Player of the Game

In dramatic fashion, Hero Matt LaPorta took tonight's "Player of the Game" honors. He did it with his walk-off three-run homer in the bottom of the 9th inning. The home run, along with a double and great offensive play earlier in the game, gave LaPorta a PoG score of 6.11. Justin Masterson had a solid outing tonight and came in second with a PoG score of 5.04.

Feathers Up

Justin Masterson had a solid appearance today. He pitched 8+ innings and gave up just 2 runs on 9 hits. He was able to keep the Indians in the game all night, setting up the come-from-behind win. Masterson had great control all night, walking just one batter. He kept his pitch count low so he was able to pitch into the 9th inning.

Few plays in baseball are more exciting than a walk-off win at home. The Indians fought hard all game to stay within a few runs. Their offense finally came around in the 8th inning, scoring their first run in 24 innings. This momentum carried over to the 9th. A hit batter and a double set up for the tying run to score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Kosuke Fukudome. Lonnie Chisenhall then drew his third walk of the night, bringing Hero Matt LaPorta to the plate, who blasted a 3-run shot off the railing in left field.

Trade rumors have been stirring, and the Indians welcome Ubaldo Jimenez to the starting rotation. The Indians gave up four prospects in the deal. Stayed tuned to the site for more details regarding this transaction.

Feathers Down

In the trade mentioned above, the Indians gave up one of their top pitching prospects, Drew Pomeranz, who was just drafted last year. 

Final Score: Kansas City Royals 2 - Cleveland Indians 5

Player of the Game

Pitching 2.2 innings allowing just one run to score, Chad Durbin won his 3rd “Player of the Game” award of the season. This is the least amount of points any player has needed all season to win. On a side note, Carlos Carrasco recorded the lowest “Player of the Game” score (-10.35) since Fausto Carmona’s score of -12.63 on opening day. Carrasco also ended the streak of 4 straight starting pitchers winning “Player of the Game” honors.

Feathers Up

Kosuke Fukudome made his Cleveland Indians debut tonight. He did not do anything spectacular (0-4), but it is nice to see a fresh face in the Indians outfield. Once the Indians put their strongest lineup on the field, it will be interesting to see how Fukudome can help this team.

The Indians got a hit today, as a matter of fact, they got 5. Though, they produced more runs when they did not get any hits last time, it is nice to see that the ball is being hit into play and runners are getting on.

The bullpen ate up some innings tonight after the abrupt departure of Carlos Carrasco. Chad Durbin pitched 2.1 innings only allowing one run. Frank Herrmann then took over pitching 2 innings. Rafael Perez pitched a scoreless ninth. With the use of the bullpen today, we can only hope that Justin Masterson has a solid start tomorrow.

The defense today was a big improvement over last game. The Indians did not have any errors tonight, as compared to 5, two nights ago.

Feathers Down

Carlos Carrasco did not come out strong tonight. In the first inning alone, he allowed two earned runs on a single, a home run, a double, and a walk. In the second inning, he allowed another home run, this time to Alex Gordon. Carlos Carrasco has allowed at least one home run in each of the last 7 games he has pitched. Carrasco took the third inning off, as far as giving up home runs, but made up for it in the fourth by giving up a grand slam to Melky Cabrera. Carrasco was so frustrated, he decided it was a good idea to throw at the head of Billy Butler, the next batter. Needless to say, home plate umpire Scott Barry did not think this was a good idea and ejected Carlos Carrasco from the game.

Final Score: Kansas City Royals 12 - Cleveland Indians 0

Pitching Matchups:

Jeff Francis (3-11, 4.65 ERA) v. Carlos Carrasco (8-8, 4.25 ERA)

Felipe Paulino (1-4, 3.86 ERA) v. Justin Masterson (8-7, 2.57)

Kyle Davies (1-9, 6.75) v. Fausto Carmona (5-10, 5.34)

Royals News/Notes:

• RHP Luke Hochevar yielded only one hit after the third inning and allowed two runs on six hits in seven innings to pick up the victory Thursday at Boston. Hochevar, who walked one and struck out six Red Sox, has won back-to-back starts for the first time since April 10 and 15, when he beat the Tigers and Mariners. It was his seventh victory, which matches his career high. He was 7-13 in 2009.

• DH Billy Butler has hit home runs in three consecutive games and has four in his last seven games after 115 at-bats without going deep. In the four-game series at Fenway Park, Butler went 9-for-19 (.474), with two doubles, three home runs and eight RBI.

• The Royals sent nine men to the plate in their four-run fourth, which included a three-run home run by DH Billy Butler. They became the first club to bat around against Red Sox RHP Josh Beckett since the Yankees in the sixth inning on May 7, 2010.

• CF Melky Cabrera was given Thursday off against the Red Sox. It was the first time Cabrera did not start a game since June 25. He has played in all but four of the Royals' 105 games this season. OF Mitch Maier replaced Cabrera in center and went 0-for-4 with a walk and scored a run.

Royals Medical Watch:

• C Jason Kendall (right shoulder surgery in September 2010) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 22. He was transferred to the 60-day disabled list May 5. As of June 8, he was taking batting practice on the field and throwing from up to 105 feet. Kendall reported to Surprise, Ariz., on June 20 to begin working out with the rookie-level Arizona League club, but he had a setback in early July. He underwent another shoulder operation July 13, and he will miss the rest of 2011 and all of the 2012 season.

The Indians made a few roster moves involving the Kosuke Fukudome trade. The minor leaguers that were sent to Chicago are relief pitcher Carlton Smith and right fielder Abner Abreu. Smith has been in the Indians for 7 years and was unlikely to produce much at the Major League level. Through 46 innings this season, Smith has a 4.50 ERA in 34 appearances and a 1.41 WHIP. The Indians probably have about a dozen pitchers closer to the big leagues than smith was. Abreu hit .244 in 91 games so far for Kinston this season.

To make room on the 40 man roster, the Indians designated Travis Buck for assignment.

Player of the Game

David Huff earned today's 'Player of the Game' with a score of 2.61 after pitching 5.2 innings only allowing 5 hits and one earned run. This marks his second award in as many starts and the 4th consecutive day the starting pitcher has won the 'Player of the Game'. Seven of the last nine winners have been pitchers showing another drop off in offensive production. In the last 5 games, the Indians have only scored 6 runs, never scoring more than 3 in a single game.

Feathers Up

David Huff should have considered changing his name before his call up this season as he is a completely different pitcher. After his last two seasons I was just about ready to give up on him, but he has shown talent in his first two starts this season that we have never seen from him in the past. The announcement that Alex White will be joining the bullpen upon his return means that we will be seeing a lot more David Huff for the rest of the season.

Vinnie Pestano made his triumphant return to the Bullpen Mafia today striking out the side in the 8th inning. This comes after two terrible outings by the rookie righty after which he shaved his head. Does lack of hair make you a better relief pitcher? Anecdotal evidence says yes.

Ezequiel Carrera used his pesky base running abilities to score the only Indians run. Carrera was safe on an error, stole second, went to third on a ground out and scored on a wild pitch. Because of this run, Ervin Santana's no hitter is irrelevant as far as baseball history goes, as it was not a shut out. If only the Indians were able to not make five errors, they could have won.

Feathers Down

This team is ridiculously inconsistent on defense. The Indians made 5 errors today, including 2 by players that have played well for the most part this season on defense. Asdrubal Cabrera bobbled a ball at short and Matt LaPorta turned a splendid play into an error by throwing a ball into the baserunners face. The other errors belonged to Austin Kearns, Lonnie Chisenhall and Carlos Santana. Santana not only made an error attempting to catch a runner stealing, but he also allowed a passed ball that lead to the Angels second run.

The Angels have been the toughest pitching team the Indians have played against this season. Amost every game played between the two teams has been closely contested and today's game was no different. This is the last time the Indians play the Angels during the regular season and that is great news for the Tribe as they have lost two games each time the two teams have played a three game series.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 1 - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 3

Player of the Game

With a Player of the Game score of 4.46, Josh Tomlin won his 7th “PoG” Award of the season. His 7th “PoG” ties him for third on the team for the year. Tomlin pitched 8 innings with 2 runs allowed on 4 hits in his loss to the Angels. Matt LaPorta, with his solo shot in the bottom of the 7th, took second place honors tonight with a score of 2.79.

Feathers Up

Jason Kipnis got the first extra base hit of his career with a double in the third. This was the second hit of his young career, with the first coming walk-off style last night to win the game.

The great pitching tonight by both Jared Weaver and Josh Tomlin made for some exciting baseball. Josh Tomlin pitched a gem of a game, allowing just 2 earned runs on 4 hits in 8 strong inning. At one point in the game, Tomlin retired 12 straight Angel batters. He showed great control tonight, just walking one batter, an intentional walk to Kendrick in the 7th inning.

Matt Laporta ruined Jared Weaver’s shutout by taking him deep in the bottom of the 7th inning. That was only the 6th home run surrendered by Weaver this season, and the first one since June 8th.

Justin Germano pitched a perfect game for the Columbus Clippers tonight. This has nothing to do with the Indians game tonight, but it is a great glimpse of what the Indians have in store for the future. Congratulations, Justin!

Feathers Down

Get ‘em on, Get ‘em over, leave ‘em stranded? In both the third and the fourth innings, the Indians did a great job of getting runners on and playing small ball to get them over, but they failed to get them in. In a pitcher’s duel, like the one we saw today between Jared Weaver and Josh Tomlin, every run is critical. The Indians need to take advantage of every scoring situation they get. In the bottom of the 9th, with the bases loaded and 0 outs, the Indians were unable to score any runs. 

Once again, the starting pitcher made a strong appearance and did not get the win. Tonight, it was due to the lack of run support.

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

Player of the Game

Fausto Carmona won his first 'Player of the Game' award since May 8th for his performance in tonight's game. Carmona earned 5.06 'POG' points by pitching 6 scoreless innings, only allowing 4 hits and striking out 3. This marks three positive outings in a row for Carmona who seems to be turning things around after having a rough time in June and spending much of July on the disabled list. He probably should have had a win as well, but the Indians bats didn't show up until the 9th and the bullpen wasn't as perfect as it has been most of the season.

Feathers Up

Jason Kipnis made his first Major League hit a special one as the Indians used it to beat the Angels in walk off fashion. Kipnis becomes the third Indians rookie to make their first hit count as Ezequiel Carrera drove in a run with his first hit and Lonnie Chisenhall's was a double (later in that game he hit an RBI single). 

The Indians ended their losing streak in style with Kipnis' walk off single. The Indians 4 game losing streak seemed longer than it actually was, since the last time they won was July 18th. This series becomes important because the Indians lost two to the White Sox who are now in contention and are currently in a series against the Tigers. As long as the Indians win this series, they will gain at least a game on the loser of the White Sox/Tigers series.

Feathers Down

How about earning a starting pitcher a win every once in awhile. The last time through the rotation every starter pitched well except for Josh Tomlin, but not a single one earned a win. The offense is mostly to blame as during the last five games they have only scored 5 runs once scored 3 or less the other 4 games.

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

Summary:

The Angels just finished taking two of three games in Baltimore.

...they have defeated the Indians three times by one run this season

...overall run differential in six games is zero (17-17).

... Weaver has pitched 12 consecutive quality starts (six-plus innings, three or fewer earned runs). His ERA is lowest in club history after 21 starts. He has worked at least seven innings and allowed no more than one run in 11 games. On May 7 against Cleveland, Weaver gave up four runs in six innings of a 4-3 loss.

... the Indians are hitting .180 (37-for-205) against Angels this season; no player with 10-plus official at-bats is hitting better than .250.

Pitching Matchups:

RHP Fausto Carmona (5-10, 5.63 ERA) vs. RHP Dan Haren (10-6, 3.10), Tonight at 7:05

RHP Josh Tomlin (11-4, 4.12) vs. RHP Jered Weaver (13-4, 1.81), Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.

LHP David Huff (1-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Ervin Santana (5-8, 3.69), Wednesday at 12:05 p.m.

Angels Medical Watch:

• RHP Francisco Rodriguez (right shoulder inflammation) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 10. He will treat the problem with rest and rehab.

• 3B Freddy Sandoval (left side muscle strain) was injured March 3, and he went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 22. He began a rehab assignment with the Angels' affiliate in the rookie-level Arizona League on July 5, and he moved his rehab to Class AAA Salt Lake on July 16.

• 1B Kendrys Morales (fractured left ankle) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 22. He was never able to progress to running the bases in workouts, let alone playing in games during spring training or on a rehab assignment. He had a second surgery on his ankle May 26 to address continued discomfort and lack of mobility. Morales, who was transferred to the 60-day DL on July 20, will not play until the 2012 season.

Angels News/Notes:

• RHP Tyler Chatwood went seven innings for the victory Sunday over Baltimore, allowing two runs on a home run by Adam Jones but not walking a batter. It was the first time in 19 major league starts Chatwood has not walked at least one batter. He went into Sunday's start third in the American League with 53 walks.

• OF Mike Trout hit his first major league home run, a three-run shot off Orioles reliever Mark Worrell in the eighth inning Sunday. Trout's family was at the game. He grew up in Millville, N.J., and Baltimore is the closest AL city. The 19-year-old is the first teenager to homer in a major league game since Diamondbacks OF Justin Upton on August 7, 2007.

• OF Torii Hunter went into Sunday's game with just two hits in his past 31 at-bats. But he doubled off the center field wall in the third inning (missing a home run by a few feet) then cleared the left-field wall with a two-run home run in the eighth inning.

• 3B Alberto Callaspo was 3-for-4 with a walk and three runs scored Sunday. He is batting .375 (27 for 72) in his past 21 games.

• OF Peter Bourjos entered Sunday's game as a defensive replacement in the ninth inning with OF Mike Trout moving from center field to left field. The Angels will have a decision to make in the future on how to play those two speedy outfielders together. But Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Sunday's move was just to "get Vernon (Wells) off his feet." Wells was the only position player to start all three games in the field during the series in Baltimore where temperatures were over 100 degrees each day.

• .179—Rookie OF Mike Trout's average through Sunday, when he went 1-for-5 against Baltimore and hit his first major league home run.

Angels Ace Jered Weaver will pitch against the Tribe on Tuesday night.

Player of the Game

Justin Masterson took the loss and the 'Player of the Game' today as somehow he only allowed one earned run, but lost 4-2. Masterson pitched 7 innings and only allowed 4 hits while striking out 6. He was even able to get out of the base runners he allowed out by pitching out on a hit and run. When the game was over, Masterson had a 'POG' score of 5.48, 4 points higher than the next best player. Joe Smith, Asdrubal Cabrera, Travis Hafner and Matt LaPorta all had scores over 1.00.

Feathers Up

Lonnie Chisenhall has begun to come around, especially looking good on low inside pitches. Last series the Chiz kid took a ball on the inside corner at his knees out of the ball park, two days ago he hit a double and today he had a strong single on an inside fastball. You need a lot of bat speed and quick reflexes to put balls that far inside into fair territory and Chisenall has it.

Some oddities in the Indians schedule (the All-Star break, off days and rain outs), have lead to Justin Masterson pitching in 5 of the Indians last 15 games. The Indians know who their best pitcher is and they have used him well. Masterson has responded by pitching 29.2 innings during that span, only allowing 5 earned runs and striking out 27. If it weren't for the unearned runs, Masterson would probably have gotten his 3rd win in those 5 games.

Feathers Down

Ezequiel Carrera's 2 run dropped catch error brings up the idea that maybe Michael Brantley should be playing center field. Brantley has a lot more Major League experience in center than Carrera and has about equal speed with better off-the-bat instincts. It also seems at this point that Grady Sizemore will never really be able to play center field again at 100%. This means that if the Indians care more about winning than about offending Grady (and they seem to since Manny Acta did not shy away from dropping him down in the lineup), they will move him to left field upon his return and use Brantley in center field. If this is going to happen anyway, there is no reason Brantley shouldn't be playing center right now. If this option is unsuitable, the Indians could always put Rick Manning back out there as he's always ready to play.

After Carrera's error, two more Indians errors combined to allow another run. Asdrubal Cabrera misplayed a ball at short, then Carlos Santana threw the ball into center field when trying to catch Alex Rios stealing allowing the runner, who shouldn't have been on in the first place to get to third. Add in a single by Mark Teahan and you have one of the least earned runs you will ever see. Asdrubal needs to tighten his defense up if he wants serious attention as a possible Gold Glover. This was his second error in the last 4 games.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 2 - Chicago White Sox 4

Two former Indians are being inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame today, although neither player is being inducted as an Indian. Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar each left their mark on the Tribe and are both very deserving of this honor. They will be the 28^th annd 29^th players to have played for the Indians and make it into the Hall of Fame.

Bert Blyleven

Before he was “Circle Me Bert” Blyleven pitched five seasons for the Cleveland Indians as well as doing time with the Twins (whose hat he will be wearing on his plaque), the Rangers, the Pirates and the Angels. During his time on the Tribe (1981-1985) Bert was the Indians ace, winning 48 games, more than any other Indians pitcher through those years. Blyleven's 760 innings pitched place him at 52^nd in Indians history. This may not seem very high, but the Indians have a long history of fantastic pitchers, many of whom played on the team for a decade or longer. His 7.3 innings per game is in the top ten all time for the Indians and his 3.23 ERA and 2.32 BAA place him in the middle of some of the best Indians pitchers ever. His 1.19 WHIP is 16^th all time for an Indian and his winning percentage of .565 is very impressive. Bert was the best pitcher on the Indians in 1981, 1984 and 1985 earning him 3^rd place in the Cy Young voting in his last two years with the Tribe. His best season with the Tribe came in 1984 when he won 19 game in 32 starts, with an ERA of 2.87 and 170 strikeouts in 245 innings pitched. Now, Bert Blyleven is best known as the Minnesota Twins silly color commentator who uses a telestrator to circle Twins fans holding signs with his name on them during Twins broadcasts.

Roberto Alomar

Indians fans should have a more recent recollection of Alomar since he played for the Tribe just a decade ago. While he only played three years in an Indians uniform, they were just about the best three years for any player in Indians history. Robby joined the Indians as a free agent in 1999 and immediately got to work. During his three year tenure on the Tribe, Roberto won three gold gloves, was an All-Star three times and won two silver sluggers at second base. His defense was probably his most impressive talent and it was shown off in all its glory with Omar Vizquel playing short stop and Travis Fryman at third base. In 2000 all three won gold gloves and Omar won one every year that Robby did. Robby's brother Sandy (current Indians first base coach) played for the Indians from 1990 to 2000, making them another of the many family members to play for the Tribe including the Bell's, the Bagby's, the Sewells and currently the Duncan's.

In his three years with the Tribe Alomar never had less than 30 steals, 19 home runs, 89 RBI, 34 doubles, 182 hits ans 111 runs scored. While he didn't play long enough to acrue the counting stats to be included among the greats as far as entire careers go, his rate numbers are among the best. Robby is among the top ten all time Indians in on-base percentage (.405), batting average (.323) and OPS (.920). His 106 steals compared to only 16 times caught give him the best stolen base percentage (86.9%) of all time for the Indians of players with more than 50 attempts. Another bonus to the Tribe given to them by Roberto Alomar was the introduction of Matt Lawton and Billy Traber to Indians lore as both players were gained from the Mets in the trade that also brought Jerrod Riggan, Alex Escobar, and Earl Snyder to the team. This trade basically marked the end of the All-Star portion of Alomar's career.

Included at the bottom are the ability ratings for Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven. These are a representation of a players average season compared to every other player in Indians history. The ratings are based on a scale of 0-99. Alomar has the highest average score of all time with a 73 average and is tied with Tris Speaker and Shoeless Joe Jackson. Bert Blyleven is the 11^th best starting pitcher by with a single season average of 70. One reason both of these players are among the best Indians of all time is because they both came to the Tribe in their prime and did not go through the first couple rough seasons with the Indians. Congratulations to both Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven as both have done far more than is necessary to be enshrined in baseball's Hall of Fame.