Indians take series.
just worked 12 hours and am too tired to write a summary of last nights game so read Anthony Castrovince.
Tribe pounces on Angels bullpen
Indians pour on runs after line drive injures Angels starter
By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com
CLEVELAND -- Sometimes a stale season needs a fresh perspective.
So it is with the words of Ryan Garko, who hasn't been around for the vast majority of the disappointment that has pervaded the Indians' season.
What he has been around for this week is a series win against the Angels, capped off by Thursday's 14-2 rout at Jacobs Field, in which his four RBIs and first career home run loomed large.
"I'm reminded of this team last September [when Garko was a call-up]," he said. "We were winning every series and every game. That's what I still picture."
The picture has been fuzzy for the Indians all year. It's been a season in which surprisingly little has gone right.
But for one night, at least, very little went wrong.
Every member of the starting lineup had at least one hit against an Angels pitching staff shaken by the early exit of starter Ervin Santana, who suffered a knee contusion when Jason Michaels, the second batter he faced, sent a comebacker off his leg.
Four Tribe batters -- Garko, Shin-Soo Choo, Travis Hafner and Michaels -- had multiple RBIs.
Cliff Lee turned in his most convincing start in weeks, allowing just two runs on nine hits with no walks and five strikeouts over seven innings and earning his 10th win of the season in the process.
Put that all together and -- voila! -- the Indians won back-to-back games for the first time since July 3-4 against the Yankees and won a series for the first time since taking two of three from the Reds way back on June 30-July 2.
"All the way around," manager Eric Wedge said, "guys did a good job today."
The offensive surge was anchored by the Santana injury, which, combined with an ankle sprain suffered by second baseman Joe Inglett, put a damper on an eventful evening. When Michaels slapped the ball up the middle, Santana had no chance of getting out of harm's way.
Though Santana lay on the ground for several minutes, he was eventually able to walk off the field, and X-rays were negative.
"It was good to see him walk off on his way out," Wedge said, "because he's an outstanding young pitcher." With Santana removed, the Angels had to dip into their unprepared bullpen.
Chaos reigned.
Choo hit a ground-rule double to knock Michaels in, and the Indians were off and running. They added another run when Inglett, who is now listed as day-to-day after twisting his ankle in the fifth, cranked out an RBI single, and another in the second, when Hafner drove in a run on a groundout.
The 3-0 lead shrunk when Lee gave up a two-run shot to Juan Rivera in the fourth. Suddenly it was a one-run ballgame. Not for long, though.
When reliever J.C. Romero came on the scene in the bottom of the fourth, the Indians jumped all over him with five straight hits, including Michaels' two-run double, Hafner's one-run double and Choo's RBI single.
Later that inning, with the bases loaded and two outs, Garko, making a solid impression while filling in for an injured Casey Blake, brought everyone home and opened the game up with a three-run double to the opposite field.
"I'm not worried about home runs," Garko said. "I'm more worried about RBIs, especially two-out RBIs. Those are the big ones."
Garko might not worry about homers, but he still managed to hit one with a solo shot off Angels reliever Hector Carrasco in the sixth. And because the ball landed in the Indians' bullpen, he didn't have to pay off a fan to get the souvenir.
An inning later, Hafner added his career-high 34th homer of the season. And then there were the two runs the Tribe put up in the fifth.
The offensive outburst was an embarrassment of riches for Lee. Earlier this week, he received the security of a three-year contract. Now, he had the security of exorbitant run support. But once Rivera's homer cleared the fence, he pitched as if embroiled in a pitchers' duel.
"I'd definitely rather pitch with a lead than without one," Lee said. "It takes a lot of pressure off. I tried to be aggressive, not walk anyone and work ahead."
The Indians were ahead from beginning to end in this one, and it had Garko reminiscing about better days.
"We're not that far away from that team [last] September," he said. "There's still a lot of games left. If we have a solid approach, a lot of positive things can happen."
Anthony Castrovince is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Tribe pounces on Angels bullpen
Indians pour on runs after line drive injures Angels starter
By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com
CLEVELAND -- Sometimes a stale season needs a fresh perspective.
So it is with the words of Ryan Garko, who hasn't been around for the vast majority of the disappointment that has pervaded the Indians' season.
What he has been around for this week is a series win against the Angels, capped off by Thursday's 14-2 rout at Jacobs Field, in which his four RBIs and first career home run loomed large.
"I'm reminded of this team last September [when Garko was a call-up]," he said. "We were winning every series and every game. That's what I still picture."
The picture has been fuzzy for the Indians all year. It's been a season in which surprisingly little has gone right.
But for one night, at least, very little went wrong.
Every member of the starting lineup had at least one hit against an Angels pitching staff shaken by the early exit of starter Ervin Santana, who suffered a knee contusion when Jason Michaels, the second batter he faced, sent a comebacker off his leg.
Four Tribe batters -- Garko, Shin-Soo Choo, Travis Hafner and Michaels -- had multiple RBIs.
Cliff Lee turned in his most convincing start in weeks, allowing just two runs on nine hits with no walks and five strikeouts over seven innings and earning his 10th win of the season in the process.
Put that all together and -- voila! -- the Indians won back-to-back games for the first time since July 3-4 against the Yankees and won a series for the first time since taking two of three from the Reds way back on June 30-July 2.
"All the way around," manager Eric Wedge said, "guys did a good job today."
The offensive surge was anchored by the Santana injury, which, combined with an ankle sprain suffered by second baseman Joe Inglett, put a damper on an eventful evening. When Michaels slapped the ball up the middle, Santana had no chance of getting out of harm's way.
Though Santana lay on the ground for several minutes, he was eventually able to walk off the field, and X-rays were negative.
"It was good to see him walk off on his way out," Wedge said, "because he's an outstanding young pitcher." With Santana removed, the Angels had to dip into their unprepared bullpen.
Chaos reigned.
Choo hit a ground-rule double to knock Michaels in, and the Indians were off and running. They added another run when Inglett, who is now listed as day-to-day after twisting his ankle in the fifth, cranked out an RBI single, and another in the second, when Hafner drove in a run on a groundout.
The 3-0 lead shrunk when Lee gave up a two-run shot to Juan Rivera in the fourth. Suddenly it was a one-run ballgame. Not for long, though.
When reliever J.C. Romero came on the scene in the bottom of the fourth, the Indians jumped all over him with five straight hits, including Michaels' two-run double, Hafner's one-run double and Choo's RBI single.
Later that inning, with the bases loaded and two outs, Garko, making a solid impression while filling in for an injured Casey Blake, brought everyone home and opened the game up with a three-run double to the opposite field.
"I'm not worried about home runs," Garko said. "I'm more worried about RBIs, especially two-out RBIs. Those are the big ones."
Garko might not worry about homers, but he still managed to hit one with a solo shot off Angels reliever Hector Carrasco in the sixth. And because the ball landed in the Indians' bullpen, he didn't have to pay off a fan to get the souvenir.
An inning later, Hafner added his career-high 34th homer of the season. And then there were the two runs the Tribe put up in the fifth.
The offensive outburst was an embarrassment of riches for Lee. Earlier this week, he received the security of a three-year contract. Now, he had the security of exorbitant run support. But once Rivera's homer cleared the fence, he pitched as if embroiled in a pitchers' duel.
"I'd definitely rather pitch with a lead than without one," Lee said. "It takes a lot of pressure off. I tried to be aggressive, not walk anyone and work ahead."
The Indians were ahead from beginning to end in this one, and it had Garko reminiscing about better days.
"We're not that far away from that team [last] September," he said. "There's still a lot of games left. If we have a solid approach, a lot of positive things can happen."
Anthony Castrovince is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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