Indians News

"Every MLB organization has players who move on to success with other teams. But it is difficult to match the Indians for year-in, year-out Ex-File productivity. The 2008 season has been particularly bountiful. Here is a look at some of the notables (all stats through Tuesday): Casey Blake, 3B, Dodgers - .333 (12-for-36), one HR, three RBI in 10 games. The skinny: Continuation of superb season for Blake, who batted .289 with 58 RBI in 94 games with Tribe. Indians, going nowhere, made correct call to get something for him via trade. Cleveland has a chance to sign Blake as a free agent after this season. Milton Bradley, OF, Rangers - .320, 19 HR, 60 RBI, .446 on-base percentage in 92 ..."

"The good news about the closerless Indians is there are only 49 games left in the season. The bad news about the closerless Indians is there are 49 games left in the season. The Indians entered the ninth inning against Tampa Bay with a 7-4 lead Wednesday afternoon at Tropicana Field. Edward Mujica and Masa Kobayashi combined to give up six runs while not recording an out as the Rays rallied for a 10-7 victory. Mujica gave up a two-run homer to Gabe Gross after allowing consecutive doubles to Jason Bartlett and Eric Hinske. Kobayashi relieved and gave up a three-run homer to Carlos Pena. After the game, Mujica fled the locker room without talking to reporters. It's hard to blame him. ..."

"It was a big day for Indians catcher Victor Martinez. He took batting practice and threw to second base (bouncing most of the throws) Wednesday morning at Tropicana Field. Apparently, his standards for excitement and achievement are not very high. Then again, he has been waiting eight weeks to do those simple tasks after undergoing surgery to remove bone chips from his right elbow. ''I felt great,'' Martinez said. ''It's been a long time since my elbow felt like this.'' The pain and the inability to extend his arm finally forced him to seek a solution on the operating table. Both Martinez and the Indians were hoping that he could make it through the season before resorting to surgery, but ..."

"Jhonny Peralta is becoming the scourge of the American League, maybe all of baseball. Can he be stopped? Maybe teams can only hope to contain him. Peralta represented the best news for the Indians' 10-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. In an eventful afternoon, Peralta's achievements stood out. He singled in the first inning, homered in the third, doubled and scored in the fifth, doubled home a run in the sixth and led off the ninth with a single. It marked the second time this year and in his career that he has had five hits in a game. But Peralta's big game against the Rays is only the tip of the iceberg. In his past 44 games, Peralta is batting .360 with 23 doubles, eight ..."

"Of all the come-from-behind victories in Joe Maddon's three-year reign, Wednesday's wild walkoff was "probably the most exciting." And, to a certain extent, the most rewarding. It wasn't just that the Rays scored six with no outs in the ninth, capped by a Carlos Pena three-run homer, to win 10-7 and clinch their first series victory against Cleveland in three years. It was how they did it. And, who came through. On a day when All-Star left-hander Scott Kazmir didn't last five innings, Carl Crawford sat with a sore left hamstring and B.J. Upton was benched for not hustling on a grounder the night before, the Rays went with an imaginative lineup: Ben Zobrist making his first big-league start ..."

"OK, so there have been several of these dramatic comebacks in this improbable Rays season. Wednesday's was the kind that can crystallize the belief that with this team, in this season, anything is attainable. Anything. "Probably the most exciting win I've been involved with here in my three years," Manager Joe Maddon said. Trailing by three runs against a Cleveland team that, despite its 49-63 record, had taken five of six from them, the Rays scored six runs in the bottom of the ninth and pulled out - no, make that pulled off - a 10-7 victory. That was six runs with six batters. Carlos Pena's three-run homer ended the game, igniting a bench-clearing celebration at home plate and sending a ..."

"Signing David Dellucci for three years has not been one of General Manager Mark Shapiro's most popular moves among Indians fans. In 2007, Dellucci missed much of the season with an injury. This year, many Tribe partisans would say that Dellucci is just missing. Going into Tuesday night's game against the Rays, he was batting .238 with 10 home runs and 39 RBI in 88 games (256 at-bats). ''This is probably the hardest season for me in my career, except for last year, when I was hurt,'' Dellucci said. ''We didn't make our expectations as a team, and every day has been a battle. ''For me personally, it's been an extremely difficult year offensively. I'm capable of much more. But it's not over, ..."

"More than four months into their finest season, the Rays finally got a piece of the bothersome Cleveland Indians Tuesday night in a 3-hour, 41-minute game at Tropicana Field. Evan Longoria, Cliff Floyd and Dioner Navarro all hit seventh-inning hit home runs in an 8-4 victory, Tampa Bay's first win against the American League Central cellar-dwelling Indians in six games this year. The Rays improved to 4-1 in a six-game homestand and this afternoon can win their 23rd series of the season. The victory before 20,063 fans kept them from losing consecutive games at home for the first time since mid-April. "It would be great to meat loaf those guys, because I don't know what they've done against ..."

"The Indians have turned into the old-school Indians. Which is to say, they are a losing team with two or three interesting players to watch over the last two months of the season. Cliff Lee and Rafael Perez are two of those players. Lee has a chance to be the Indians' first 20-game winner since Gaylord Perry in 1974 and Perez turned in the rarest of appearances in Monday's 5-2 victory over Tampa Bay with a two-inning save. "That might be a first since I've been here," said Eric Wedge, who has managed the Indians since 2003. "Look at the closers we've had - Bob Wickman and Joe Borowski. Wicky and Joe were both one-inning guys." Lee is 15-2 and should - if he stays healthy - get about ..."

"In another context, they might be museum pieces. John Halama, Jeff Weaver, Brendan Donnelly and to a lesser degree, Anthony Reyes, have had their shot at the big leagues. They are reclamation projects, long shots. But the risk to the Indians, who obtained them at the nadir of their careers, is minimal. If they fail to make it with the Tribe, little will be lost. And if one of these pitchers can contribute at the major-league level, the Indians will have beaten the odds. All four are pitching at Triple-A Buffalo. Reyes might have the best chance to regain a big-league job after being a hero of the 2006 World Series for the St. Louis Cardinals. He won the first game and posted a 2-0 record ..."

"Just who is kidding whom? It was Cliff Lee, stupid. Are the Tampa Bay Rays expected to beat him? And never mind that they lead the East, where the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox each believe that claiming the division is their birthright. So it came to pass that Lee was the winning pitcher Monday night, as the Indians earned a 5-2 victory to lift their season record to 5-0 against the caretakers of Tropicana Field. As for Lee, he has beaten the Rays twice in 2008. In his career, he is 6-2 with a 2.32 ERA and 3-0 at the Trop. ''Cliff got better as the game went on,'' Indians manager Eric Wedge said. ''I thought he was back to his old self. Last game he was good early but it got away ..."

"The Indians turned their back on contention on July 7 when they traded CC Sabathia to Milwaukee. In doing so, they started evaluating players for next year. Right-hander Anthony Reyes, who won Game 1 of the 2006 World Series for St. Louis, is scheduled for evaluation in the near future. Reyes is 2-0 at Class AAA Buffalo since the Indians acquired him from the Cardinals for minor-league reliever Luis Perdomo on July 25. "We received real good reviews on his start Sunday," manager Eric Wedge said. Reyes allowed one run on five hits in eight innings in a 2-1 victory over Syracuse. He struck out four and didn't walk a batter. "He's in our plans," said Wedge, when asked if Reyes would be ..."

"Tampa Bay might be the toast of Major League Baseball this season, but to the Indians they're still the hapless Devil Rays, the 1998 expansion team that has struggled to win and thrive in the Sunshine State. This year the Rays - they dropped the Devil from their name after last season - lead the AL East with 66 victories. It's as many wins as they had all last year, but they still can't beat the Indians. David Dellucci hit a tiebreaking two-run homer and Cliff Lee won his 15th game in the Tribe's 5-2 victory over Tampa on Monday night at Tropicana Field. The Indians are 5-0 against Tampa this season and 60-26 overall. "I have no idea why we've done so well against them," shortstop ..."

"They're the last-place Cleveland Indians to the rest of the American League, but to the Rays, they're the Buzz Killers. First there was that wet blanket they threw over the Rays' sensational first half last month, sweeping them four straight in Cleveland and sending them into the All-Star break with a seven-game losing streak. And Monday night, with a 5-2 victory in the opening game of a three-game series at Tropicana Field, they took the air out of a team that was feeling great about itself after a sweep of the Detroit Tigers that included a come-from-behind 10-inning victory Sunday. "They play us well," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "They just smoked us four times up there, and they got ..."

"He had read all the reports and watched all the video, but Ron Gardenhire still was a little nervous about what might happen when Francisco Liriano trudged to the mound Sunday. And after watching a few pitches, Gardenhire had an entirely new fear. "I was thinking I'm going to have to take him out with a no-hitter going in the seventh," the manager said after the Twins' 6-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday. "And everyone was going to boo." He was joking, but Gardenhire's excitement typified the Twins' reaction to an eye-opening performance by the wayward left-hander, a comeback that rated as an unqualified success on every level. Liriano pitched six innings, some of them ..."

"If Victor Martinez's continues to avoid setbacks, he could be sent out on a rehabilitation assignment by the end of this week. ''Victor is throwing out to 105 feet and will progress to 120 feet Sunday,'' Indians head trainer Lonnie Soloff said Saturday. After that, he will throw to bases. ''From a hitting standpoint, he did some soft-toss with [hitting coach] Derek Shelton. Early in the week, he is scheduled to take batting practice against the coaches, and by the time we get to Toronto [Friday], he should be taking BP with the team. He also will run the bases next week.'' That takes care of every test Martinez would have to pass before actually catching in a game. ''Optimistically, the ..."

"The last time the Twins were in first place in the AL Central, the Indians trailed by a half game. The date was May 13 and things looked good for both teams. The Twins, who beat the Indians, 6-2, on Sunday at the Metrodome to recapture first place, are 42-31 since that date. The Indians, who couldn't capture thin air at this point of the season, are 28-43 over the same stretch. "The games are going to start getting big ger and big ger and big ger," said Twins catcher Mike Redmond. "We're going to benefit from having a lot of young guys on this team. Guys like Denard Span are joking around, and just playing the game. Being in first place isn't going to bother them." The Indians have ..."

"The White Sox prepared for the stretch drive by trading for future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. The Twins prepared by reaching into their farm system Friday for Francisco Liriano and Randy Ruiz. To make way for Liriano and Ruiz they dumped veterans Livan Hernandez and Craig Monroe. Hernandez was leading the rotation with 10 victories. Today the Twins are in first place in the AL Central, a half-game in front of the White Sox, the team they've been chasing for almost 10 weeks. Liriano's victory over the Indians on Sunday propelled them into first as Kansas City beat Chicago. "That's the way they do it here," said Tribe reliever Juan Rincon. "They almost never make trades at the ..."

"It wasn't Francisco Liriano, vintage 2006. The fastballs and sliders didn't have the same zip. The hitters didn't look as overwhelmed. But the Twins were still delighted Sunday, when Liriano gave up only three hits over six shutout innings in a 6-2 victory over Cleveland. That victory, coupled with Chicago's 14-3 loss at Kansas City, moved the Twins back into first place for the first time since May 13. An announced crowd of 39,818 at the Metrodome watched Liriano get his first major league victory since July 23, 2006. After going 0-3 with an 11.32 ERA in April and spending the next three months at Class AAA Rochester, Liriano (1-3) proved he can still be effective, if not quite as ..."

"Here's the preliminary list: Salomon Torres, Francisco Rodriguez, Brandon Lyon, Jason Isringhausen, Trevor Hoffman and Brian Fuentes. These relievers are prospective free agents, though Torres has an option for 2009. All save games for a living. Will any of them end up as the Indians' closer next season? Or, if the Tribe chooses not to sign a free agent, or can't, what about a trade, possibly for Huston Street or Jose Valverde? Maybe it will be none of the above. It's possible General Manager Mark Shapiro will acquire a reliever who has not closed in the past, but looks promising in that role. It's far too early to tell what direction Shapiro will go, but one thing is almost certain: By ..."

"At the very least, the Indians should be on the Twins' Christmas card list. Then again, the Tribe ought to be inundated with holiday cards from its American League rivals, not to mention the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers, who plucked C.C. Sabathia and Casey Blake from the large stockings hung from their mantels. The Tribe's 6-2 loss in the Metrodome on Sunday, combined with the Kansas City Royals' drubbing of the Chicago White Sox, lifted Minnesota into first place in the Central Division by one-half game. Unfortunately for the Indians, that's as close to a pennant race as they will get for the rest of this year. They are playing for pride or because they must fulfill their ..."

"Justin Morneau has the perfect mind-set for this seize-no-opportunity Twins team, the impeccable philosophy to cover a second-place-or-bust season. "It doesn't matter who's in first on Aug. 2," Morneau said Saturday night after Minnesota's deflating 5-1 loss to Paul Byrd and the Cleveland Indians. "It matters who's in first on Sept 28." Terrific — 57 more chances to smack their heads against a brick wall. The Twins were primed for a breakthrough in front of 40,937 in the Metrodome, having taken possession of a share of first place when the Chicago White Sox lost their matinee in Kansas City and presented Minnesota with the keys to the penthouse. Then the Twins' game began. Oh well. "It's ..."

"Fans sang along between the seventh and eighth innings on Saturday while "Sweet Caroline'' blared through the Metrodome's speakers. But when the music stopped, most fans kept singing as Brian Bass delivered to David Dellucci. And they gave themselves an ovation when they finally were done. It was a necessary diversion from what was happening on the field. Cleveland righthander Paul Byrd had Twins hitters flying out to all parts of the stadium or hitting line drives right at fielders -- which led to a boring night of baseball during a 5-1 loss to the Indians. The loss spoiled what could have been a big night for the Twins. The Kansas City Royals defeated the Chicago White Sox 9-7 Saturday, ..."

"There have been obvious signs of impatience with Ryan Garko among the Indians' deep thinkers, manager Eric Wedge in particular. No doubt that Garko has not lived up to the high expectations he engendered because of a roaring major-league debut late in the 2006 season and a mostly successful 2007. But of the many things that have gone wrong this year, Garko's subpar performance ranks far behind injuries to Jake Westbrook and Fausto Carmona, Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez; the disintegration of the bullpen, with Rafael Betancourt the focus of that mess; and the inaction over the winter of General Manager Mark Shapiro, regardless of his sincere justifications for maintaining the status ..."

"Kelly Shoppach has always had a swing as big as his native Texas. It's a grip-it-and-rip swing, and he makes no apologies for it. "It's safe to say I don't get cheated," he said. Shoppach used that swing to hit a 3-1 pitch over the right-field fence in the fourth inning Saturday night against Kevin Slowey to give the Indians a lead they never lost in a 5-1 victory over the Twins at the Metrodome. It was Shoppach's 12th homer as Victor Martinez's fill-in, two more than he hit in his career before this season started. "I can't say enough about Kelly Shoppach," said Paul Byrd, who pitched seven innings for his third win in the past four starts. "That ball was 92 mph, down and away and he ..."

"Never mind the difference a year makes. Consider what can happen in a month. When the Indians beat the Tigers 4-2 on June 6 at Comerica Park, dropping Justin Verlander to 2-9 in the process, it looked as if the bottom was dropping out. On the Tigers, not the Indians. That was the loss that dropped them to 24-36, a record that left manager Jim Leyland saying he was "seeing, but not believing" what was happening to his team. He's believing now. With four home runs, two of them from Miguel Cabrera, the Tigers trounced the Indians 9-2 on Tuesday night at Comerica Park. The win was the Tigers' 21st in 29 games since that June loss. The defeat, meanwhile, was Cleveland's ninth in a row. The ..."

"Director of Player Development Ross Atkins doesn't think the Indians received damaged goods as part of the CC Sabathia trade. Right-hander Rob Bryson, one of the four minor-leaguers the Indians received from Milwaukee, was placed on the disabled list Thursday with an inflamed right shoulder. Bryson, pitching at Class A Lake County, made only six appearances since the July 7 trade before getting hurt. One report said Bryson has a slight tear in the labrum of his right shoulder. Atkins based his belief on the physical the Indians gave Bryson before approving the trade. "The functionality of Bryson's shoulder during our entrance physical and after he injured his shoulder was completely ..."

"Travis Hafner has returned to Cleveland from North Dakota, where his father, Terry, died last week. Hafner was scheduled to undergo a test to determine the strength of his right shoulder, but his absence delayed that. Now, there is another impediment to making the assessment. Head trainer ''Lonnie Soloff is the one who has to do it to keep everything consistent,'' manager Eric Wedge said Friday. ''But Hafner's going to start swinging a bat. He feels well enough; he's already done it a couple of times.'' A prerequisite for Hafner to begin swinging had been how much strength he had regained in the shoulder. But apparently the test can wait until the team returns home. Hafner will not join ..."

"The Twins bid goodbye to their Opening Day starter Friday, trusting five young pitchers to finish the pennant race. Then rookie Nick Blackburn turned in a reassuring performance, as the Twins defeated Cleveland 4-1 before an announced crowd of 33,709 at the Metrodome. Joe Mauer hit a two-run, go-ahead home run in the seventh inning, and the Twins held on for their sixth victory in seventh games, remaining a half-game behind the first-place White Sox in the AL Central. Earlier Friday, the Twins designated Livan Hernandez and Craig Monroe for assignment, clearing room to promote Francisco Liriano and Randy Ruiz from Class AAA Rochester. Hernandez, who defeated the Angels on Opening Night, ..."

"Maybe the next time Jeremy Sowers takes a crack at a perfect game, he'll try it on PlayStation 2. The real thing is becoming far too traumatic. For the second time in as many starts, Sowers delivered five perfect innings against the Minnesota Twins, and the Indians lost both, the second of which coming Friday night, 4-1 at the Metrodome. ''Jeremy was real good again today,'' manager Eric Wedge said. ''It was very similar to his last outing, but I think tonight his change-up was better. But maybe his breaking pitch was working for him last game.'' The scenario probably was eerily familiar to Sowers (1-6, 5.82 ERA), who gave up all the runs on six hits, leaving abruptly with two outs in the ..."

"The phone kept ringing in manager Eric Wedge's of fice minutes after the Indi ans beat the Tigers on Thursday afternoon to split a four-game series at Progressive Field. It was 3:34 p.m., 26 minutes to the trading deadline. GM Mark Shapiro did nothing as the deadline came and went. Shapiro had already made his moves, trading the measurable talent of CC Sabathia and Casey Blake earlier in the month for the unknown promise of prospects. The only thing left to do is answer the heartbeat of the schedule. The Indians' 107th game ended in a 9-4 victory over Detroit on a day that was much more pleasant than the season. As always, there were things to chart, decipher and evaluate in preparation ..."

"Justin Verlander was involved in a terrific pitching duel Thursday with Fausto Carmona of the Indians. Moments later, Verlander had undone himself by allowing the bottom-two hitters in the order to reach base without a hit. With one out in the fifth inning and the score tied, Verlander hit catcher Sal Fasano with a 2-2 pitch. He then walked Asdrubal Cabrera, who was hitting .199. That brought up Grady Sizemore, who pulled the first pitch over the rightfield fence for a three-run home run. The Indians were ahead to stay in their 9-4 victory. Verlander's walk to Cabrera came on a 3-2 breaking ball. And that, in manager Jim Leyland's opinion, was the key pitch and mistake of the game. "That ..."

"The quality of the Indians' lineup has deteriorated because of injuries and trades, but that hasn't helped Justin Verlander, who continues to lose to the Tribe consistently. The Detroit Tigers' starter lasted 52/3 innings and gave up six runs on only five hits but three walks, striking out nine. So far this year, he is 1-3 against the Indians with a 5.84 ERA. For his career, he is 4-8 with a 6.51 ERA against them. He has more losses against the Tribe than any other opponent. ''He had a real good breaking ball today,'' Indians manager Eric Wedge said. ''You know he's going to bring the fastball.'' LEFTOVERS - Wednesday night's 14-12, 13-inning loss to the Tigers obviously wasn't just ..."

"Detroit Tigers starter Justin Verlander wasn't having much trouble keeping the Indians in check until the fifth inning, when Grady Sizemore launched the first pitch that he saw over the wall in right field for his 27th home run of the season. Verlander made the mistake of hitting Sal Fasano and walking Asdrubal Cabrera ahead of Sizemore, so the long drive gave the Tribe a 4-1 lead and a cushion that eventually led to a 9-4 win Thursday at Progressive Field. ''Grady really stepped up for us there,'' Indians manager Eric Wedge said. ''And Asdrubal had a real professional at-bat to get that walk and give Grady the opportunity.'' Despite the fact that the Tribe is hopelessly out of the ..."

"The Indians have discovered how to drag superior teams down to their level. They did it Wednesday night but lost anyway, 14-12 in 13 innings, even though they held an 8-1 lead at one juncture. Thursday afternoon, they further refined the art of destroying an opponent by instilling a false sense of security in that team. Certainly after rallying Wednesday night, the Detroit Tigers had to think they needed to do nothing more than show up the next afternoon and victory would be theirs. The Tribe reinforced that mind-set by committing three physical errors and making at least one mental mistake, after a four-error explosion the previous evening. The Tigers, quite naturally, fell into the trap ..."

"Not the needed response. The Tigers had an opportunity to make a mighty momentum statement Thursday and went "duh" instead. After winning a 13-inning marathon in the early morning by bouncing back, dodging trouble and showing all kinds of spunk, they stubbed their toe in the afternoon in a 9-4 loss to the Indians. In so doing, they reminded one and all they've still not reached the high level at which they must pitch and play consistently if they are to cross the border into true contention, A split of four games against the Indians, but a series in which the Tigers won the game started by Cliff Lee? Not enough. That said, it must be realized the Tigers are still paying the price for ..."

"Ben Francisco took his slump and trashed it Wednesday night. You could say he figured it was just a matter of time. "I keep working and remain confident that I'll come around," Francisco said before he slugged two solo home runs in the Indians' game Wednesday against the Tigers at Progressive Field. "When you play 162 games, there are going to be some ups and downs. I'm not moping around. Every night I come to the park thinking I'm going to hit." Francisco's two homers were overshadowed by catcher Kelly Shoppach's epic game. Shoppach, the Indians' right-handed-hitting catcher, doubled in his first three at-bats and slugged a two-run homer and a solo homer in his next two trips. The ..."

"Tigers batters knocked around Cliff Lee, who simply does not get knocked around. Then they did something rather ordinary, denting the Indians' bullpen. It added up to an agonizing loss for the Tribe. Placido Polanco's grounder scored Carlos Guillen with the go-ahead run in the 13th inning as Detroit won, 14-12. The other run in the inning scored on a throwing error. The Tigers had trailed, 8-1, after three and 11-7 after six. Detroit finished with 22 hits. It has 268 runs and 516 hits in its last 47 games (31-16). The game ended at 12:41 a.m. today. The Indians and Tigers play again at 12:05 p.m. The Indians loaded the bases with none out in the 12th but failed to score. Kelly ..."

"You had to jog your memory to recall that Cliff Lee even pitched. That's a good thing for Lee, who delivered his sorriest performance of the season and still should have won. But the bullpen - both as pitchers and defenders - deprived him of that. In the end, the Detroit Tigers prevailed 14-12 in 13 innings over the Indians on Wednesday night at Progressive Field. Kelly Shoppach did everything he could to keep the Tribe from losing, but it wasn't enough. He turned into Babe Ruth on a good day, hammering three doubles and two home runs, the second of which tied the score with one out and nobody on in the ninth inning. Altogether, Shoppach drove in three runs and scored four, amassing 14 ..."

"Of all the slugfests the Tigers and Indians have produced against each other, Wednesday night's might have been the wildest and strangest. Down by seven runs after three innings, the Tigers staged two awesome rallies. Then they got ahead for the first time in the ninth, giving Fernando Rodney his first save opportunity since he replaced Todd Jones as the ninth-inning closer. But Rodney's save opportunity disappeared over the leftfield fence. Kelly Shoppach hit a one-out solo home run to leftfield off Rodney. It was Shoppach's second homer of the game and fifth extra-base hit. Shoppach, who had three doubles, tied the major league record of five extra-base hits in a game. The only other ..."

"Of all the slugfests the Tigers and Indians have produced against each other, Wednesday night's might have been the wildest and strangest. Down by seven runs after three innings, the Tigers staged two awesome rallies. Then they got ahead for the first time in the ninth, giving Fernando Rodney his first save opportunity since he replaced Todd Jones as the ninth-inning closer. But Rodney's save opportunity disappeared over the leftfield fence. Kelly Shoppach hit a one-out solo home run to leftfield off Rodney. It was Shoppach's second homer of the game and fifth extra-base hit. Shoppach, who had three doubles, tied the major league record of five extra-base hits in a game. The only other ..."

"Run, Kyle, run. Pack fast, your new bullpen needs you. Coming back early and dodging trouble late, the Tigers scored two runs in the 13th inning to outlast the Cleveland Indians 14-12 on Wednesday night after being down by seven runs to Cliff Lee, the best pitcher in the American League this season. Advertisement Manager Jim Leyland, who got hit in the face with a foul ball during the game, called it one of the most memorable games with which he's ever been associated. "Just a heck of a freak win," said Leyland. "I don't know what bearing it will have on anything, but no matter what happens, that will always go down as one of my most memorable games because of everything that happened. ..."

"How do you manage the worst bullpen in the American League? One game at a time. Manager Eric Wedge went into Tuesday night's game against the Tigers not knowing who his closer or setup men were. "We're going to keep mixing and matching with it," said Wedge. "Depending on where I feel we are and where I feel the guys down there are. There may be three or four guys I use to close down there. The same thing with setting up." When the Indians returned from a six-game trip late last week through Seattle and Anaheim, Calif., they did so with Masa Kobayashi at closer following the release of Joe Borowski and the struggles of Rafael Betancourt. The Indians opened this seven-game homestand ..."

"Edward Mujica admitted it: He was not mentally prepared to pitch June 14 against San Diego in Progressive Field. Indians manager Eric Wedge called on him to begin the 10th inning of a 3-3 game. "I didn't think he'd want me to pitch in that situation," said the relatively untested Mujica. "When he put me in, I didn't have confidence." The lack of focus led to five runs allowed on three hits in one inning. He and the Indians lost, 8-3. "After that game, I put it in my mind to be ready for anything, any situation," he said. Mujica, a right-hander, has been making batters pay for his lapse ever since. In 10 appearances since June 14 entering Tuesday, he had not allowed a run in 12 ..."

"It is difficult to shut down the Tigers two games in a row, especially the way they have performed the past two months. Matt Ginter, Juan Rincon and Rafael Betancourt found that out Tuesday night at Progressive Field. The trio gave up eight runs on 13 hits in six combined innings of an 8-5 loss. Seven of Detroit's runs came with two outs. "They're a good-hitting club that keeps coming at you," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "We had a tough time holding them down." The only Indians pitchers to emerge unscathed were Jensen Lewis, who pitched two hitless innings after Rincon and before Betancourt, and Masa Kobayashi, who gave up one hit in the ninth. The previous night, Paul Byrd and ..."

"Cliff Lee, who faces the Detroit Tigers tonight, is an amazing story for two reasons: • He leads the majors in earned-run average (2.29) and shares the lead for wins (14) with Arizonas Brandon Webb coming off a season in which he was sent to the minors to get his game together. • His .875 winning percentage with the 14-2 record is double that of his Cleveland Indians (46-59, .438). Its comparable to Steve Carlton (27-10) winning 73 percent of his games for the 1972 Philadelphia Phillies, who won only 38 percent of their games at 59-97. Lee was injured during spring training in 2007, and was sent to Triple-A Buffalo for five weeks before coming back in September to relieve for ..."

"Armando Galarraga keeps winning, and Edgar Renteria is finally hitting. There were plenty of significant points to be taken from Detroits 8-5 win Tuesday night over Cleveland. And not all of them were good: such as the bullpens inability to throw strikes. But Renteria coming alive and Galarraga (9-4) no longer pitching or feeling like a rookie were not only central to the win, but also important in terms of what the Tigers have to count on in their stretch run. Galarraga didnt have his best slider, which catcher Brandon Inge called his bread-and-butter pitch, but still was perfect through three innings and pitched tough when he had to. He now leads the staff in victories and all ..."

"It's not the same as turning back into a pumpkin, but Kelly Shoppach's days as the Indians everyday catcher are numbered. Victor Martinez played catch again Tuesday, moving back from 60 to 75 feet. He also took some dry swings and hit off a tee. Though there still doesn't seem to be a firm timetable for his return to the active roster, it appears that Martinez will be back in the lineup by the middle of August. It has been six weeks since Martinez went on the disabled with a sore elbow. Doctors removed bone chips and cleaned out the area and predicted that he would be playing baseball again in six to eight weeks. But even when Martinez does take his place behind the plate, Shoppach won't ..."

"Victor Martinez (elbow surgery) played catch on Monday and reported no ill effects. ''He's caught a couple of bullpens,'' manager Eric Wedge said. ''He didn't throw the ball back, but catching bullpens helps keep his legs in shape.'' Wedge wants to see Martinez spend more of the day in the clubhouse, something that many players on the DL find uncomfortable, because they are unable to play. ''I want him to come around,'' the manager said. ''He's one of the leaders on the club. I know it's tough for guys on the DL. They go crazy watching baseball and not being able to play it.''"

"The Tigers' hitting shutdown came two nights earlier than you might have guessed. On Wednesday night, the Tigers are due to face Cleveland's Cliff Lee, the best pitcher in the American League this season. Lee is 12 games over .500 for a team that is 12 games under .500. In compiling his 14-2 record, he has registered 100 more strikeouts than walks. But Lee will have trouble outdoing what right-hander Paul Byrd did Monday night. He blanked the Tigers for his 7 2/3 innings, and two Cleveland homers in the sixth off Kenny Rogers put away Byrd's 5-0 victory. Manager Jim Leyland wasn't shocked by the timing of this latest shutout, the Tigers' league-high 11th. While acknowledging that his team ..."