Series #15: Detroit

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Monday May 19 7:05
Gary Knotts vs Jason Davis

Tuesday May 20 7:05
Adam Bernero vs Jake Westbrook

Wednesday May 21 7:05
C.C. Sabathia vs Jeremy Bonderman

Thursday May 22 7:05
Nate Cornejo vs Ricardo Rodriguez

All-Time Match-Up: Tigers lead 979-947 overall, but the Tribe won last season 10-9.

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"Don" Knotts (1-3 4.19)
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/276352.jpg

vs

Jason Davis (3-4 6.21)
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/425186.jpg

START THE SERIES OFF RIGHT JD!!! :dance2:

[Special_K19]

:dance2: WOOHOOO!!!!!! Great come from behind victory, who cares that it was against the Tigers. A win is a win. I don't want to see Detroit get win #10 against Cleveland.



Cleveland comes back big
By Justice B. Hill / MLB.com


CLEVELAND -- The Tigers made it difficult Monday night for the Indians, but they didn't make it impossible.

Trailing 6-0 early, the Tribe chipped away slowly at that big deficit. Along the way, they also found a way to stop Carlos Peña, whose red-hot bat was responsible for seven of of those Tiger runs.

Peña ended up with three homers and seven RBIs, but not even his career night could stop the Tribe. Cleveland got productive at-bats from rookie Jody Gerut and Casey Blake, and stellar relief work from David Riske to overtake the cellar-dwelling Tigers in the late innings en route to 10-9 win in front of 16,492 fans at Jacobs Field.

"We just picked each other up every time," Gerut said. "We're starting to come together."

Still, the Indians didn't have an easy go of it.

Having tied the game at 7-7 in the sixth inning, they fell behind 9-7 in the seventh on Peña's third homer. It came off rookie Billy Traber (2-2, 4.30 ERA).

"The kid had a helluva night," Indians manager Eric Wedge said.

Yes, Peña did. But he didn't do quite enough. For in the bottom of the sixth, the Indians put back-to-back doubles together off Tigers reliever Jamie Walker, cutting the Tribe's deficit to a run. Blake then wiped that deficit out altogether and gave the Indians their first lead when he homered over the wall in center field.

It was a stirring comeback for the Indians, who reversed what had happened to them Sunday afternoon against the Athletics. In that game, the Tribe led 5-0 late, but it saw that big lead evaporate as the A's beat up on the bullpen.

The Indians did that comeback thing to the Tigers bullpen. They also scored five runs off starter Gary Knotts, who didn't last long enough to qualify for a win. He left the outcome in his bullpen's hands.

What bullpen? The Tigers might have been wiser to stay with Knotts, because they got no help for him from their relief corps.

He left the outcome in his bullpen's hands and Walker (1-1, 4.05) was asked to keep the Tribe from taking the lead.

He didn't. The two doubles hurt him, but not nearly as much as Blake's two-run homer.

"We know how the game goes, and we just felt if we stayed strong in our approach and we just keep playing the game, things were gonna turn around," Blake said. "We know, in the back of our minds, that Detroit has had some real bad luck or bad karma when it comes to holding on to leads."

The Indians, though, haven't been much better -- witness what they did with a 5-0 lead a day earlier.

Now with just a 10-9 lead against the Tigers, the Indians didn't have any room for an bullpen implosion. So they brought in right-hander David Riske.

Relying on his splitter, Riske held the Tigers and Peña scoreless over the last 1 2/3 innings to earn his first save.

"We'll take it," said Gerut, who went 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs. "Wins like that don't come along very often -- down 6-0. But we didn't stop; we just kept playing."

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Adam Bernero (0-6 6.04)
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/333293.jpg

vs

Jake Westbrook (2-3 4.46)
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/150414.jpg

LET'S GO JAKEY JAKE!!!!! It's his last chance to prove he belongs in the rotation.

[PissedPrincess]

K,K,K, glad you won, BUT, teasing Tiger fans? :no

:D Go Juicy Juice Jakey Jake.:cool:

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Teasing? I wasn't teasing anyone.

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Another come from behind win!! :dance2:



Phillips foils Tigers bid to win
By Justice B. Hill / MLB.com


CLEVELAND -- The Indians had to play the comeback role again Tuesday night, and they had the same kind of success. This time it was rookie Brandon Phillips, who provided the dramatics with a three-run walk-off homer to lift the Indians to a 6-4 victory over Detroit Tuesday night at Jacobs Field.

Their 6-4 victory over Detroit was every bit as dramatic as their win Monday, which included a bottom of the ninth inning that left the 15,499 fans at Jacobs Field cheering as if these were the glory years of Indians baseball.

The Tribe and its fans can thank Phillips for most of this late-inning theater. On a windy night that seemed to benefit pitching most, Phillips cut through the gusts with one swing of his bat.

With runners on first and third and one out, he hit walk-off homer, which proved an electric ending to a game that featured much better pitching than the Tigers and the Indians had produced Monday during their 10-9 slugfest.

"I've never hit a walk-off home run before," said Phillips, wearing a broad smile. "It really felt good."

It surely did for Phillips -- and for the Indians. They had spent much of the night playing catch up against the Tigers, and that wasn't a simple task considering wind.

Yet in the end, it wasn't so much the starting pitchers that decided this game, Phillips homer notwithstanding. It was the bullpens.

The Indians bullpen held up better. It came in for right-hander Jake Westbrook in the seventh, and it didn't allow the Tigers to build on their 4-3 lead, which kept alive the Tribe's chances.

"The bullpen keeping it tight was big," Indians manager Eric Wedge said.

With an opportunity there, his Indians made the most of it.

Facing Tigers reliever Matt Roney (0-1, 3.52 ERA) in the ninth, the Tribe got one-out singles from Casey Blake and Ben Broussard, which put runners on first and third.

With Roney still in, Phillips strode to the plate.

"First pitch, I was looking curveball," he said. "Then I was gonna look for a fastball away. Then he surprised me by coming back in. The next thing you know, I tried to turn on it."

Turn on the pitch Phillips did. He lined Roney's 1-1 pitch into the stands, giving the Indians a win in a game that looked as if it was lost.

In the early going, they didn't look as if they'd score a single run. They found themselves hard pressed to do anything against Adam Bernero, a winless pitcher with a 6.04 ERA

But it soon developed that Bernero would be more effective than he had been in his earlier eight starts this season. Through three innings, the 26-year-old right-hander was perfect -- nine batters, nine outs.

Perfection ended in the fourth. With the Tribe trailing 2-0 Matt Lawton opened the inning with a single to right. Lawton moved to second on John McDonald's slow grounder to third base, and McDonald reached first when Eric Munson's off-target throw pulled Carlos Pena off the bag.

At last, the Indians had a threat brewing. The Tribe also had the big hitters in its batting order coming to face Bernero. He was unfazed. He struck out Ellis Burks on a half swing, and he then got Milton Bradley to ground into a force play and Jody Gerut on a foul pop to Munson.

The Indians didn't score off Bernero then, but they did score in the fifth. Casey Blake started the inning with a double; he reached third on Gene Kingsale's error in center. One batter later, Blake scored when Phillips singled. Lawton walked, and Phillips scored on McDonald's single, tying the game.

Not for long.

In the sixth, Westbrook gave up a double to Bobby Higginson to open the inning and then a homer to Dmitri Young, who lined a shot that seared through a stiff wind and landed over the wall in right center.

Westbrook finished the inning, but he then gave way in the seventh to right-hander Jason Phillips, who was making his first appearance since coming up from Triple-A Buffalo.

Phillips allowed the Tigers nothing. Neither did Terry Mulholland, who worked the eighth; nor did David Riske (1-0, 3.74), who worked the ninth.

The relief corps kept the Tribe in position for the late heroics, and Brandon Phillips provided them.

"I just tried to look for something up in the zone," he said, smiling still. "I just tried to make sure I got that runner in from third. That's something I was really worried about.

"I put a real good swing on it, and the next thing I knew the ball has gone over the fence."

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Jeremy Bonderman (2-6 5.77)
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/425827.jpg

vs

C.C. Sabathia (2-2 3.00)
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/282332.jpg

3 GAME WINNING STREAK COMING UP!!!! LET'S GO C.C.!!!! :dance2:

[PissedPrincess]

:eek: What does CC stand for? Counting Chins? Dude is getting a bit porky.:(

Good Luck tonight!:cool:

[Special_K19]

He is a little chunky, but he's lost weight from last season and as long as pitches the way he has, he can stay that big for all I care. C.C. actually stands for Charles Carston I believe.

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Sabathia extends win streak
By Justice B. Hill / MLB.com


CLEVELAND -- The Indians hadn't won three games in a row this season, so with two straight wins already banked, their prospects of turning two into three looked good Wednesday night.

Keep in mind that the Indians had C.C. Sabathia on the mound, and they were also playing the cellar-dwelling Tigers.

As expected, Sabathia handled the Tigers effortlessly for six innings, and the Indians bullpen then came on and took control. That combination of Sabathia and the bullpen made sure the Tribe came away with its streak intact thanks to a 4-0 win in front of 16,534 fans at The Jake.

Sabathia's work had the most to do with this. The Indians left-hander held the Tigers to three hits over six innings in what arguably was his best outing of the 2003 season.

"I'm able to throw all my pitches at any count," said Sabathia, whose ERA over his last four starts is 1.29. "Guys think a fastball is coming at 'em all the time, so I'm able to drop something else on 'em."

That something else Wednesday was his curve, which proved effective whenever he turned to it. Yet what might have helped Sabathia more than his curve was the run support he got. It lessened his burden considerably.

That offense didn't come immediately as he and Jeremy Bonderman (2-7, 5.73 ERA) pitched evenly in the first two innings.

"Bonderman threw the ball well," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "We had to work pretty hard against him to get anything at all."

But in the third, the Tribe broke through against Bonderman, taking a 3-0 lead. Matt Lawton jump started the inning with a one-out double. Lawton then scored on Omar Vizquel's RBI single.

Ellis Burks and Milton Bradley both drew walks from Bonderman, and Vizquel and Burks scored on Shane Spencer's bad-hop single to left field.

In the fourth, the Indians added another run, and Lawton played a role in this one as well. His single to right knocked in Brandon Phillips, who had singled and moved to second on a throwing error.

Four runs looked like plenty for Sabathia. He did find himself in a little situation he needed to escape in the top of the fifth. But the real problem didn't crop up until two Tigers were out.

Sabathia (3-2, 2.73) gave up a single to Eric Munson and a two-out walk to Brandon Inge, hitting .141 at game time. Those runners put the Tigers in position to chip into Sabathia's lead.

Sabathia ended the innings by getting Andres Torres to ground out to Phillips at second.

Threat over for the Tigers.

Sabathia didn't allow the Tigers to threaten again. Not that they didn't threaten at all; they just didn't do so against Sabathia. Because after he twisted his left ankle on close play at first base in the sixth, he didn't return for the seventh.

"I knew I wasn't coming back, because I couldn't put any pressure on it," he said. "I kinda figured they would take me out."

In his place, Wedge brought in rookie Billy Traber. He held the Tigers scoreless in the seventh, but he didn't have as easy go of things in the eighth. He gave up a leadoff double to Brandon Inge, which brought in Jason Boyd, who struck out the side.

Danys Baez came on to finish the ballgame. He, too, struck out the side, giving the Indians their first three-game winning streak of the '03 season.

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Nate Cornejo (3-3 3.35)
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/407074.jpg

vs

Jason Bere (0-0 0.00)
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/110891.jpg

LET'S GO JASON!!!! PROVE YOU BELONG IN THE ROTATION!!!

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You can't win 'em all. :(



Tribe win streak ends at three
Bere's first start OK, but offense shut out after first
By Justice B. Hill / MLB.com

CLEVELAND -- The Indians had sweep on their minds Thursday night at Jacobs Field, but they couldn’t translate those thoughts into results.

Because in reality, they couldn't sweep last-place Detroit. The Indians wasted a solid outing Thursday night from veteran Jason Bere, as they let a 2-0 lead slip away en route to 3-2 loss in 11 innings.

"It would have been nice to end this one with a win for us," said Bere, making his first start of the '03 season. "But we've been playing better, and as far as myself, it's good to get back."

With Bere long gone, reliever Jason Phillips (0-1, 4.50 ERA) gave up the decisive run. With one out in the 11th, Phillips walked Craig Monroe and then gave up Dmitri Young's single to right, which moved Monroe to third base. Eric Munson's sacrifice fly untied the score.

In the bottom of the inning, the Indians went down one, two, three and saw their three-game winning streak stopped.

And the sweep? It was stopped, too.

Early on, the Tribe did look as if it would be able to sweep the Tigers. Bere, fresh from the disabled list, looked in midseason form. He held Detroit to two hits over the first five innings.

"He was outstanding tonight," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "He hadn't pitched in such a long time at this level, and in a tight ballgame throughout, he did a very good job."

Bere didn't allow his third hit until the sixth. At the time, he and the Indians were holding a 2-0 lead, which was slim at best.

The Tribe had gotten that lead in the first, putting together two singles, a walk and a sacrifice fly off right-hander Nate Cornejo, who looked wild.

"We came out strong early," Wedge said.

Whatever problems Cornejo had early, he got them solved after the first. He didn't allow the Indians much of anything from there on out. He took command of the game, and the Tribe was never able to get it back, even after Cornejo left.

That would eventually cost the Tribe -- twice. The first time came in the sixth.

Having held the Tigers scoreless until then, Bere gave up his third hit to Ramon Santiago with one out. Bobby Higginson followed with the fourth hit, which put Tigers runners on first and second.

Facing Carlos Pena, Bere issued his second walk, loading the bases. He got Monroe to line out to Brandon Phillips. After Monroe's out, the Indians brought in veteran Terry Mulholland to face Young, who was pinch-hitting for Kevin Witt. Young singled to center to knock in the tying runs.

For the Indians, the bullpen would now have to decide this game -- win or lose. The bullpen would have another late-game meltdown.

With the game still 2-2 in the 11th, the Tigers broke through against Phillips, who ended up with his first loss of the season.

"We did have some opportunities late," Wedge said. "We just didn't take advantage of 'em."