upper deck, his fifth. That tied him with Karim Garcia and Ellis Burks for the team lead and gave Cleveland an 8-2 lead. Lawton's RBI double in the eighth made it 9-2.

Donnie Sadler's RBI single in the ninth moved the Rangers within 9-3, then Palmeiro doubled against Mulholland to make it 9-end the game.

The Indians grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first on Milton Bradley's RBI single, but Palmeiro tied it in the first with a sacrifice fly to medium center field.

[Special_K19]

C.C. Sabathia (1-2 3.13)
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/282332.jpg

vs

Alan Benes (0-0 2.16)
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/110853.jpg

LET'S GO FOR 2 C.C!!!!!! :dance2:

[Special_K19]

Sabathia shines, Tribe tops Texas
By Ken Sins / Special to MLB.com


ARLINGTON -- For the second time in a week, C.C. Sabathia kept a lid on the Texas Rangers' dangerous lineup.

The left-hander also kept Rafael Palmeiro in the ballpark in Cleveland's 6-4 victory and avoided becoming the victim of the Rangers slugger's 500th career homer.

Palmeiro went 0-for-3 and remains at 499 heading into Sunday's series finale. Palmeiro did not come close to the clearing the fences at The Ballpark in Arlington before a crowd of 43,484 fans that was hoping to witness Palmeiro's milestone homer.

"All I was thinking was I didn't want to be the guy to give up 500," Sabathia said. "I tried to bear down against him and against all of them. That's a good-hitting team. I kept telling myself not to give up, just make good pitches."

Sabathia (2-2) allowed two runs and five hits over seven innings, retiring the final eight Rangers he faced as he improved to 5-0 lifetime against Texas.

"He continues to mature as a pitcher," said Indians manager Eric Wedge. "That's one of the best offensive clubs in the league. Up and down the lineup, you don't get a break. He was efficient with his pitches and he finished off hitters late."

Last Sunday in Cleveland, Sabathia limited Texas to one run and four hits over eight innings in a 3-1 victory that stands as the Indians' best start of the season.

Sabathia felt he had better stuff in that game, especially his changeup. This time, he was more workmanlike, striking out three with three walks in 103 pitches.

"I didn't want to come out but I never want to come out," said Sabathia. "I always want to finish the game. I feel I'm pitching well. I tried not to change anything from last week. I couldn't get my changeup over tonight, but my fastball and breaking ball were working for me."

The Rangers failed to homer for the second straight night, just the second time this season that they've gone without a homer in consecutive games.

"He pitched good in Cleveland and he's one of the quality guys in the league," said Palmeiro of Sabathia. "He keeps the right-handers off balance, but I felt pretty good off him even though I didn't have any results."

The Indians have done a good job of keeping their heads amid the hoopla surrounding Palmeiro's quest for 500.

"It's not something we want to get caught up in," Wedge said. "We all know Palmeiro is a great player but we try to get every hitter."

Sabathia left with a 6-2 lead, but the Rangers rallied in the eighth against reliever David Riske on consecutive doubles by Juan Gonzalez and Herbert Perry.

Lefty Carl Sadler came on to face Palmeiro, and with flash-cameras winking throughout the ballpark, Palmeiro drew a walk.

Danys Baez, the third Cleveland reliever of the inning, gave up an RBI single to Mark Teixeira to make it 6-4, but Baez rallied to get the final five outs for his sixth save.

Cleveland's awakening offense provided Sabathia with a 5-1 pad after four innings.

Omar Vizquel drove in two runs for the Indians, who've won four of five from the Rangers this season.

The Indians had a season-high 16 hits and matched their largest run output of the season in Friday night's 9-5 victory over the Rangers.

Cleveland began the night 13th in the league in runs scored and 13th in batting average, but for the second straight game the offense performed better than those dismal statistics.

"We had some good at-bats again tonight," Wedge said. "I thought we did a good job of taking advantage of our opportunities."

The Rangers took a 1-0 lead in the first when Carl Everett led off with a walk and scored on Alex Rodriguez's double.

Cleveland tied it at 1 in the third when Ellis Burks walked and scored when Vizquel slapped a double into the left field corner. The Indians could have had more, but Brandon Phillips was thrown out at the plate trying to score from third on a grounder back to Rangers starter Alan Benes. The throw was high, but home plate umpire Wally Bell ruled that Rangers catcher and former Indian Einar Diaz tagged the sliding Phillips before he crossed the plate.

The Indians broke the game open against Benes (0-1) with a four-run fourth for a 5-1 edge. Texas acquired Benes on Friday in a trade with the Cubs, and Benes was making his American League debut.

Shane Spencer walked to open the Cleveland fourth, went to third on Jody Gerut's double, and scored on Josh Bard's infield single.

Phillips knocked out Benes with an RBI single that pushed Cleveland's lead to 3-1. Vizquel added a run-scoring single off reliever Todd Van Poppel, and an error by Rangers third baseman Mark Teixeira led to another run and the 5-1 lead.

Benes allowed five runs and six hits over 3 1/3 innings.

Sabathia got defensive help from Gerut in right field. Gerut turned in a standout play in the third, robbing Rodriguez of extra bases with a leaping catch of a rising liner.

After the Rangers got a run in the fifth on Michael Young's RBI double, Gerut made a sliding two-out catch against Herbert Perry in the right field corner with runners on first and third to keep it at 5-2.

"It's a do-or-die type situation," Gerut said of the catch that robbed Perry. "Our defensive is crucial, especially when the offense isn't carrying the team."

Casey Blake's RBI double in the eighth extended Cleveland's lead to 6-2.

[Special_K19]

Ricardo Rodriguez (2-3 3.86)
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/400156.jpg

vs

??? Lewis (3-3 7.52)
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/407890.jpg

SWEEEEEEEEP THE SERIES RICO!!!!!!!!!!!!! :dance2:

[Special_K19]

No sweep :cry:



Tribe pitchers melt in Texas
By Ken Sins / MLB.com

ARLINGTON -- Rafael Palmeiro made baseball history on Sunday afternoon, with the Cleveland Indians as reluctant participants.
Cleveland reliever David Elder gave up Palmeiro's 500th career homer in a seven-run seventh inning, as the Texas Rangers rolled to a 17-10 rout.

All weekend, the Indians tried to tune out the hoopla surrounding Palmeiro's quest to become the 19th Major Leaguer to reach 500 homers. Until the seventh inning of Sunday's series finale, the Indians had kept Palmeiro in the ballpark.

But Palmeiro finally reached the milestone when he pulled a full-count pitch from the right-handed Elder into the right-field seats. A relieved Palmeiro was mobbed at the plate by his teammates and received a standing ovation from the crowd of 23,407.

Palmeiro feasts on high fastballs like the pitch from Elder, a former Rangers farmhand.

"He had an outstanding series against us in terms of the way he hit the ball,'' Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "We worked hard to try and get him out, but (Elder) got down 3-2, (Palmeiro) got a fastball to his liking and he took care of it.

"It's obviously an unbelievable accomplishment. You' talk about the consistency and longevity you need to hit 500 home runs. What a select group of great ballplayers he's with. It's something that's quite an accomplishment.''

Two members of the Indians traveling party were especially pleased for Palmeiro, hitting instructor Eddie Murray and veteran DH Ellis Burks.

Murray was a teammate of Palmeiro with the Baltimore Orioles and is a fellow member of the 500 club.

Murray and Palmeiro made eye contact when Palmeiro came on the field to take his position in the top of the eighth. As Palmeiro was removed from the game, Murray tipped his cap to Palmeiro, and the latter reciprocated.

"I'm happy for Raffy. We go way back,'' said Burks. "I'm glad he did it. He's been trying the whole series, for a while. That's great. He's in an elite class, and I'm so happy for him. He's had an awesome career. I know he's not going to stop there. I predict he'll finish fourth or fifth all-time. He'll end up with 600 easily.''

The Indians had taken the first two from the Rangers, but Cleveland failed to complete what would have been its first three-game sweep in Arlington since 1973, on a sunny Mother's Day afternoon.

Winning each series is the objective, but when you take the first two and then lose the finale the way the Indians did, it can leave a bad taste.

"You look at the series as a whole, we'd have liked to have taken this one,'' Wedge said. "The positive thing is that will still swung the bats again. We're starting to be a little more consistent offensively.''

Indians rookie right-hander Ricardo Rodriguez (2-4) got an early two-run lead, but he was knocked out after failing to register an out in the fifth. Cleveland's bullpen fared no better, as the Rangers finished with a season high for runs, and matched their season's best with 19 hits.

Rodriguez lost his fourth straight, but Wedge said he is still confident in the Dominican rookie.

"He was working from behind most of the day,''' Wedge said. "When you're working from behind against a lineup like Texas has, you're going to get yourself into trouble. They're aggressive, they swing the bats and they hit the ball hard. But they find holes too.

"He's still one of our most consistent starters. He just didn't have his best stuff.''

The Indians got off to a fast start. Rookie Brandon Phillips remained hot against the Rangers, when his second-inning double drove in two runs to give Cleveland a 2-0 advantage. Phillips improved to 5-for-9 with four doubles in the series.

Texas narrowed the deficit to 2-1 in the second, when Palmeiro doubled and scored on Juan Gonzalez's single.


The Rangers went in front 3-2 in the third on Carl Everett's two-run blast, his 12th, to tie him for the Major League lead.

But the Indians answered against Colby Lewis, with a three-run fourth for a 5-3 lead.

Phillips tied it with an RBI single, and two batters later, Omar Vizquel knocked out Lewis with his two-run single to put the Indians in front 5-3.

Rodriguez couldn't hold the lead, however, and the Rangers sent him to the clubhouse with a four-run fifth, giving Texas a 7-5 advantage in what was a see-saw game early.

Hank Blalock had a two-run single, and Alex Rodriguez drove in another run with an infield single. A second run scored on the play when Indians third baseman Bill Selby threw wildly to first after a diving stop of A-Rod's smash.

Rodriguez faced five batters in the fifth, but couldn't get an out. He allowed seven runs and eight hits over four-plus innings.

Texas extended its lead to 9-5 in the sixth on RBI singles by Michael Young and Blalock off reliever Billy Traber.

The Rangers kept up the pressure on the Indians bullpen in the seventh, when Jason Boyd was tagged for four more runs as Texas stretched its lead to 13-5.

Palmeiro's three-run blast off Elder made it 16-5.

In the ninth, Cleveland put up four runs highlighted by Tim Laker's two-run homer to make it 17-10.

[SlushyBOB]

Thanks for taking 2 of 3 from Texas...The Angels much appreciate it!

[Special_K19]

No Problem :D :thumbsup:

We'll try to do more damage to the M's and A's this coming week.

[SlushyBOB]

That would be great!!!!!:clap2: :clap2: