Roster Update: Beau Mills was traded for cash (also known as sold) to the Cincinnati Reds just after the Reds left town. As far as I know the Tribe isn't particularly strapped for cash, so I'm assuming the reason they made this room was to clear up the gluttany of great firstbasemen in the Minor League system. Why else would the Indians get rid of a first round draft pick right when he was just about ready to make the jump to the Majors. It must have been to make sure there was room on the roster in Columbus for Matt LaPorta.

Player of the Game

Ubaldo Jimenez was very impressive in Houston as he took home his 4th Player of the Game award of the season. Jimenez pitched 6.2 innings and struck out 8 while only allowing 4 hits. Ubaldo did strike out twice while he was at the plate, but it didn't matter as he was able to keep the Astros from scoring all night. This was the third game in a row the award was won by the starting pitcher.

Feathers Up

It took him awhile, but Ubaldo Jimenez found his strike out pitch and didn't lose it again. After not striking out a batter through the first two innings, he struck out 8 over the next 4.2 innings. Ubaldo also walked two batters during the first inning and was able to get back in control and only walk two more during the rest of the game. Jimenez has been fairly decent in three of his last four games.

Playing in the Central Time Zone has it's advantages. Before the Indians game was over both the White Sox and Tigers finals were in and with a Tribe win the Indians move to 1.5 games ahead of Chicago and 3.5 games ahead of Detroit. The win brings the Indians current streak to four games.

Feathers Down

National League rules brought about the end of a beautiful pitching match up as the Astros pinch hit for Lucas Harrell in the 7th inning, even though he had only allowed two hits. I can't comprehend someone who would rather see an inferior pitcher come in for the starter and an inferior hitter (the pitcher) bat during the entire game. Ubaldo Jimenez was also removed while still throwing a shutout, but that probably had more to do with a lack of trust from management rather than the double switch that occurred when he was removed.

Play of the Game

Shin-Soo Choo lead off the game with a triple hit the foul line on the left field wall. He later scored the only run that crossed the plate during the first 8 innings.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 2 - Houston Astros 0

The first place Indians look to stay in first place as they go down south to play the Houston Astros. With a sweep of the Cincinnati Reds, the Tribe managed to maintain a half game lead over the White Sox. It's been a decade since the Indians have played the Astros due to the uneven numbers in the National League Central, but the two teams will be playing each other much more often starting next season as the Astros will be moving the the AL West. Currently the Astros sit at second to last in the NL Central and are the fourth worst team in the Major Leagues. If the Indians can get past the Astros secret weapon (two left handed starters the Indians have never faced) they should be able to win this series and maintain their lead in the AL Central.

Injury Updates: Travis Hafner is hitting and running (pretty much the only things he needs to be able to do) and could possibly return for the series in Baltimore at the end of the month. Grady Sizemore, Rafael Perez and Carlos Carrasco all made significant strides in their rehab work over the past week and remain on schedule. Sizemore and Perez should be back sometime in July and Carrasco could possibly return in late September from Tommy John surgery (more likely he will wait until next Spring Training, but it is good to hear he is throwing again.)

June 22st, 8:05 PM EDT: Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP, 6-5, 5.00 ERA vs Lucas Harrell, RHP, 6-5, 5.07 ERA

Both starting pitchers seem to be almost equivalent this season with identical win-loss records and ERAs that are close as well, but there is one difference. Ubaldo's last three starts have been some of his best work on the season (he lowered his ERA 0.79 points over the three starts) while Harrell has had the exact opposite reality. Over his last four starts, Lucas has increased his ERA from 3.72 to it's current 5.07 as he threw his three worst starts of the season within four games. Two of these starts came against American League powerhouses, Texas and Chicago during interleague play. With the Indians bats heating up over the last series they look to continue their success against the struggling right hander. 

June 23nd, 4:05 PM EDT: Jeanmar Gomez, RHP, 4-6, 4.95 ERA  vs Dallas Kuechel, LHP, 0-0, 1.80 ERA

If there is one pitcher in danger of losing his spot in the rotation it is Gomez. With so many starters banging on the door down in AAA (Zach McAllister, recent pick-up Chris Schwinden and even recent call-up Scott Barnes are all options), Jeanmar will have to really pick up his game against one of the worst offenses in the Majors. Even though he was hurt by errors last game, he still gave up 4 earned runs (8 total) and has given up 22 runs in his last 5 starts for an ERA of 7.92 in 25 innings. During this span he only struck out 9 batters as well. While he was lights out at the beginning of the season, a player with options often has to deal with a lot of "what have you done for me lately."

Kuechel pitched well in his MLB debut against interleague rival Texas. He threw an impressive 5 innings, only allowing a single run and 4 hits. If there was a weakness to his game, he walked 4 batters and only struck out two. This could be a positive sign for the Tribe as they generally excel against pitchers with control issues. If they can get past the point that he is a left hander and be patient, they should be able to compete in this game.

June 24, 2:05 PM EDT: Derek Lowe, RHP, 7-5, 4.30 ERA vs J.A. Happ, LHP, 5-7, 5.15 ERA

The Indians could possibly strike out more than 10 times in this game and still win. While James Anthony is a left hander that averages a strikeout an inning, he also allows more than a hit per inning (WHIP of 1.54). The Indians do have a few hitters that can play well against lefties (Asdrubal Cabrera, Michael Brantley and a few others) and it should be enough to carry the team if Lowe pitches well. The Indians did just mount a comeback against flame-throwing, left-handed closer Aroldis Chapman. A big part of that game was Shin-Soo Choo, who has increased his batting average against lefties by 54 points since June 4th.

Player of the Game

Justin Masterson pitched his best game of the season by far as he easily beat out Johnny Damon for Player of the Game. Masterson pitched a complete game and didn't allow a single earned run. He struck out 9 and earned the win for a score of 11.57 (the highest score by any Indians player in 2012). This is his third consecutive award.

Feathers Up

Masterson was something special tonight as he flirted with history allowing only one hit before the 7th inning. When the game was over he had only allowed 5 total base runners, two of which were eliminated on the bases (one caught stealing, one double play). Masterson hit a batter, allowed two singles a double and one runner safe on an error as the only runners for the game. He struck out 9 batters including all three in the 9th inning, tying his last start and was just one strike out below his season high.

Turnabout is fair play as the Indians made up for the Reds sweep over the Indians last week by sweeping Cincinnati this time at home. This splits the season series between the two teams and will leave the Ohio Cup in a tie for 2012.

Lonnie Chisenhall continued his hot hitting with a two out three run double to give the Indians an 8 run lead in the 7th. This came after a generous call by the second base ump when an error was awarded to Joey Votto for forgetting how many outs there were. This made all the runs that inning unearned.

Milestone Alert: Shin-Soo Choo now ranks 50th all time as a Cleveland Indian with 142 doubles.

Feathers Down

Asdrubal Cabrera turned an easy play into an error that ended up leading to the Reds only run. This unearned run was the only blemish in Justin Masterson's great start.

Play of the Game

Asdrubal Cabrera hit his second home run in as many days with this 3 run jack to give the Indians a 5 run lead.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 8 - Cincinnati Reds 1

The first place Indians remain in first place with a win.

Player of the Game

Josh Tomlin pitched very effectively tonight. He recovered nicely from his bad outing against the Reds last week. Tomlin pitched 6.2 innings and gave up just one run on 6 hits. The only thing that really hurt him was a wild pitch in the 1st inning that eventually led to the only run he allowed. Tomlin's outing tonight won him his 3rd Player of the Game of the season with a score of 4.46. Asdrubal Cabrera was a close 2nd with a score of 4.36 after his walk-ff home run.

Feathers Up

The bottom part of the line up continues to produce, especially Casey Kotchman. Kotchman had 2 hits tonight and drove in the Indians first run. He has now hit in 5 straight games.

Today's game was a complete turn around from yesterday's slug-fest. Both starting pitchers today's minimized hits and base runners. Josh Tomlin and Mike Leake both pitched into the 7th inning, allowing just one run each.

Esmil Rogers came in for Tomlin in the 7th inning with 2 outs and the bases loaded. Rogers faced Devin Mesoraco, and after 9 pitches and many foul balls, Rogers got the strike out to get out of the inning.

The defense had several great plays tonight. Michael Brantley, Shin-Soo Choo, Jason Kipnis, Casey Kotchman, and Joe Smith each had plays that are worth seeing again.

With the win tonight and the White Sox loss, the Indians are now back on top of the Central Division.

Milestone Alert: With his walk-off home run in the 10th inning, Asdrubal Cabrera now has 50 home runs as a Cleveland Indian. With the win tonight, Manny Acta is now tied with Joe Gordon in 19th place for wins as an Indians manager.

Feathers Down

The Reds scored both of their runs tonight as a result of wild pitches. Indians pitchers could have easily pitched a shut out if it weren't for the 3 wild pitches, one by Josh Tomlin and 2 by Nick Hagadone.

Play of the Game

After a the lead off hitter reaches in the 8th inning, Casey Kotchman makes a nice catch in foul territory.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 3 - Cincinnati Reds 2

Player of the Game

Lonnie Chisenhall was fantastic today, posting what was probably his best game of his career. He scored 7.54 points with a single, triple and home run along with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. Chisenhall also fielded his position well as he handled many attempts without any issues at all. The only drawback from his game was a caught stealing after he hit his single.

Feathers Up

The Indians scored some runs tonight with actual hits instead of ground outs and then they did it some more. Shin-Soo Choo and Lonnie Chisenhall each had multiple RBI hits and Casey Kotchman had one as well. When all was said and done, the Tribe offense put up more runs tonight against Cincinnati than they did during the entire series against Pittsburgh.

Lonnie Chisenhall was a double away from the cycle and was on top of the ball all night as he looked better than he has all season. He hadn't knocked in a run since he hit his second home run of the season in his 4th game played. 

Milestone Alert: Johnny Damon currently sits alone at 35th in at bats in Major League history with 9,650.

Feathers Down

The Indians 2-4 hitters went 1-11 tonight with one walk being their only other contribution. This actually isn't that bad of a note since Asdrubal Cabrera and Jason Kipnis (#2 and #3) have been playing extremely well all season (as can be seen by their rankings in voting for the All-Star Game). The fact that the Indians were able to score double digits without those two players is extremely impressive.

It was another day to forget for Derek Lowe and the good thing for him is that people probably will. Lowe allowed 7 runs on 11 hits through just 5 innings and has now severely struggled in 3 of his last 5 starts. Unlike some of his other problem starts, however, today he was leaving balls up in the strike zone and allowing very solid contact. It may be time to thank Derek for his amazing job during the first half of the season and start looking towards getting Zach McAllister ready for the stretch.

Play of the Game

Chris Perez struck out Ryan Ludwick looking to end the game with the tying run on base.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 10 - Cincinnati Reds 9

After a series loss to the Pirates, the Indians will play the Reds again, this time at home. The Indians will need to sweep this time if they want a tie for the Ohio Cup as they were swept in Cincinatti. The Tribe have also fallen back to 1.5 games behind Chicago, so they will need to start winning to keep near the top of the Central.

7/18, 7:05 PM EDT: Mat Latos, RHP, 5-2, 4.64 ERA vs Derek Lowe, RHP, 7-5, 3.78 ERA

This is a repeat matchup of last week when Latos threw inside to Lowe who in turn intentionally hit Brandon Phillips. This time the pair will pitch with big boy rules and each team will have a designated hitter to bat for the pitcher. This should keep any further retaliation down to a minimum. Lowe has been the Indians rock this year and will look to get the Indians back on track with a win in game one.

7/19, 7:05 PM EDT: Mike Leake, RHP, 2-5, 5.05 ERA vs Josh Tomlin, RHP, 3-5. 5.56 ERA

Neither pitcher played well the last time these two matched up, but Tomlin was by far the worse of the two, allowing 6 runs in only 4 innings. He will need to do better in the rematch if he expects to win, although he doesn't have Scott Barnes around to make it even worse this time.

7/20, 7:05 EDT: Bronson Arroyo, RHP, 3-4, 3.84 ERA vs Justin Masterson, RHP, 3-6, 4.38 ERA

This will be the only game of the series that is not a rematch of the last series. Justin Masterson is the only starting pitcher to win his start the last time through the rotation and will look to continue the success he had against the Pirates when he pitches against the Reds. Arroyo has been consistent this season, going into the 7th in almost every game and never allowing more than 5 runs in a single game. This should be the most well pitched game of the season, giving the Indians an advantage as they have excelled in low scoring, close games.

Player of the Game

Jason Kipnis continues to excel, winning yet another Player of the Game. Kipnis started his offensive success today in the 1st inning when he hit a solo home run. He added 2 singles and a stolen base. He ended the day going 3-5 with an RBI and 2 runs scored. His score of 4.78 gives him his 8th PoG of the season.

Feathers Up

The Indians continue to be aggressive on the bases with 2 more stolen bases today, one by Johnny Damon and one by Jason Kipnis. Kipnis now has 17 stolen bases on the season, which is now the best in the American League.

The Indians offense produced today, but did not score enough runs to make up for the rough defense. Asdrubal Cabrera, Jason Kipnis, and Johnny Damon each had a multiple hit game. The Indians had 12 hits on the day. Jose Lopez was the only Tribe batter without a hit today.

Feathers Down

Asdrubal Cabrera had the worst defensive game of his career. He committed 3 errors today, 2 of which came on the same play.Cabrera's 3 errors led to 4 unearned runs.

Jeanmar Gomez had a short outing today, going just 4.1 innings. He gave up 7 hits and 4 earned runs. He gave up 2 home runs today, one of which could have been prevented because a 2-out error brought an extra batter to the plate.

The scouting report for Pedro Alvarez was way off in this series. He has just destroyed Tribe pitching, hitting two 3-run home runs and doubling today. Yesterday, he also hit 2 home runs. In the past 2 game against the Indians. Alvarez went 5-8 with 9 RBI.

Play of the Game

Asdrubal Cabrera makes a costly defensive mistake in the 5th inning.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 5 - Pittsburgh Pirates 9

Player of the Game

Asdrubal Cabrera won his 4th Player of the Game of 2012 with a solo home run, single and a walk. Cabrera also had a decent play at short to get the lead runner at second late in the game. For his effort Asdrubal scored 3.72 Player of the Game points.

Feathers Up

Nick Hagadone struck out Alex Presley in the 9th after giving up three consecutive walks after he had already given up 4 runs on three hits and a walk. This is actually a really big Feathers Down, but I dare you to find a positive in losing a game to the Pirates by 7 runs.

Feathers Down

Tony Sipp seems to have lost all effectiveness as a relief pitcher. In general this season he has been good enough against left handers and terrible against righties, but today he couldn't do his job as he allowed a solo home run to left hander Alex Presley. Before today's game he had allowed a .178 BAA against left handers with a .366 against righties. In the past he never had this dichotomy as he was almost equally efficient against batters from both sides of the plate. At this point any use of Sipp will have to be individual matchups or the Indians will risk the continuation of this trend. Even that is no guarantee as today showed when he gave up a home run to a batter hitting .228 with just 4 home runs on the season.

The Indians offense has been sputtering of late as they can't seem to get any hits with runners in scoring position. It isn't a matter of not get any chances as Shin-Soo Choo, Jason Kipnis, Carlos Santana, Michael Brantley, Johnny Damon and Shelley Duncan all had chances with a runner in scoring position today that they failed to come through on. The worst situation on the day was when Asdrubal Cabrera and Kipnis singled to begin the 6th. The Indians were unable to move the runners over until Damon walked with two outs and were not able to score a single run out of the situation.

Hitting Streak Update: There will be no more hitting streak updates for awhile as Michael Brantley has gone 0-3 with a walk. The segment shall come back when someone gets another streak around 15 games. The longest current streak is held by Lonnie Chisenhall at two games, so it could be awhile.

Play of the Game

Asdrubal Cabrera hit a solo home run back in the first inning, when the game was still close.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 2 - Pittsburgh Pirates 9

Roster Update: Jack Hannahan has completed his rehab starts and joined the team tonight, batting ninth and playing third base. Scott Barnes was sent back down to AAA to make room for Jack. Barnes last outing was one of the worst by an Indian this season as he allowed 5 runs in a third of an inning. The Indians have had an extra relief pitcher on the roster since Matt LaPorta was sent down for Esmil Rogers.

Player of the Game

Justin Masterson had the second highest scoring game of the season (Jason Kipnis game 23, 8.91) with a score of 8.58 as he won his 2nd consecutive Player of the Game award (has won 4 in his last 6 starts). Masterson pitched 7 shut out innings and struck out 9, while only walking three. He was also able to tag on a win, his third of the season.

Feathers Up

Masterson had his strikeout pitch working as he k'd 9 total batters during tonight's game. This included a stretch where got 7 straight outs via the strikeout across the second, third and fourth innings.

After being absent for a series, Vinnie Pestano and Chris Perez showed no rust as they combined to pitch two shut out innings to end the game. Pestano earned his 16th hold while Perez had his league leading 21st save.

Hit Streak Update: A walk by Carlos Santana in the 8th inning allowed Michael Brantley to get his 4th at bat of the game and his first hit. The RBI single moves his hitting streak to 22 consecutive games.

Feathers Down

Lonnie Chisenhall was removed in the 7th inning after going 1-2. His replacement, Jose Lopez, then popped out with runners on first and third, keeping the Indians from scoring in on a very easy chance. The Indians need to show more trust in Chisenhall. Even if he didn't get a hit, he could have hit just a weak ground ball to the right side to score the run. He will never be able to build up his own confidence if the Indians don't show confidence in him.

The Indians offense was basically nonexistent tonight as they were only able to come up with three hits and a single run against James McDonald. This is probably just another case of a good pitcher that gets no national attention because he plays for a small market team.

Play of the Game

Justin Masterson struck out Jose Tabata on three pitches in the 4th inning (his 7th out in a row by strikeout) to keep the Pirates from scoring with the bases loaded.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 2 - Pittsburgh Pirates 0

The Indians were just swept by the first place Cincinnati Reds in a 3 game series and hope to turn things around as they return home to play the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates are also coming off a 3-game losing steak after being swept by the Baltimore Orioles. Tribe pitching was not as dominating against the Reds as it had been in the previous series with the Cardinals. Jeanmar Gomez and Derek Lowe had average starts, but Josh Tomlin had his worst start of the year, going just 4 innings and giving up 6 runs. The bullpen was also rough the last series, giving up 11 runs in 9 innings pitched. The worst bullpen outing was yesterday by Scott Barnes, who gave up 5 runs and recorded just one out. On a positive note, the Indians added Esmil Rogers to their pen, who had 2 solid outings last series.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are sitting in 2nd place in the NL Central Division, 3 games behind the Cincinnati Reds. Their offense is led by Andrew McCutchen, who is leading the team in every offensive category with a .326 batting average, 11 home runs, and 37 RBI. He is also a threat on the bases with 13 stolen bases this year. Their starting pitching is above average and their closer, Joel Hanrahan, is tied for 5th in the Majors with 17 saves.

June 15th, 7:05 PM EST: James McDonald, RHP, 5-2, 2.39 ERA vs Justin Masterson, RHP, 2-6, 4.76 ERA

Justin Masterson is coming off a strong outing. In his last start against the Cardinals, Masterson pitched 7 innings and gave up just one run. Though he took the loss, this start was promising since he had horrible outings the 2 starts prior. Masterson still has just 2 wins on the season as the Tribe ace. In two games against the NL this season, Masterson has given up just 3 runs in 14 innings, good for a 1.93 ERA. He has also struck out 11 NL batters.

Jame McDonald went just 4 innings in his last start against the Kansas City Royals. He gave up 3 runs on 5 hits before being removed from the game. He is currently ranked 7th in the NL with a 2.39 ERA and 3rd in the NL with a WHIP of 1.00. McDonald's main pitch is his 4-seam fast ball with speeds ranging from 91-94 MPH. He also adds a 2-seam fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup to his pitch variety. McDonald is not over-powering, but he has had much success this season. He is coming off his worst start of the year, so he will be looking to dominate Tribe hitters.

June 16th, 4:05 PM EST: A.J. Burnett, RHP, 6-2, 3.61 ERA vs Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP, 6-4, 4.91 ERA

Ubaldo Jimenez has been dominating in his last 2 starts. He combined for 13.2 innings pitched against the Tigers and Cardinals and gave up just 2 runs. In his last start against the Cardinals, he gave up just 5 hits: 4 singles and a home run. Jimenez had great control; this was his first game all season without allowing a walk. Ubaldo looks to continue his streak of quality starts as he faces off against the Pirates.

A.J. Burnett has been struggling on the road this year. Away from PNC Park, Burnett is 2-2 with an ERA over 8. On the road, opponents are batting .349 against him. Progressive Field is considered to be a hitter-friendly park, so the Indians can definitely take advantage of his woes on the road. Burnett has recently been pitching well with 5 straight wins. His go-to pitch is the 4-seam fastball, but he also has a knucklecurve, a cutter, and a sinker. His speed on his fastball is in the low 90s. You can expect him to walk just 2-4 batters a game and strike out 4-6.

June 17th, 1:05 PM EST: Brad Lincoln, RHP, 3-2, 3.15 ERA vs Jeanmar Gomez, RHP, 4-5, 4.71 ERA

The last 4 starts have not been great for Jeanmar Gomez after being solid for the first part of the season. His last start against the Reds was average, and his 4 starts previous to that were terrible. This will be his 3rd start against the NL this season. In his first 2 starts against NL teams, he has given up just one earned run and has 6 strikeouts. His success against the National League looks promising going into Sunday's game.

Right-handed pitcher Brad Lincoln has been bouncing back and forth between the bullpen and starting roles this season. He will get the start on Sunday after coming off of 2 rocky starts, in which he combined for 8.1 innings pitched and gave up 9 runs. He has only started 3 games this year, so the Indians may be able to take advantage of the fact that he can't go late into ballgames. Right handed batters have more success against Lincoln. He has given up 5 home runs to righties and none to lefties. This may be advantageous to him as the Indians have a lefty-heavy line up.