Look Who’s Warming Up…Tribe Wins it’s Third Straight

What is hotter right now, Cavalier fans over their team’s sudden collapse or the Tribe bats? Again, with literally nobody watching them thanks to a two hour rain delay (seriously, can this team ever catch a break?), the Indians offense and bullpen drove them to a 12-7 come from behind win at Progressive Field over the one team they seem to own, the Tampa Bay Rays. Not only was this the first time all season that our Wahoos have won three straight games, it was also their 16th consecutive win over Tampa Bay at home. Seems odd doesn’t it? Well this isn’t your ordinary, average bad baseball team.

If you would have told me after the first inning, which started at 9 PM EST, that the Tribe would win this game by five runs, I’d have told you to go buy a lottery ticket. Zach Jackson, getting his first start of the year, watched 10 men come to the plate in a five run, six hit first inning. All I could think about was how the Indians could possibly get through the next two games, considering rookie David Huff is today’s scheduled starter and he has yet to make it out of the fourth inning. “The Attack” looked like he wouldn’t be lasting more than three innings tops. But his offense got him right back in the game in the second.

With one out, Jhonny Peralta walked, Mark DeRosa beat out an infield single, and the smokin’ hot Ryan Garko singled to bring home Jhonny. Up stepped Ben Francisco, who entered this at bat 6-7 with four home runs against Tampa starting pitcher Andy Sonnanstine. As quickly as that stat was spouted out by STO’s Matt Underwood, Benny crushed one about 20 rows into the bleachers (“and that one is gone to souvenir city” – hahahahahaha). Just like that, it was 5-4. But the Tribe wasn’t done. Jamey Carroll followed with a single and was wild-pitched over to second. With two out, DH Grady Sizemore, still unable to play the field because of his sore elbow, doubled in Carroll to bring the Indians back to even.

They finished the job in the third.

A two out throwing error by Peralta at third put the Rays back ahead 6-5 in the top half, but that deficit was nothing for the suddenly hot Indians attach. It was the same crew that did it in the second and it all started with two outs. DeRosa walked and Garko singled, bringing Sonnanstine’s nemesis, Francisco, to the plate. Benny won the battle yet again, singling back up the middle scoring DeRosa to tie it at six. This moved the Tribe OF to 8-9 with five HR’s career against the Wadsworth native. “I try not to think about it and don’t want to talk about it too much,” Francisco said, “Some guys you just have success against and others you don’t.”

It didn’t stop there. Carroll singled to score Garko, and Asdrubal Cabrera singled in Francisco. The Indians, leading 8-6, wouldn’t relinquish the lead this time.

Jackson, who struggled during his four innings of work, was replaced by the duo of Greg Aquino and Luis Vizcaino. These two journeymen combined to hold the Rays scoreless over the last five innings. I repeat – two Tribe relievers held a team scoreless for five straight innings! This was the second time this has happened this week, with Jeremy Sowers accomplishing the same feat in Monday’s incredible 11-10 comeback win. For the series, the Indian bullpen has tossed 12 innings and hasn’t allowed a run. Talk about your minor miracle. “Those two did a tremendous job running through five innings,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said.

While Aquino and “The Viz” were putting up zeroes, the offense kept adding runs. They added four more runs in the fifth off of reliever Joe Nelson. Victor Martinez drove in two on a double down into the right field corner. Shin-Soo Choo, now hitting .294, hit a tape-measure shot deep to right to end the scoring for the evening, or should I say early morning. They finished with 14 hits. It was a 12-7 final, but there is no rest for the weary. The same two teams must play a game less than 12 hours later, today at 12:05.

In the meantime, whatever Tampa Bay does for the Indians every time they come to town, they should keep doing it. It was a four game sweep of the Rays before last year’s all star break that started the Wahoos on their hot streak that had them finishing at .500, something that didn’t seem remotely possible at the time. The offense is hotter than it’s been all year, putting up 28 runs in the first three games of the series. Today with the rookie Huff on the mound on a  getaway day, expect a lot of first pitch swinging from the Rays. Can the Tribe actually finish off the sweep of the defending AL champs again?

We shall see.

EDIT: The Indians have sent down The Attack, Zach Jackson, and called up Tomo Ohka to take his place. Anthony Reyes was moved to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster for Ohka. This is seen strictly as a backup move for Huff today with no long man currently on the staff.