Game #33: Cliff Lee leads the Indians to a 3-0 shutout of the New York Yankees
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLEVELAND | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | ||||||
| NY Yankees | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
Cliff Lee dominated the New York Yankees, pitching seven innings of shut-out ball, as the Cleveland Indians defeated the New York Yankees, 3-0.
Cliff Lee continued an outstanding season against the Yankees Wednesday night, striking out seven, and not walking a batter. In silencing the Yankee bats, Lee lowered his league-low ERA to 0.81. The last Indians’ pitcher to start the season at at least 5-0 was Greg Swindell, clear back in 1988. The way Lee’s pitching, he could go a bit longer.
Lee, already with a 3-0 lead, didn’t really face any trouble until the fifth inning when he gave up back-to-back, one-out singles to Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano. Lee would get out of the inning by striking out Morgan Ensberg, and forcing catcher Jose Molina to fly out to deep right.
He would again face some trouble in the sixth inning, when he gave up a two-out, infield single to Bobby Abreu, that had Abreu beating Lee to the bag. Lee was visibly agitated, and then gave up a double to Shelley Duncan that put runners on second and third. This would have been a major trouble situation for Lee in 2007, as he really struggled to get his head back on when his back was against the wall. The 2008 Cliff Lee is a different story. He went to work on hot-hitting Yankees right-fielder, Hideki Matsui, striking him out on a 1-2 count to end the inning. Lee trusted his heat, and threw it by Matsui, who was clearly over-matched.
Lee ended his night with a strikeout to end the seventh-inning, his fourth inning-ending K of the night. It’s another mark that Cliff Lee is not only all-the-way back to the form that gave him his three-year deal, but beyond it. Right now, he just may be the best pitcher in the Major Leagues. Just ask the Yankees.
Cleveland’s offense seemed a bit more balanced tonight. No, it’s nothing to really get excited about, but there did seem to be a different mentality while going up against Chien-Ming Wang. Grady Sizemore seemed to set the tone, walking on eight pitches. He was definitely looking to force the Yankees’ ace sinkerballer to throw strikes. Ben Francisco, batting second, singled in the next at bat. David Dellucci, last night’s hero, then hit a soft looper that dropped into right field. Unfortunately for Francisco, he had to hold up, which got him forced out at second. Still, the Tribe had runners at the corners, with one-out. Victor Martinez, back in the line-up as the DH, hit a sacrifice fly that scored Sizemore. I can’t tell a lie, I thought the Indians’ chances with Lee on the mound were pretty good with a one-run lead.
Cleveland continued to nip at Chien-Ming Wang in the fourth. Jhonny Peralta singled with one-out, and advanced to second on a ground ball. Casey Blake, playing first base tonight, would single home Peralta, to give Lee a 2-0 lead.
In the next inning, Andy Marte, starting his second game in a row, to the joy of many fans in Cleveland, and singled to lead-off the inning. Sizemore again drew a walk. After a Francisco K, the suddenly hot Dellucci singled home Sizemore to give the Indians a pretty-near insurmountable 3-0 lead for their current ace.
Cleveland was most definitely more patient at the plate, walking five times tonight, and only walking four. Perhaps there is a little bit of offensive learning going on for the Indians. Oh hell, they beat the Yankees. I don’t care if they score a run on no-hits, and 12 errors against the Yankees, the offense is going to look good.
I hope we are seeing a sign that Andy Marte is going to be in the lineup more regularly. He didn’t look bad tonight, which is actually a pretty good statement considering Marte found himself in the back corner of Eric Wedge’s doghouse, wearing the dunce cap. I don’t know if he’s in the lineup out of desperation for offense, or because Wedge’s hand has been forced, but whatever the reason, at least he’s getting a shot.
Speaking of Marte, he was taken out in the ninth, with the bases loaded and one-out for Tribe DH, Travis Hafner. I know, most of us were hoping that Hafner would hit the ball somewhere into the stratosphere. Well, let’s just say it came somewhat short. He hit the ball about a foot in front of home plate. Molina simply picked up the ball with his foot already on the plate, and fired the ball to third to end the inning. That oughta do wonders for Hafner’s slump, right? Wedge keeps rambling on about it’s not if Hafner comes back from the slump, it’s when. Well Eric, I see a few cracks in your theory. If you didn’t see it before, perhaps you did with Hafner’s ‘blast.’
Dos Rafael anyone? Rafael Perez had his second solid outing in a row, pitching a one-hit eighth, after going two innings last night. Rafael Betancourt followed him in the ninth with a perfect inning. Okay, the half-inning took about 15 minutes, and Betancourt threw 22 pitches. Still, nobody got on for the second straight night. It’s good to have the Rafaels rolling a bit. We’ll need them solid to have a chance.
I know that you all heard the idiotic record that it’s the first time two pitchers with a record of 5-0 or better have faced off against each other with teams that are at .500 or lower. Well, according to Elias Sports Bureau, it’s also the first time that two pitchers with a 5-0 record or better have faced off against each other since 1988, when Greg Swindell faced off against Dave Stewart. Stewart beat Swindell. Go figure.
Paul Byrd will go up against Mike Mussina tomorrow. It’s might as well be a rematch of game four of last season’s ALDS, when Chien-Ming Wang was knocked out of the game in the second down 4-0, and was replaced by Mike Mussina. Byrd ended up with the win, but Mussina pitched well in his rare relief appearance. The Indians look to sweep the series in the game, and are assured of winning the season series with a 4-2 record. Tomorrow’s game is the last time the two teams will meet in the regular season.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 at 8:16 pm and is filed under Rafael Betancourt, Cliff Lee, Jose Molina, Travis Hafner, Dave Stewart, Paul Byrd, Shelley Duncan, Eric Wedge, Tribe Victory, Greg Swindell, Ben Francisco, Rafael Perez, Casey Blake, James Pete, Grady Sizemore, Melky Cabrera, Bobby Abreu, Chien-Ming Wang, Hideki Matsui, Robinson Cano, Mike Mussina, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Jhonny Peralta, David Dellucci, Morgan Ensberg, Andy Marte, Tribe Report.
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14 Responses to “Game #33: Cliff Lee leads the Indians to a 3-0 shutout of the New York Yankees”
May 7th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
Im very interested to see the lineup tomorrow for the day game to close out the series. I can’t remember last when the lineup was this fluid. Victor’s neck didn’t seem to bother him too much tonight but i imagine Shoppach will catch Byrd tomorrow. I was excited to see Hafner get the pinch hit spot in the 9th but at the same time I think a hit by Marte would give him a nice confidence boost because wedge trusted him to in that spot. At the same time Hafner needs to get that swagger back as well back as well, but he just doesn’t seem to have his timing down. His hands seem too active compared to what i remember and his foot tap is almost anxious.
Anyone else get a little excited after Abreu’s bouncer to first that casey lobbed too high, which didn’t allow clifford to get his foot down in time? I had a feeling Clifford would be rattled by that but the Matsui at bat was fantastic.
Sorry for the disconnected thoughts
May 7th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Pretty sure Wang started game 4 for the Yankees…
May 7th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Trip–
I was excited as well, then worried that he landed funny. That would have been his luck.
He was dominant though, and really trusting his stuff. I don’t know how many strikes he had tonight, but I bet it was a bunch.
I also like how he started a couple of batters off with a curve, and it was a crazy curve to boot, rarely in the zone, and keeping the hitters off balance.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
I think you’re right Jimmy. Wasn’t that the game that the Indians knocked Wang out early…and they brought Mussina in early…2nd or 3rd…
May 8th, 2008 at 5:47 am
I understand the practical considerations that led to the decision to pinch-hit Hafner for Marte. A manager would really like to have at least one more run– more if you can get it– and the theoretical value of letting a player who is batting .100 hit in a pressure situation do not outweigh that.
Hafner hits lefthanded. He is a veteran. His batting average is higher than Marte’s. And his name carries a certain cachet– a “fear factor”, if you like.
But, boy, would I have liked to see that kid get the chance to break up the game. He gets a bases-clearing double and you’ve got to figure that does him a month of good.
Plus, I figured “Punk” wasn’t too likely to do much better. Marte, as even Eric Wedge admitted, has been going deep in counts and getting some good rips. On the spectrum of results– strikeout being the worst and home run being the best– line drives and long flies are about the best outs you can have.
And what happened is the worst possible result. Talk about a bad at-bat. It’s not just that he swung at the third pitch. Or that it was a ball that takes the count to 2-1 if you hold up.
It’s that he swung at a pitch that was a foot outside and only 18 inches off the ground. Where can you possibly hit that pitch?
Zydrunas Ilgauskas has arms long enough to get the fat part of the bat to that location and lift the ball over the infield. I think that was what “Punk” wanted to do– but even though he’s a big guy, he’s not big enough to do it to that pitch.
If he’s a student of baseball history, he could have swung down on it– like he was driving a railroad spike– he might have hit a “Baltimore Chop”. It could have bounced high in the air’– forcing Molina to try to barehand it. Maybe he makes the out at home, maybe he throws to first and gets one. Maybe he does both, but that’s really a highlight film.
And the odds that he fumbles the pickup (because there’s weird english on the ball) or makes a bad throw to first trying to get the runner after he tags home are very high.
But that wimpy little “excuse me” swing couldn’t have produced any positive results. It wouldn’t even have made sense as a two-strike “protect the plate” swing, because it would never have been called a strike.
I am really getting tired of watching stuff like that.
May 8th, 2008 at 7:04 am
Aren’t we all.
May 8th, 2008 at 9:13 am
Hafner looks worried lately. That’s what Wedge should be paying attention to.
Still, the same way a hit for Marte would’ve been a confidence builder, it would’ve been good for Hafner too. Yes, it’s come to this. Can Haf be sent to Buffalo to work on his swing?
Yeah, I’m kidding. Sort of.
Lee did a really good job tonight. He seems laid back. I can only hope that this attitude bleeds over to CC, who looks as tightly wound lately as Hafner. Something has got to give with those two if the Tribe is going to do anything this season. We can shelve the Blakes of the world and release the J-Mikes, but there will not be any vintage Hafners or Sabathias available on the trade market or in the farm system. It’s time to be concerned.
May 8th, 2008 at 9:26 am
I would send Hafner down. He’s of zero use to the Indians as he is. They need him to be a crusher, and the only place he will get back in the groove is where pitchers will throw pitches he can crush.
Yes, you run the risk of him becoming totally useless if AAA pitchers dominate him, but he’s never regaining his Pronkness fumbling tentatively around major league batters boxes.
May 8th, 2008 at 11:09 am
I could be wrong (probably not), but Hafner hasn’t got options to spare. He’s not going anywhere.
May 8th, 2008 at 11:15 am
oh . . .
May 8th, 2008 at 11:18 am
ESPN’s Buster Olney recently tossed out the idea of Colorado’s Garret Atkins being a fit for the Indians. Seeing as the Indians need a good-hitting 3B and the Rox need pitching it would seem a good fit.
Atkiins is 28 and is currently hitting the ball as he has the last few years, pretty well.
May 9th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
is the season still going on or are we just waiting for Browns preseason now?
May 9th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
The season’s just getting interesting.
May 9th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
which is why it’s odd that we’ve seen no new posts or comments in over a day…
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