Site note: In an effort to reduce the amount of negativity produced by BurningRiverBaseball.com we will no longer be making any mention of Austin Kearns until he either gets his batting average above .250 or is removed from the roster. I believe we have said all there is to be said about this particular outfielder and will now await the Indians response to the situation.

Player of the Game

Travis Hafner won his second 'Player of the Game' in the last three games, this time with a 2 run home run. Pronk has been on base in each of his last 22 games played and has a hit in each game since coming off the DL. Tonight, 3 of the 4 Indians runs scored came with Hafner at the plate, the other run coming when starting pitcher Jason Hammel balked home Jack Hannahan. Hammel obviously balked out of pure fear of Hafner. His final 'POG' score for the game was 4.12 and he has now won 6 total in 2011.

Feathers Up

Like any pitcher, Josh Tomlin has had his struggles this season, but he crammed them all into 4 consecutive starts. Tomlin started the season with 9 straight great games, then fell off for the next four. In the two games since then, Tomlin has regained his stride and has pitched well in his last two games. Yes, he does give up a lot of home runs, but that is only because he pitches to contact and lets his fielders do the work. Very rarely are there base runners on for those home runs and he has yet to allow a steal attempt this season. Overall, Tomlin, along with Justin Masterson, has been one of the Indians most consistently successful starters all year.

Vinnie Pestano has earned a hold in 4 of his last 5 appearances and did not give up a run in any of them. His 10 holds are second on the Indians to Tony Sipp (14) and tied for 10th in the American League. Tonight Pestano struck out 3 batters in one inning of work (spread across the 7th and 8th). Over his last 4 games he has struck out 8 batters in 4.2 innings.

Feathers Down

There was no rain tonight so we didn't get to hear Matt Underwood, Rick Manning and Mike Hargrove do their weatherman routine.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 4 - Colorado Rockies 3

Player of the Game

Asdrubal Cabrera continues to lead the Indians in every way possible and that includes 'Player of the Game' awards. Tonight he took home his 10th, three more than 2nd place Matt LaPorta. Asdrubal scored 2.74 by walking 3 times, scoring 2 runs, hitting a single and stealing a base. His last walk and steal came in the 9th inning with two outs, puting the Indians in a place where they could win the game with a single. Cord Phelps and Rafael each had notable games and tied with a score of 2.12. Phelps hit a single and a triple while Perez pitched an inning and two-thirds of shutout relief.

For anyone new to Burning River Baseball, here is an explanation of my 'Player of the Game' scoring system.

Feathers Up

Shin-Soo Choo continues to increase his level of play and has now been on base in 7 straight games. Over that span of time he has increased his split stats from .231/.311/.340 to .244/.341/.353. He has also increased his production stats, scoring or knocking in a run in his last 4 games.

The Indians were able to knock Jhoulys Chacin out of the game in the 7th inning, even though he was pitching a 2 hitter, by being patient at the plate, working the count and taking a lot of walks. This drove his pitch count over 100, so that when he did give up his second hit, Rockies manager Jim Tracy felt he had to take him out of the game.

Cord Phelps provided some excitement again with a two out triple in the 9th inning down only one run, but the worst player on the Indians was unable to do anything about it as he struck out on a check swing to end the game.

Feathers Down

Yesterday Carmona had trouble pitching with two outs, allowing 6 runs in the 5th after the first two batters were out with no one on, and tonight, Mitch Talbot also struggled with two outs and none on, giving up all 3 of his earned runs in that situation. Overall, Talbot was very mediocre as, while he only gave up 3 runs, he allowed 8 hits, three of them being extra base hits. He also walked 2 batters in 6.1 innings.

With the way Jason Giambi has been hitting this series, you would think he was back on steroids. He has destroyed Indians pitching more than any other Rockie so far. This is only the second time this season he has gotten more than one at bat in two consecutive games and he has delivered with a three run home run in game one and two doubles in game two.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 3 - Colorado Rockies 4

Player of the Game

Travis Hafner takes home tonight's 'Player of the Game' on the strength of his first inning 3 run home run. Hafner also walked later in the game, but the bulk of his 5.40 'POG' score came from the home run. Carlos Santana came in a close second with a score of 5.06, but was denied yet again even though he played well. Santana has now had a score of 4.70 or higher in 3 of the last 4 games, but has not won a 'Player of the Game' since April. After another bad outing, Fausto Carmona's season 'POG' score is now -18.8. He is currently one of three Indians with negative scores along with Mitch Talbot (-1.4) and Chad Durbin (-1.4)

Feathers Up

The Indians did a great job scoring repsonse runs tonight, plating 3 after the Rockies scored in the first and 2 more after the Rockies scored 6 in the 5th. These runs really kept the Indians in a game that could have become a blowout. They also scored one run in the 8th inning after the Rockies got an unearned run off of an errant throw by Lou Marson.

The Rockies are a really talented offensive team and the Indians are lucky that they only have to face them once every couple years and that this year the games are taking place in Cleveland instead of Colorado.

After Chad Durbin had two of his worst outings of the season in consecutive appearances (6/10 and 6/12), the Indians gave him a week off either out of fear of putting him in a game or to give him a chance to get himself back together. Whatever the reason, it apparently worked and Durbin has now made two successful outings in consecutive days. Tonight's appearance was especially strong as he went 2 innings, allowing only one hit, stranding a runner that Carmona left on and striking out 3.

Feathers Down

Fausto Carmona dug his own grave tonight. After pitching 4.2 very good innings, Carmona walked two and gave up 5 hits, all with two outs and nobody on in the 5th. This was capped when Jason Giambi hit a giant 3 run home run. Carmona hasn't had a decent start in his last 5 games and hasn't had a really good start in his last 8. You have to wonder just how long the Indians will allow Fausto to keep pitching at this level.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 7 - Colorado Rockies 8

Player of the Game

Cord Phelps grabbed another group of firsts today with his first double, home run, run scored, walk off hit and 'Player of the Game'. Phelps ended the game with a three run homerun to right field in the 11th inning off Pirates pitcher Tim Wood. Although he did have an error, Cord went 2-5 during the game with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI. His final 'POG' score was 6.68.

Feathers Up

Asdrubal Cabrera already leads the league in Web Gems (check the right column for standings) and he most certainly added on to that lead with a barehanded grab and throw in the 10th inning (video).

Travis Hafner has avoided a post DL slump by getting on base in 4 of his first 8 at bats. Pronk is a huge part of the Indians offense, so it was pivotal that he be able to come in playing strong. By stepping into the clean-up spot in the lineup, he moves everyone else down one place, making them all slightly better hitters for their spot in the order.

The Indians have dominated in their first two series of Interleague play so far going 6 and 0 against the Reds and Pirates. They will look to continue this play against the Rockies at home in the next series.

Feathers Down

Justin Masterson was unable to get a win, yet again, despite only giving up 2 runs. Masterson hasn't gotten a win since May, when he went 5-0 for the month, even though he only allowed more than 2 earned runs 3 times. The big problem is that the Tribe offense has only scored more than 2 runs in 3 of those starts.

The Indians were third in the league in offensive strikeouts going into the game and did nothing to change that today. Grady Sizemore struck out 4 times on his own and the team added 3 more. Manager Manny Acta stated before the game that one of the reasons Jon Nunnally was fired and Bruce Fields brought in was because the team strikes out too much.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 5 - Pittsburgh Pirates 2

Player of the Game

Carlos Carrasco won his third game in a row and his third 'Player of the Game' in a row at the same time. Carrasco earned 6.00 'POG' points by pitching 6.1 innings, allowing only one run on 4 hits with 4 strikeouts. For the second game in a row, only one Indian had a negative score, this time it was Jack Hannahan who went 0-4. Other than him and Lou Marson, every Tribesman had a score of over 0.98.

Feathers Up

Carlos Carrasco has now allowed only one earned run over his last 3 starts. After going 21+ shutout innings, Carrasco finally gave up a single run to the Pirates.

Because of that one run allowed, Carrasco needed more run support than he has gotten in his last two starts. Over those starts the Indians scored a total of 2 runs while winning both games. Tonight the Indians matched that total in the first 2 innings and went on to bring home 3 more before the game was over.

Shin-Soo Choo is again showing signs of breaking through his season long slump as he has walked 6 times in his last 4 games, including 2 tonight. Choo also added an opposite field single to bring home Asdrubal Cabrera in the 7th. It is almost always a positive sign when a good hitter in a slump stops trying to pull the ball and will go with what the pitcher gives him.

The offense played well tonight, even though Travis Hafner and Matt LaPorta were both absent. Most notably the base running was much better than it has been recently with the Tribe getting 3 steals and 2 extra bases during the game. Grady Sizemore also had a great base running play when he made it to third on a ball that was almost a home run. Rather than going into a trot, he kept going full speed to third which allowed him to score on Michael Brantley's sacrifice fly.

The two relief pitchers used in tonight's game each have impressive streaks going. Tony Sipp has now went 7 straight games without allowing a run and Joe Smith has went 15. This just continues to prove the age old axiom that nobody scores against the Bullpen Mafia.

Feathers Down

Travis Hafner got the day off, meaning he will now not start 10 of his first 15 games back, instead of the 9 he will be forced to miss anyway due to interleague play.

Final Score: The Indians guarantee themselves 1st place for one more day,

Cleveland Indians 5

Pittsburgh Pirates 1

Player of the Game

Josh Tomlin threw 6.2 innings, only allowing 6 hits and one run to win tonight's 'Player of the Game'. Tomlin is coming off 4 straight negative games, so it is great to see him getting back to where he was before that. Prior to those games, Tomlin had been positive every game of the season and won 4 'Player of the Game' awards. Carlos Santana put up a nice effort as well with a home run and two singles, knocking in 2, and his 'POG' score of 5.07 would have won in all but one of the last 8 games. Overall, every single Indian had a positive score except for Adam Everett, who was only in the game as an injury replacement. It is the first game in recent memory that only one player was negative.

Feathers Up

The Indians had all 9 starting hitters in the lineup tonight for the first time since May 10th. Don't expect this to last long, however, since Matt LaPorta was injured during the game and will certainly be out tomorrow, probably going on the 15 day DL.

Travis Hafner played well in his first game back, which is not surprising since he has been taking batting practice all week and had multiple hits in both his minor league rehab starts. The best thing that could possibly happen for the Tribe's offense was the return of Travis Hafner. Pronk went 1 for 3 with a double, a walk and an RBI.

Feathers Down

Matt LaPorta's injury shows the weakest part of the Indians depth chart. While the Indians are stacked in the minor leagues with second basemen, third basemen and outfielders, first basemen are in short supply. Right now the only real options are the return of Shelley Duncan, the resurrection of Nick Johnson or the major league debut of Jared Goedert or Chad Huffman. Every player has negatives, but there isn't much of a choice if LaPorta does go on the disabled list. Huffman and Goedert are young and first base is not their primary position, Johnson is a complete unknown offensively at this point in his career and Shelley Duncan plays defense like a tree.

On a side note, Jack Hannahan played very well at first in LaPorta's absence, bringing up the possibility of the Indians bringing up a third baseman rather than a first baseman. The 'Feathers Down' in this is that top prospect Lonnie Chisenhall recently went down with a concussion and is now on the disabled list himself.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 5 - Pittsburgh Pirates 1

Player of the Game

Frank Herrmann won his second 'Player of the Game' award by coming in for Mitch Talbot in the 5th inning. Talbot left with 2 runners on and no one out and Herrmann was able to strand one of those runners and go on to pitch another 2 innings. During that time he struck out a batter and got two double plays, while only allowing 3 base runners. His final 'POG' score was 2.56.

Feathers Up

Early in the game the Tribe hitters took advantage of Comerica Field's huge outfield by hitting balls into the gaps and down the line. Grady Sizemore tried to hit for a gap and flew out, but after him Michael Brantley hit a triple and scored on a bad throw to third, Asdrubal Cabrera doubled and Shin-Soo Choo tripled down the line. Later in the game the Indians were completely unable to get on base, but it was a good sign to score twice in the first inning.

When Josh Tomlin starts tomorrow it will mark 6 straight times through the rotation without a missed start. While the pitching has not been as strong as it was early in the season, at least the Indians know they will have a Major League talent starter on the hill every single night. This is very important since the injury of Alex White has made him unavailable.

Austin Kearns has not played in 9 of the last 10 games and Chad Durbin has not played in the last 4. Coincidentally, over the last four games the Indians have won twice after losing 14 of the 18 games before that and my stress levels have dropped significantly. Now that these placeholders have been taken out of the starting lineup and removed from any game action, the next move is to either bring up some players who can actually help the team or sign one of the many players that have been released recently.

Feathers Down

Carlos Santana has struggled over the last 6 games with only 2 hits over that time, both singles. During this cold spell he has struck out 8 times and has no production stats (runs or RBI). Santana's struggles would make a drop in the lineup make a lot more sense than his recent move up to 2nd. It also looks like benching Santana on his days off and leaving Matt LaPorta in the game may be the better move than what they have been doing, which is benching LaPorta so Lou Marson can catch, while Santana plays first.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 2 - Detroit Tigers 6

Player of the Game

Orlando Cabrera took home his fourth 'Player of the Game' trophy and his first since April. Maybe having a day off every four games or so will do him good. At his age, platooning with Cord Phelps might be a good thing for the Tribe. Not because Phelps necessarily adds value to the team, but Cabrera could be a better player with an occasional day off. His final 'POG' score was 4.45.

Feathers Up

Everybody in the lineup had a hit, except Michael Brantley! Reminded me of April! Most importantly, they scored six runs on the night without hitting a single homerun. Can you say slump-buster?

Orlando Cabrera went 3-4 with two RBI's. His three hits came in very important spots tonight; he singled in a run in the fourth and doubled in one in the fifth, breaking a 4-4 tie.

Fausto Carmona through five strong innings but the reason why chief wahoo has a feather up in his direction tonight is because of what will not show up in the box score; he battled through a shakey first inning, when he gave up a solo home-run to Brennan Boesch and a two-RBI single to Alex Avila. Fans are used to Carmona completely falling apart after a rough inning. But this time he battled, kept throwing his sinker and emotions in check, performed well for the next four innings to provide what could be his most important performance of the season thus far.

Shin-Soo Choo started swinging the bat well again tonight. Although the box score will only show two hits tonight, he hit the ball hard in four plate appearances. He also walked once.

How 'bout that bullpen! Once again, they held the lead late in the game against a very good Detroit lineup. Rafael Perez, Vinne Pestano, Tony Sipp and Chris Perez did not allow a hit in four innings of work. Each pitcher had at least one strike-out (C. Perez had two).

Feathers Down

Carmona had such a good day, he shall be mentioned twice! He did not have good command in the first inning. He worked from behind to most of the hitters and seemed to be "out of it" at times.

FINAL: TRIBE   6

           TIGERS 4

Player of the Game

Justin Masterson took home his 5th 'Player of the Game' of the season in a very ugly game that saw only one other player with a 'POG' score over 0.00 (Joe Smith 0.23). Masterson pitched alright, but was the victim of 2 unearned runs and no offensive support whatsoever. Masterson took the loss, allowing 7 hits, all singles, and 5 walks in 6.1 innings. His final 'POG' score was 1.96.

Feathers Up

2,001 a Hit Odyssey. Orlando Cabrera hit his 2,001st hit of his career today and it was a special one, ending Justin Verlander's no-hit bid after 8.1 innings. Since Orlando hits, at most, one hit every other game, we here at Burning River Baseball will continue to note every single one, until he gets to 3,000 two decades from now.

Feathers Down

The Indians have averaged half a run over the last 4 games.

Orlando Cabrera was all over the place today. Not only did he get the Indians first hit, but he also made an error that allowed two unearned Tiger runs. Orlando also made a nice play on a ball that had been booted by Asdrubal Cabrera. The real question is why was he even in the field in the first place. Now that the Indians have options on the bench, it seems like they should be putting the best defense out there every night, which would mean Cord Phelps at second base and Grady Sizemore in center field. Manny Acta is being very careful with Grady at this point by DHing him whenever he can, but this is really hurting the Indians defense.

Everyone knows the best thing to get a slumping offense back on its feet is to play against the best pitcher in the league. Almost getting no-hit is just the shot-in-the-arm that this team needed.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 0, Detroit Tigers 4

Player of the Game

Carlos Carrasco put in another masterful start, setting a new high for total 'Player of the Game' score in 2 consecutive starts with a combined score of 18.79. In this game Carrasco pitched 7 shut out innings, striking out 7  and allowing 7 base runners. With the win his score for the game was 8.63, a full 6 points better than the next best player, Chris Perez, who scored a 2.48 for striking out the side in the ninth earning a one run save. It is Carrasco's second straight start that he has won 1-0 and he has both of the Indians last 2 wins. It is his second 'Player of the Game' award of the season.

Feathers Up

Manny Acta put a new lineup together in an effort to shake things up a bit. It didn't have great results today, but as often mentioned on Burning River Baseball, it doesn't matter what order you put the players in if none of them do anything. The new lineup features Michael Brantley and Asdrubal Cabrera dropped from 1 and 2 to 3 and 4 with Grady Sizemore and Carlos Santana moving up from 3 and 4 to take their spots. Matt LaPorta had another day off today, but it should be expected that he will probably be put back in the 6th spot after Shin-Soo Choo.

Carlos Carrasco loaded the bases in the first inning and allowed two runners in each of the next two, but was able to keep the Yankees from scoring even once through all of it. Carrasco had an unusually high pitch count due to the hits and walks which kept him from finishing the game, but the bullpen was able to maintain his pace.

With the win the Indians guarantee a share of first place going into the series with Detroit. This is big as it means the Indians only have to win the series to stay ahead rather than sweep.

Feathers Down

One run a game is not going to do it on almost any night. Luckily Carlos Carrasco has turned things around and pitched magnificently his last two times out, but the Indians offense needs to turn things around and quickly. This team has only scored 2 runs in the last 3 games and has only averaged 2 runs per game over the current streak of 9 losses in 11 games. If you take out the 7 runs the Indians scored against New York in a game that was already over, they have only averaged 1.5 runs over the remaining 10 games. Whether it will be a move or good coaching or just a change in luck, the Indians need something more significant than a lineup change to happen soon.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 1, New York Yankees 0