Series #8 Baltimore

[Special_K19]

Where: Jacobs Field.

TV/radio: Fox Sports Net Ohio; WTAM AM/1100.

Pitching matchups: Cliff Lee (2-0, 3.74 ERA) vs. Sidney Ponson (2-1, 5.28) at 7:05 tonight; C.C. Sabathia (1-0, 1.71) vs. Erik Bedard (0-0, 6.75) at 1:05 p.m. Saturday; and Jake Westbrook (1-1, 1.69) vs. Matt Riley (1-1, 5.66) at 1:05 p.m. Sunday.

Season series: The Indians and Orioles split six games last year. Indians lead, 388-363, overall.

Indians update: They're hitting .287 in nine home games. They're hitting .261 overall against lefties, and the Orioles will start lefties Bedard and Riley in games 2 and 3 of the series.

Orioles update: They've won nine of their last 13 games. Orioles have lost 14 of their last 18 games at Jacobs Field.

Injuries: Indians - Pitchers Jose Jimenez (left rib cage), Jason Stanford (left forearm), Bob Wickman (right elbow), Brian Tallet (left elbow) and Billy Traber (left elbow), outfielder Ryan Ludwick (right knee) and catcher Josh Bard (hernia) are on the disabled list. Orioles - Second baseman Jerry Hairston Jr. (right hand), outfielder Marty Cordova (right elbow) and pitcher Omar Daal (left shoulder) are on the DL.

Next: Boston visits Jacobs Field for a four-game series starting Monday.

[Special_K19]

Sidney Ponson (2-1 5.28)
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/132260.jpg

vs.

:cheer:Cliff Lee (2-0 3.74):cheer:
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/424324.jpg

LET's GO CLIFFIE!!!!!!!!! END APRIL ON A HIGH NOTE!!!!!!!!!
:dancin: :banana: :dancin: :banana: :dancin: :banana: :dancin: :banana:

[PissedPrincess]

I think Sid ate Lee. :smokin:


*runs away so Nanner can't see me*

[Nanner]

I think Sid ate Lee. :smokin:


*runs away so Nanner can't see me*

I agree, though!

That picture........ :eek: ........ forget Lee.... it looks like he ate Cleveland!

[Special_K19]

04/30/2004 10:01 PM ET
Indians hammer Orioles in opener
By Justice B. Hill / MLB.com


http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/images/2004/04/30/EV7i9HKX.jpg
Travis Hafner applauds after doubling home two runs against the Orioles. (Mark Duncan/AP)


CLEVELAND -- Cliff Lee and the Indians offense made certain the bullpen didn't get a chance to blow this ballgame.

Lee went out Friday night and grabbed firm control, and the Indians lavished him with enough runs to ensure that not even their beleaguered bullpen could hand the Orioles a late-game win.

Behind Lee and a heavy-hitting offense, the Tribe went on to pound the Orioles, 11-2, in front of 18,782 fans at Jacobs Field.

"It went good," Lee said of his outing. "I finally got to see the seventh inning. I threw more strikes; I got more outs."

His was a succinct assessment of arguably his best outing of the season.

As good as Lee was overall, he did look at one point as if he'd let the Orioles knock him out of the game early. He gave up singles to the first two batters he faced, but Lee worked in and out of that jam, allowing just one run.

"Cliff struggled early," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "He got it together and was able to make some adjustments even throughout the course of the game. But when he did become erratic, he was able to gather it back in."

Not that Lee (3-0, 3.14 ERA) would have much gathering to do after the Indians got finished with Orioles right-hander Sidney Ponson.

They quickly erased a 1-0 deficit, though the fact they did was no surprise. The Tribe was, after all, facing Ponson, who went into the game 0-5 in his Major League career against Cleveland. He was well on his way to 0-6 after he got knocked around The Jake in the bottom of the first.

Matt Lawton started Ponson (2-2, 6.29) down the road to defeat with a leadoff single. Omar Vizquel and Jody Gerut followed with singles to load the bases. Casey Blake grounded into a force play at home, but Travis Hafner doubled home two runs.

Victor Martinez singled home another run, and Ronnie Belliard followed with an RBI single that gave the Tribe a 4-1 lead.

"We were very good up an down the lineup offensively," Wedge said. "Obviously, we broke out early and kept going against a pretty good pitcher there in Ponson."

Through two innings, Wedge saw his Indians pound Ponson for seven hits and six runs, and just one extra hit here or there, and the Tribe might have been sitting on a much bigger lead.

No problem against Ponson this night, because bigger was only a short distance away. The Tribe would have no trouble solving him.

"He stayed basic," Lawton said. "He stayed away with the changeup; he stayed away with the same things. We were able to stay on him and get hits all night."

That the Tribe did. In total, it collected nine hits off Ponson, scoring seven runs (six earned) in 3 2/3 innings.

But Ponson wasn't alone in having to face the heavy lumber of the Indians. His first replacement, right-hander Rick Bauer, also gave up a couple of runs, which gave Lee a nice margin for mistakes.

Lee didn't make any.

He scattered a few more hits across the innings, but the Orioles didn't mount anything that looked like a serious threat. He was sharp, and he got sharper as the game wore on.

"I was throwing strikes and keeping the ball down a little bit," Lee said. "I had the curveball working a little bit, getting it over the plate, and got 'em out."

Justice B. Hill is a senior writer for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

[Special_K19]

Erik Bedard (0-0 6.75)
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/407853.jpg

vs.

:cheer:C.C. Sabathia (1-0 1.71):cheer:
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/282332.jpg

WE FINISHED APRIL RIGHT NOW LET'S START MAY ON THE RIGHT TRACK!!!!
:dancin: :banana: :dancin: :banana: :dancin: :banana: :dancin: :banana:

[Special_K19]

05/01/2004 5:25 PM ET
Lucky 13th: Crisp single lifts Tribe
Sabathia throws seven strong innings in return
By Justice B. Hill / MLB.com


http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/images/2004/05/01/azHXCPto.jpg
C.C. Sabathia pitched seven solid innings in his return to the rotation. (Mark Duncan/AP)


CLEVELAND -- Ronnie Belliard strolled toward Coco Crisp's locker. Belliard then reached out Saturday and slapped hands with Crisp. It all seemed so appropriate.

For what better way for a veteran like Belliard to thank a young ballplayer like Crisp for a game-winning RBI than with a little congratulatory gesture?

Not that Crisp was the only hero in the Tribe's 3-2 win over the Orioles in this 13-inning marathon at The Jake. But it was Crisp's slap single to right field that scored Matt Lawton from second to win the game.

"It's not like I scorched it, not like I hit a Travis Hafner, ESPN-type screamer," he said.

OK, so it wasn't a "screamer." But the Indians were willing to settle for anything to help them turn this game into a win. They had been sailing toward victory on the strong arm of C.C. Sabathia, who was making his first start since April 16.

Sabathia looked as if he hadn't missed a turn. He was every bit as sharp in this outing as he had been in all of his earlier ones this season. He held the Orioles to four hits and one run, which came in the fifth on Melvin Mora's solo shot to left.

"C.C. was fantastic," manager Eric Wedge said. "I mean, he picked up right where he left off. It's been a couple weeks since he pitched last, so obviously we had to keep him on a pitch count."

That count was about 85 pitches -- give or a take a few. Sabathia hit it on the mark when he retired B.J. Surhoff on a liner to right field.

That out brought in Rick White, and it put the game's outcome and a 2-1 lead in the hands of the beleaguered Indians bullpen. The roller coaster ride was about to begin.

Once again, the bullpen let a lead get away. White, whom the Tribe picked earlier this week in a trade with the Tigers, was at fault.

White promptly walked Darnell McDonald to lead off the eighth. He then got Keith Osik and Brian Roberts on fly balls to the outfield. But McDonald used a stolen base to get himself to second.

He scored when Mora singled to center, tying the score.

White didn't run into any further trouble in the eighth. In the ninth, Rafael Betancourt, now the Indians closer, took over and worked an uneventful inning.

But over the next handful of innings, the bullpen had to weave in and out of jams on a number of occasions. Jack Cressend, Scott Stewart and Chad Durbin (2-2, 12.66 ERA) did just that, though not without some nervous moments.

Heading into the bottom of the 13th, the score remained 2-2. Lawton opened the inning with a single to right off Mike DeJean (0-2, 8.00). Alex Escobar moved Lawton to second with a sacrifice bunt.

The Orioles walked veteran Lou Merloni intentionally, which brought the switch-hitting Crisp to the plate to face DeJean.

"My .211 average probably threw them off a little bit," Crisp joked.

In a sense, Crisp was right. Because the Orioles did have some choices: They could have pitched to Merloni or risked, if they'd retired Merloni, that the Indians would bring in Ben Broussard to hit for Crisp.

The Orioles chose Crisp over the alternatives.

It proved a costly decision.

He poked a single through the right-side of the infield, scoring Lawton and giving the Tribe its first series win of the '04 season.

"I don't remember the last time I won a game with a game-winning hit," Crisp said. "That doesn't happen to me too often." No, it doesn't. It hadn't happened lately because Crisp hadn't been playing much. But he got his chance late, entering as a pinch runner for Hafner in the 11th inning.

Crisp made the most of his opportunity. He ensured that the Indians didn't let Sabathia's good work turn into a defeat.

"For the team, this was big, because we won the game -- we pulled it off," Crisp said. "For me, it's big, because I've been coming out early, trying to work and trying to get back into the swing of things.

"And to get that one hit, after I've been working the last couple of days off, it's pretty big, you know. It's kinda a confidence booster."

Justice B. Hill is a senior writer for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

[Special_K19]

Matt Riley (1-1 5.66)
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/235494.jpg

vs.

:cheer:Jake Westbrook (1-1 1.69):cheer:
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/150414.jpg


LET'S GO JAKEY JAKE, ONE MORE CHANCE TO STAY IN THE ROTATION!!!!!!!!!!!
:dancin: :banana: :dancin: :banana: :dancin: :banana: :dancin: :banana:

[Special_K19]

No game today, it's been rained out. That makes 3 days off in the last 4 days for the Tribe. They should be well rested going into a tough series with Boston.