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. 

Player of the Game

Pitching 2 scoreless inning in relief, Rafael Perez becomes the second relief pitcher to win Player of the Game honors this season. His score of 2.30 included 2 innings pitched, a double allowed, and 3 strikeouts. This was his first time pitching in the last 5 days, but outings like this make you wonder why he isn't used more often.

Feathers Up

The Indians took the early lead today in the first inning. With 2 outs, Shin-Soo Choo and Travis Hafner hit back-to-back doubles, giving the Indians the 1-0 advantage. Unfortunately, this was all the offense the Indians were able to provide today.

Travis Hafner continues to swing a hot bat and show patience at the plate as he doubled today and walked twice. Hafner continues to lead the team in batting with an average of .357.

Feathers Down

Justin Masterson had a sloppy start for his 3rd outing in a row. Masterson lacked control and dominance today as he walked 6 batters and struck out 2 in the 5 innings he pitched. Masterson also allowed 4 runs on 6 hits, including a 2-run home run to Seth Smith. Hopefully we can see some quality starts out of Masterson soon.

The Indians offense lacked today with only 1 run on 4 hits, 2 of which came in the first inning. They continue to show patience at the plate, walking 6 more times today, but without hits, those walk don't score runs.

Pitchers did a horrible job of controlling base runners today. The Athletics stole 4 bases today, none of which Tribe catcher, Lou Marson, had a shot of throwing out.

Play of the Game

Choo and Hafner hit back-to-back doubles, scoring the only Tribe run

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 1 - Oakland Athletics 5

Player of the Game

Jason Kipnis won his second Player of the Game of 2012 for his efforts in Oakland, tying him for the team lead with Carlos Santana. Kipnis either knocked in or scored every Indians run on the night (3 RBI, 2 runs scored). The only blemish on his night was a caught stealing which he more than made up for with his 3 singles and triple.

Feathers Up

Travis Hafner just keeps getting on base and now has been on base for 12 of his last 15 at bats. This kind of plate discipline and consistant hitting is possibly even more important than the power that he is famous for.

With another two steals on the night, the Indians continue to be surprisingly good running the bases. The team now has 10 steals on the season and has only been caught 4 times. Not only have they been successful, but many of the steals have come in key places in the game, including today's by Jason Donald.

Even though he still has a batting average around .200, Michael Brantley has been picking it up as of late and is currently riding a 7 game hitting streak, the longest on the team. Today, Brantley was on base twice with a fielder's choice and a single and scored a run.

The Indians were able to put the A's away with authority tonight as they scored 3 with two outs in the 8th inning to make a close game not so close. Donald started with a single and took third on another single by Brantley. Jason Kipnis knocked both runners in with a triple to deep right center. Kipnis then scored himself on a wild pitch.

Feathers Down

Jeanmar Gomez was pulled out of the game in just the 6th inning even though he had not given up any runs and had only thrown 88 pitches. It's a good thing Manny Acta doesn't manage the White Sox or Philip Humber would have had an 8 inning perfect game followed by a shaky outing by Hector Santiago.

Play of the Game

Jason Donald stole second on first movement in the 6th inning. This steal made it possible for him to score the Indians second run of the game on a Jason Kipnis single.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 5 - Oakland Athletics 1

Player of the Game

With a sacrifice fly and a two run double, Jack Hannahan practically won the game by himself and thus deserves the honor of tonight's Player of the Game award. His final score was 4.50, just above winning pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez's 4.03. Chris Perez had an identical line and score as the night before, 2.02 points for a strike out and a save. Shin-Soo Choo and Carlos Santana both put forth great efforts as well, earning over 1.00 a piece and combined have only had 3 negative scoring games this season.

Feathers Up

Milestone: Travis Hafner's single in the 4th inning was his 1,000th hit as a member of the Cleveland Indians. It was his 1,015th hit in his career. Congratulations go to the longest tenured player on the Cleveland Indians. He is the 35th member of the Tribe to get 1,000 hits with the team.

Jack Hannahan has gone on a nice little offensive streak, either knocking in or scoring a run in each of his last four games. He has at least 2 total bases in each of his last 3 games and has been on base in his last 8.

The bullpen did their job tonight, which apparently is to let the other team make it as close as possibly while still winning the game. Vinnie Pestano and Chris Perez were very strong to end the game.

Feathers Down

Indians pitchers are still having trouble throwing strikes. Ubaldo Jimenez walked 5 hitters today and both Tony Sipp and Joe Smith walked a batter.

Jason Donald is having the opposite type of streak that Hannahan is having. He has left a runner on base in scoring position at least once in 3 of the last 4 games including three in tonight's contest. He has also struck out 5 times over the last two games.

Play of the Game

Just a reminder that this section is for my personal favorite play of the game, not the most important. Jason Kipnis stole second on a pick-off move, then scored on the next play as Shin-Soo Choo singled to right.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 4 - Oakland Athletics 3