After trading punches Tuesday and Wednesday with the division rival Detroit Tigers, the Tigers essentially mopped the floor with the Tribe beating them up 12-3 to take the series 2 games to 1 and move within one game of the AL Central lead with 3 games to go before the All-Star Break.
C. C. Sabathia, in his last start before the All-Star Game, gave up 7 runs and 10 hits in only 4 innings for the Indians as the game was over by the third inning when Carlos Guillen hit a 3 run homer run off Sabathia and was out of reach when Gary Sheffield hit a 3 run shot in the fourth. Sabathia who did not have his "A" stuff today looked over matched throughout the entire contest.
The question is, was the game an aberration or will the Tigers use it as momentum going into the second half of the season? The first two games were highly competitive with the Indians catching a couple breaks and coming through in the clutch to win in 11 innings Tuesday The Tigers turned the tables in winning Wednesday night's affair. The Tribe still leads the season series 6-4 with 9 games to play.
If anything the series added a little fire to the rivalry as the Tigers seemed to cry foul on every little nuance. Whether getting Rafael Betancourt called for automatic balls for pitching too slowly or Ivan Rodriguez whining about where Travis Hafner stands in the batter's box every time up, the Motor City Kitties seem to be even less likable than their neighbors the Detroit Pistons. Just another reason to hate Michigan and that's fine by me.
The Indians head North of the border to take on the Blue Jays in Toronto for a 3 game set in Canada to finish off the first half. A sweep against the sub-.500 Jays would be nice. The Indians swept Toronto in a 3 game series earlier in the year at Jacobs Field.
No comments:
Post a Comment