Roster Moves: This series will see a couple of changes to the lineup that should help the team offensively. Shin-Soo Choo is expected to return from his 5 game absence to take back his starting right field job from Aaron Cunningham. He has been bothered by a strained hamstring. The other addition will be new left-fielder Johnny Damon. He will most likely be taking Shelley Duncan's place in the startling lineup and in left field on a semi-regular basis. Damon has been getting ready for the season in Goodyear and will be going straight into Major League action, bypassing the usual trip through the minors. Damon will likely hit in the bottom half of a reordered lineup that should include Jason Kipnis at the top. It is still unknown which player will be sent down/released to make room for Damon, but it will most likely be Aaron Cunningham.

Last series the Indians were able to keep the Angels on their losing ways, taking two out of three from the AL West favorites and only allowing a total of four runs in the three game series. With the wins, the Indians were able to maintain their first place spot in the Central Division (one game ahead of both Chicago and Detroit. Of course, any wins the Tribe get now will go a long way in keeping them competitive when the division chase is coming down the line.

May 1, 8:10 EST: Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP, 2-1, 4.50 ERA vs Chris Sale, LHP, 2-1, 3.12 ERA

This series will feature all the pitchers that threw in the rain shortened two game series between the White Sox and Indians in early April. Chris Sale was one of those starters and he was very impressive in what was his first Major League start. Sale pitched into the 7th and only allowed one run while striking out 5. He was only pulled from the game because he hit the 100 pitch mark. Since that game he has continued his success, pitching at least 5 innings in every game and never allowing more than 3 runs. He has thrown at least 100 pitches in each game so far and managed to stretch it through the 8th inning his last time out. Chris Sale is making the White Sox look good with their decision to change him from closer to starting pitcher, an experiment that doesn't always work out.

Ubaldo Jimenez will be pitching against the White Sox for the first time this year as he was still serving his suspension the last time they were in Cleveland. His goal should be to at least get into the 7th inning as he hasn't pitched past the 6th his last three times out. The main reason for this has been his lack of control. Jimenez has walked at least three batters every game this season and has actually struck out less batters than he has walked, not even close to the 2-1 ratio expected amongst power pitchers. 

May 2, 8:10 EST: Josh Tomlin, RHP, 1-2, 5.48 ERA vs Philip Humber, RHP, 1-1, 4.66 ERA

Josh Tomlin took the loss in the first game against Chicago this season, but did not pitch all that badly. He has been a little unpredictable to this point in the season, going from an 8 inning start with 7 strike outs to a start of less than 5 innings and only one strike out. One thing that has remained consistent with Josh is his control. So far this year he has only walked three batters in 4 games.

Humber missed the first series battle between these two teams due to the rain out, but has made some news since then as he pitched Major League Baseball's 21st perfect game ever. He was the third White Sox pitcher to throw a perfect game, the most recent before him being Mark Buehrle's perfecto in 2009. Some have questioned the validity of his perfect game since it came against a minor league team, the Seattle Mariners.

May 3, 8: 10 EST: Justin Masterson, RHP, 0-2, 5.40 ERA vs John Danks, LHP, 2-3, 6.23 ERA

The Indians ace finally pitched like an ace in his last time out as he went into the 9th and only allowed two runs. Vinnie Pestano relieved him and earned the win in that game, but Masterson finally showed what Indians fans have been waiting for all year. He will go up against the White Sox ace in this matchup, who beat him in their first bout earlier this year. Masterson only gave up three earned runs in that game, but the 2 unearned runs are the ones that cost him. With the Indians improved defense (Choo and Damon) and offense they should provide a much better game for the White Sox this time around.

From 1929 to 1932, Wes Ferrell was the Indians best pitcher. As the ace, he pitched in over 40 games and won more than twenty each year during that four year span. His 25 wins in 1930 (his career high) remain in the top ten best of all Indians pitchers in a single season. Ferrell filled the talent gap between the time Hall of Famer Stan Coveleski left the team in 1924 and Mel Harder became the ace in 1933. Even though his best statistical year was 1930 (at least as far as ERA, wins and strikeouts go), Ferrell didn't start to receive accolades until a few seasons later, when he was voted 11th in the AL MVP vote in 1931 and 19th in 1932. He made his first All-Star game in 1933, during what was his worst, and final, season as a Cleveland Indian. In 1934 Ferrell was traded to the Red Sox, ending his career with the Indians. He went along with Dick Porter in exchange for Bob Seeds and Bob Weiland.

Even though Wes Ferrell's 13 year career wasn't quite good enough to get him into the Hall of Fame, his time with the Tribe was significant enough to garner him a spot in the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame. His brother Rick has been enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame as a catcher for the Washington Senators. The two brothers did get to play together for Washington in 1938. Wes Ferrell died in 1976.

Player of the Game

One could not ask for a better start than Derek Lowe gave Indians fans today. Lowe pitched 7.2 innings of shut out baseball, only allowing 3 hits, 2 singles by Kendrys Morales and a single hit by Chris Iannetta. He worked very efficiently, keeping his pitch count low all game by forcing Angel batters to hit the ball into play, letting the defense do their job. At one point in the game, Derek Lowe retired 13 straight batters. His spectacular performance today won Derek Lowe is 2nd Player of the Game honors with a score of 8.14, the highest score of any player this season.

Feathers Up

During the past 2 games, Torii Hunter has been listed in the "Feathers Down" portion of the game recap. Today, Hunter receives a giant "Feathers Up." It was Hunter's 2-run error in the 5th inning that led to the first 2 Indians runs. Asdrubal Cabrera hit a routine fly ball to right field with 2 runners on and 2 outs. Torii hunter appeared to be under the ball ready to catch it, but he apparently lost the ball in the sun, allowing both runners to score.

While Torii Hunter could not handle the sun, Aaron Cunningham decided to deal with the sun in style. The inning after Hunter's error, Cunningham wanted to make sure the same thing didn't happen to him. When a line drive was hit to him in right, he lost his footing, fell down, and proceeded to get up and still make the catch.

The Indians took advantage of another Angel error in the 8th inning when releif pitcher Kevin Jepsen threw wildly to first base on a Jack Hannahan sacrifice bunt. This allowed pinch runner, Jason Donald, to score from 2nd on the overthrow and gave the Indians an extra out. The Indians were able to add 2 more runs to their lead, giving them a 4-0 advantage after 8 innings.

Feathers Down

The Indians continue their homerless streak. Tribe hitters have not hit the ball out of the park in 11 games.

Play of the Game

Torii Hunter loses the ball in the sun

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 4 - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 0

Player of the Game

Pitching 2 perfect innings of relief with 2 strikeouts, Joe Smith won his 2nd Player of the Game this year with a score of 2.54. Close behind him was Jeanmar Gomez with a score of 2.29.

Feathers Up

Jeanmar Gomez returned from his suspension with a quality start. Gomez pitched 6 strong innings, allowing just 2 Angel runs. Unfortunately, the one run by the Tribe was not enough to get Gomez the win today. In his 6 innings pitched, Gomez struck out 7 and gave up just 6 hits.

Feathers Down

Torii Hunter continues to tear up Tribe pitching. Hunter was today's deciding run with his solo home run in the top of the 4th inning. So far in this series, Hunter is 3-8 with 2 home runs. Hopefully Indians pitching will be able to shut him out in the series finale tomorrow.

The Indians have had problems scoring runs and coming up with the big innings that we saw earlier in the season. The whole team is on a home run slump. The last home run by an Indian player was hit by Carlos Santana on April 17th, 11 days ago.

Tribe hitters struck out 8 times today and walked only twice. Carlos Santana and Asdrubal Cabrera were amongst those not seeing the ball well today, with Santana striking out 3 times and Cabrera, 2.

Play of the Game

Jack Hannahan singles in the 4th inning, driving in Jason Kipnis, the only Indians run today.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 1 - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2

Player of the Game

Justin Masterson won his second Player of the Game of the season, even though he wasn't able to record the win in the game. His score of 4.74 was his highest since Opening Day. He pitched into the 9th inning before he was relieved for the final two outs by Vinnie Pestano. Masterson struck out 5 and only allowed 4 hits in the game. Michael Brantley had one of his best games of the season with 3 hits, an RBI and a run scored, but was unable to move the winning run to third when it really counted. His final score was 3.07.

Feathers Up

The Indians have restructured the lineup as I predicted by placing Jason Kipnis in the two hole and flipping Travis Hafner and Carlos Santana. This may or may not change back to the old lineup as soon as Shin-Soo Choo comes back from his hamstring ailment.

Travis Hafner has started in 11 consecutive games and has gotten on base in each one. Last year the Indians' DH never played in more than 14 consecutive games. He definitely appears to be injury free and running on all cylinders.

Justin Masterson played the Ace today and outdueled Jered Weaver, simply by staying in the game longer. The Indians weren't able to score against Weaver, but by making him throw a lot of pitches were able to knock him out of the game early. Masterson allowed a couple of runs, but was much more efficient, enabling him to stay in the game through the 8th inning while the Angels were forced to use their terrible bullpen.

Feathers Down

It was the Torii Hunter show tonight as the Indians former nemesis knocked in both Angels runs and kept the Indians from scoring their first run. Hunter scored Albert Pujols from second with a single and kept Asdrubal Cabrera from scoring the same way right after with a good throw from right field. He later added a solo home run to increase the Angel lead to two.

Play of the Game

Asdrubal Cabrera hit a walk off single to right field to knock in Aaron Cunningham and win the game for the Tribe. What I really loved about this hit was that the Angels had brought an outfielder in to play infield, so all he had to do was hit it in the air to win the game, but he hit a ball that would have been a double against a normal defense and a triple or inside-the-park homerun against the defense they had set up.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 3 - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2

The series against Kansas City didn't end quite the way the Indians wanted as they struggled scoring runs, losing the last two games of the three game series. The Indians are now 2-6 at home and 7-2 on the road. In fact, every team in the AL Central has a losing record at home (Kansas City is worse with an 0-10 record) and a winning record on the road (Cleveland is best at 7-2). This strange scenario has allowed the Tribe to remain in first place going into the series with Los Angeles.

Shin-Soo Choo comes into the series with an injured hamstring and it is unknown as of now when he will return. The injury is said not to be serious, but he has already missed two games for it. The Indians are really missing his defense as Aaron Cunningham is no comparison. Cunningham has fit well into the lineup, however as he has two RBI hits in his last two games.

It is safe to say that the Angels have been this years most disappointing team thus far as their Yankee like free agent signings have not been enough to give them a winning record (6-13). Currently they sit at the bottom of the AL West behind the rebuilding Seattle Mariners and Oakland A's. The Angels come into this game after losing 4 in a row and the Indians will look to continue that streak.

Jered Weaver, RHP, 3-0, 2.43 ERA vs Justin Masterson, RHP, 0-2, 6.65

The Indians will need Masterson to step up his game in this match up as he goes against the Angels ace and multiple Cy Young candidate, Jered Weaver. He is one player who hasn't struggled and has recorded half of the Angels wins this season. Over time the Indians have performed slightly better than the average team against Weaver, but he is still good enough that you shouldn't see more than 2 runs scored while he is in the game. It is up to Masterson to keep it close until the Angels bullpen comes in. Their bullpen is currently ranked as the third worst in the AL with a 4.96 ERA and 5 losses.

Dan Haren, RHP, 0-1, 4.07 ERA vs Jeanmar Gomez, RHP, 1-0, 1.93 ERA

Gomez's suspension is finally over and he will look to go deep into a game for the first time this season. His 1.93 ERA looks fantastic, but he has only pitched 9 total innings in his last three games. In his last start he was taken out in the 5th inning even though he had yet to give up a run and had only thrown 88 pitches. The bullpen gave up the runner that he had left on base which is one of the only two runs he's allowed this year. 

He will be pitching against the Angels second ace, who has not been as successful this year as he was last season (Tenth in AL with 3.17 ERA). Haren struggled in his first game of the season, but has gotten progressively better each game. In his last game he went into the 8th inning and only allowed 2 runs with 9 strike outs. The first two games of this series will not be easy going for the Cleveland Indians.

Ervin Santana, RHP, 0-4, 7.23 ERA vs Derek Lowe, RHP, 3-1, 3.00 ERA

If there ever was a good match up for the Tribe, this is it. Derek Lowe has been the Indians most consistent pitcher all season and currently leads the team in wins. Santana, on the other hand, has been the Angels worst starter and currently leads the Majors in losses. He hasn't been much better against the Indians in his career either, with a record of 1-6.

Roster Moves: Rafael Perez has been placed on the 15 day disabled list for a strained lat. He is eligible to come off the DL on May 11. In his place, the Indians have recalled another left-hander, Nick Hagadone. Hagadone pitched well in three games during his first stint with the Tribe this year and will look to earn a permanent place with the Tribe even after Perez's return.

Player of the Game

With a score of 3.32, a relief pitcher once a gain takes home the Player of the Game for the 3rd time this year. Joe Smith won his first award, pitching 1.2 perfect innings in today's loss.

Feathers Up

Since I complained about it so much last season, I feel that I should mention it when the Indians do the right thing. I am very happy with backup catcher, Lou Marson's playing time. He has been used in only three games this season and not surprisingly the Indians have lost two of the games that Marson has started. While it is a small sample size, it reinforces the obvious that Marson is not part of the best lineup the Indians can put on the field.

Shelley Duncan proved that he can play left field, even in the last few inning of the game, with a diving catch on the warning track. Duncan has been removed from games in late innings this year for Aaron Cunningham, a defensive upgrade, but with Shin-Soo Choo day-to-day, Duncan has proven that he can flash the leather.

Feathers Down

Josh Tomlin's performance left something to be desired today as he allowed 8 hits along with an uncharacteristic 2 walks and a hit batter. Indians starters as a whole have struggled going deep into games. Josh Tomlin and Justin Masterson are the only Indians pitchers to pitch through 8 innings and the Indians have no complete games. Since the first time through the rotation, only Tomlin has pitched as many as 7 innings. In the past 13 games, 4 starters were pulled before the 5th and only 5 have made it through the 6th.

If not offensively, Shin-Soo Choo is sorely missed defensively in the outfield. His replacement, Aaron Cunningham made a couple of poor throws from right field today and the Royals runners showed no fear when taking an extra base on a hit to right.

Play of the Game

Michael Brantley hit a drag bunt single down the first baseline in the sixth. The hit brought his average above .200 and lead to the Indians second run.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 2 - Kansas City Royals 4

Player of the Game

With a double and an RBI fielder's choice, Travis Hafner takes tonight's Player of the Game. It is his second of the year, tying him for the team lead with Carlos Santana and Jason Kipnis. His score of 1.57 was almost matched by Aaron Cunningham who earned a score of 1.53.

Feathers Up

Aaron Cunningham knocked in his first run of the season today to bring the Indians within 2 in the 7th. Cunningham has played in all but 3 games this season, but has not had very many at bats as he usually comes in late in games for defensive purposes.

The Indians have shuffled their lineup around in the last couple games, moving the hot hitting Jack Hannahan above the sluggish Casey Kotchman. Kotchman has not had a hit in his last 6 games played and the drop in the lineup should limit his number of at bats. It is possible that one more lineup change could be coming in the near future as well. If Michael Brantley continues to struggle and Jason Kipnis remains hot, the Indians could move Kipnis into the lead-off role and drop Brantley to the bottom third of the order.

Feathers Down

The Royals proved that you can't lose every game by breaking their 12 game losing streak. Jairo Asencio removed all doubt in the 9th inning by allowing the Royals to score 4 times on two home runs. Prior to that the combined efforts of Ubaldo Jimenez, Dan Wheeler and Rafael Perez had kept the game manageable.

Play of the Game

Asdrubal Cabrera turned a double play in the 8th inning behind Rafael Perez to keep things from getting out of hand.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 2 - Kansas City Royals 8

The Indians reactivated shortstop, Asdrubal Cabrera, from the bereavement list today and sent relief pitcher, Nick Hagadone, back to AAA Columbus.

Player of the Game

With a quality 6 inning start, starting pitcher, Derek Lowe, won tonight's Player of the Game. He allowed just one walk, 8 hits, and striking out 5 in 6 innings of work, giving him a PoG score of 4.64. Prior to today's game, Lowe only had 3 strikeouts for the entire season, so 5 in a game is a feat for him. Tonight was a great improvement over his last start, in which he allowed 4 runs in just 4.1 innings of work.

Feathers Up

The Indians took the early lead in the first inning. Jason Kipnis reached base after getting hit by a pitch, followed by a double by Asdrubal Cabrera. Carlos Santana then hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Kipnis, and giving the Indians the 1-0 lead.

Jason Kipnis proved that he is speedy enough to fill in the lead off position when Michael Brantley takes a day off. Kipnis led off the top of the first by getting on base and eventually scoring, and later in the game, Kipnis reached on a bunt single, and stole second base.

The Indians continue to show their patience at the plate. It helped that Royal's starter, Jonathan Sanchez, was wild, but the Indians walked a total of 9 times tonight. Sanchez walked the bases loaded in both the 2nd inning and the 5th inning, with his wildness in the 5th eventually leading to 3 more runs for the Indians.

Feathers Down

After Kansas City starter Sanchez walked the first 3 batters in the 2nd inning, the Indians were unable to take advantage. With the bases loaded and no one out, Jason Kipnis popped out and Asdrubal Cabrera grounded into a double play.

Play of the Game

Jack Hannahan hits a 2-run double in the 5th inning

Final Score: Kansas City Royals 3 - Cleveland Indians 4

The Indians lost the final game of the road trip, but still managed to win all three series including a sweep of Kansas City. Overall they went 7-2 against the A's, Royals and Mariners. This amazing turnaround has put them right back in the divisional fight with the Tigers and White Sox. At 8-6 they are just one game behind the division leading Detroit.

The upcoming series in Cleveland will see the return of Asdrubal Cabrera to the team, back from his trip to Venezuela. This should help the Tribe immensely on both offense and defense, freeing up Jason Donald for a reserve role and bumping Jason Kipnis back down the the bottom of the lineup. Cabrera's return means the departure of Nick Hagadone after just three appearances. Hagadone pitched very well during his short time with the team and remains the next pitcher in line should any of the current Major Leaguers falter.

Jonathan Sanchez, LHP, 1-0, 6.39 ERA vs Derek Lowe, RHP, 2-1, 3.50 ERA

This game will see a rematch between Sanchez and the Indians, specifically Shin-Soo Choo. After all that happened last time, I wouldn't be surprised if the umpire gave warnings before the game starts. I don't actually think there will be any issues during this game, but if Sanchez does happen to let one loose, there will almost certainly be ejections and suspensions.

Derek Lowe has been the Indians most consistent pitcher from one week to the next and will hopefully continue on with that trend as he has to this point in his career. While his ERA will probably rise a little eventually from 3.50, he should continue to win games as long as he gets some run support. 

Luke Hochevar, RHP, 1-1, 5.87 ERA vs Josh Tomlin, RHP, 1-1, 4.86 ERA

The Indians shelled Hochevar in his start to the tune of 7 runs in 4 innings. He is nothing new to the Indians who have seen the Central Division foe often. Shin-Soo Choo and Jack Hannahan have been especially successful against him, both having batting averages above .500 and multiple home runs.

Josh Tomlin turned in one of his best starts of his career last time out. In 8 innings he allowed only one run and struck out 7 batters. Tomlin has only walked one hitter this season, making him the only pitcher with decent control this year. Tomlin's game is all about allowing batters to put the ball in play, so he has to be around the plate to be successful and he has been. 

Luis Mendoza, RHP, 0-2, 6.92 ERA vs Ubaldo Jimenez, 2-0, 4.00 ERA

Mendoza also struggled against the Tribe last week as he allowed 9 runs in 4 innings although 4 of them were unearned. The right hander is the Indians favorite type of pitcher as he has struck out only 3 while walking 9 this season. The Indians continue to lead the Major Leagues in walks and Travis Hafner leads the league in on base percentage.

Like the Indians ace, Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez is not performing to quite the standard that is expected of him. Luckily for him, the Indians have not had any problem hitting the Royals, so he should have enough run support.