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Cleveland Indians Vs. Boston Red Sox: The Tribe Takes Antoher Win

Shin-Soo Choo got his swing back in the first inning—he rocked a two run homer scoring Michael Brantley. Travis Hafner did a great job of getting pitches out of Daisuke Matsuzaka.  After nines pitches, Prunk took the walk. Orlanda Cabrera was hit by a pitch, but the Indians couldn’t make anymore out of the first inning leaving two runners on.

During the very next at bat, Boston answered back. David Ortiz singled to center followed by a single to left from J.D Drew. Jason Varitek walked to load the bases. Marco Scutaro scored Ortiz off an infield fly. Jacoby Ellsbury grounded out to first scoring Drew.

The Indians didn’t let the Red Sox keep the tie for long. In the bottom of the second, Matt LaPorta singled to center. Brantley took the walk and Asdrubal Cabrera singled into center to score LaPorta.

Neither team would score again until the sixth. Dennys Reyes relied Matsuzaka which was shortly proved to be a bad decision. Buck and LaPorta were both hit by a pitch, then Jack Hannahan was walked to load the bases. Dan Wheeler then came in to relied Reyes. Brantley made it to first on a fielder’s choice to third with LaPorta out at third. Travis Buck scored. With two runners on, A. Cabrera homered to right scoring Hannahan and Brantley.

In the top of the seventh, Carol Crawford singled to shortstop, followed by a home run by Adrian Gonzalez. The game was 4-7 going into the eighth. With nobody on, LaPorta homered to left to tally another run. The Tribe won it 8-4.

On the mound for the Tribe, Mitch Talbot started off the game allowing two earned runs and striking outs seven. Talbot pitched 4.1 innings before Chad Durbin came in to strike out one. After just one batter, Rafael Perez relived Durbin, pitching 1.1 innings striking out two. Frank Hermann then made an appearance striking out one but allowed two runs. Collectively, the Indians stuck out 11 batters.

Matsuzaka started off the game for the Red Sox striking out two and allowing three runs in the first five innings. Reyes came in the fifth also allowing three runs. Reyes was pulled that same and relieved by Wheeler who allowed one run. Tim Wakefield closed out the game, striking out two and allowing one run.

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Boston Red Sox vs. Cleveland Indians: Indians Take First Game of the Series

The Cleveland Indians move up to a .500 record, keeping the Boston Red Sox winless.  It is clear that the better team won in this game, considering the Tribe’s current team batting average of .290 versus the Red Sox’s .186.

Not everyone on the Indians’ lineup had a successful night. Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo still struggled in the batters box, as he did not have one hit in the game.  Choo’s defense has not been dented in slightest, despite his slump. Choo made a throw to home plate to catch Red Sox right fielder J.D. Drew.

The Indians’ offense took advantage of the Josh Beckett/Jarrod Saltalamacchia combo. Asdrubal Cabrera, Matt LaPorta, and Michael Brantley each tallied a stolen bag. Cabrera and Brantley, along with Travis Hafner, also each hit a double facing Beckett.

Orlando Cabrera, Jack Hannahan, and Carlos Santana collected one RBI apiece, responsible for scoring the three runs: Hafner and both Cabreras.

Josh Tomlin absolutely shined on the mound this evening, adding his first win of the season. Tomlin pitched the first seven innings allowing only three hits and one earned run with three strike outs. Tomlin’s ERA is now 1.29 on the season.

Tony Sipp came in the eighth and Chris Perez ended the game in the top of the ninth both holding the Red Sox to their only run.

Before this the game, according to ESPN’s 2011 Power Rankings, the Red Sox were ranked seventh with a 0-3 record, whereas the Indians were ranked 30th with a 1-2 record. After this game it has become clear how overrated Boston is, now 0-4, and that Cleveland has a shot to be a real threat this year, now 2-2.

The teams will have a rematch tomorrow evening at 7:05 PM ET at Progressive Field.

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Cleveland Indians Under the Microscope in the 2011 Season

The Cleveland Indians have gotten off to shaky start. After three games, the team has the second best team batting average, .318 just behind the Chicago White Sox batting .324.  Collectively, Cleveland has scored 20 runs, 20 RBI, 35 hits, four doubles and four home runs. So what’s the problem?

Currently, Michael Brantley starts off the lineup, followed by Asdrubal Cabrera, Shin-Soo Choo, Carlos Santana, Travis Hafner, Orlando Cabrera, Austin Kearns, Matt LaPorta and Jack Hannahan.

Center fielder Brantley has a batting average of .335 over the last two seasons with the Indians. Still a fairly young player, entering this season at the age of 24, Brantley can only improve. In the season thus far, he has already tallied four hits and three RBI in just 12 at-bats. These numbers are well above his averages, and if he can keep these numbers going he will without a doubt become a huge impact player for this young team.

Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera has three hits, one double, two runs and one RBI in this young season. Since the 2008 season, Cabrera has averaged a .281 batting average with an average 119 hits, 26 doubles, five home runs, 56 runs and 48 RBI per season. Cabrera has also been a key player in the field. Over the last three season, he has averaged a .982 fielding percentage. At the ripe age of 25, Cabrera only has room grow and hone his skills in future games.

Right fielder Choo has gotten off to an unexpected slow start to this season.  Choo is just 1-for-12 with one run.  He stuck out six times, most in the team.  This is unusual behavior for Choo considering over the last three years with the Tribe, he has averaged a .303 batting average, 146 hits, 79 runs, 81 RBI, 32 doubles, four triples and 19 homers per season with an outstanding .905 OPS average and a 5.43 yearly average WAR. If Choo can get out of this early season slump, the Indians are going to see a lot more action offensively.

In just 46 games last season, Carlos Santana tallied 39 hits, 13 doubles, six home runs, 23 runs and 22 RBI.  In this season, Santana already has six hits, one home run, two runs and three RBI with a 1.192 OPS. 

Designated hitter Hafner was among the top-rated hitters in 2004-2006.  More recently, Pronk has hasn’t been producing the home runs or hits like he used to. He has gone from averaging 35 homers a year to 29 in the last two seasons combined. It would seem that Pronk has reached and passed his peak, but already this season he has hit one home run in just 13 attempts.  This is a small study, but may be the beginning of a comeback season for the Tribe’s DH.

Second baseman Orlando Cabrera has been with six different clubs in the last four seasons, and has hopefully found a home with Cleveland. In his 15 seasons in the major leagues, Cabrera’s batting average is collectively .274.  He averages eight homers per year and has already hit one this season in just 12 at-bats.  Cabrera also has four RBI and five runs. If Cabrera can continue to step up his game, he will definitely be a big part of the team’s success this season.

Cleveland re-signed left fielder Kearns to cover for Grady Sizemore while he finishes his rehab. No one is expecting much out of Kearns. He’ll just serve as a filler until Sizemore can get back in the game.

First baseman LaPorta had a very strong season defensively in 2010, just his second year in the major leagues. However, he was a bit lacking in the batter’s box. LaPorta needs to focus on putting the ball in play and cutting down on his strikeouts to be an impact on this team. If he can improve those areas, he’ll prove that he belongs in the big leagues.

Third basemanHannahan isn’t expected to remain a starter, but if he can get his bat going this season he will have a good chance at keeping his position. Hannahan has already posted four hits, four runs, three RBI and one home run. With this start, the season does look promising for Hannahan.

Like in most seasons with the Indians, the bullpen is something to fret about. The two most promising pitchers on the mound are Justin Masterson and Frank Herrmann. Masterson may not have any strikeouts in the seven innings he has pitched this season, but he did manage to hold the White Sox to just one run where in the two previous games, the Chicago offensive made an embarrassment out of the Cleveland bull pen.

Hopefully, Masterson can continue the success he has displayed throughout the rest of the season. Herrmann has only pitched in two innings, on Opening Day. In those two innings, he stuck out five batters, but also allowed two hits and one run during that short time.

If these players can make the adjustments needed to step up their game, the Indians will have a much better season than in the past few years.

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