Fausto Carmona

Game Preview: Detroit (79-62) vs. Cleveland (70-68)

September 6, 2011 | Mike Brandyberry

By Matt Van Wormer

Things did not go as planned for the Tribe on Labor Day as one bad pitch gave the Tigers all they needed to take game one of the pivotal series at Progressive Field, 4-2. Victor Martinez continued to haunt his former teammates and Doug Fister shut down the Indians hitters to push the Indians closer to elimination. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting darker by the day and unless a serious push is made, the Tribe will be on the outside looking in when September ends.

Gonzalez Stifles Tribe Again; Athletics 7, Indians 0

September 1, 2011 | Mike Brandyberry

By Craig Gifford

A mystery, an enigma, a puzzle. Whatever you want to call him, the Cleveland Indians have not been able to figure out Oakland A’s starter Gio Gonzalez. It was no different Thursday afternoon as Gonzalez kept the Tribe off the scoreboard for seven innings as Oakland went on to beat Cleveland 7-0 at Progressive Field.

Cleveland, which dropped to 68-66, missed on opportunity to pull a game closer to first-place Detroit. The Tigers lost 11-8 to Kansas City, Thursday. The Indians remained 5.5 game back in the Central Division.

Game Preview: Oakland (60-76) vs. Cleveland (68-65)

September 1, 2011 | Mike Brandyberry

By Matt Van Wormer

Last night, the Indians battled and battled and battled but couldn’t pull out the victory until the bottom of the 16^th inning when Jack Hannahan hit an RBI single that scored Cord Phelps who was pinch running for Jim Thome. The win moved the Indians a half game ahead of the Chicago White Sox who took a tough loss to the Minnesota Twins. A four game sweep is now in the cards for the Indians.

Making the 12:05 start for the Tribe will be Fausto Carmona (6-12, 4.85, 1.33 WHIP) who will be looking to start off the month of September on a strong note. Earlier this year against Oakland, Carmona threw eight dominate innings, giving up just one earned run on five hits. Hideki Matsui, 9 for 14 against Carmona with two doubles and a home run, is someone that Carmona will have to shut down if he is going to have success against the Oakland lineup.

Cabrera Ca-Bombs Late Homer; Indians 8, Royals 7

August 28, 2011 | Mike Brandyberry

By Mike Brandyberry

Asdrubal Cabrera hit a three run home run in the bottom of the eighth to help lead the Indians past the Kansas City Royals 8-7. Cabrera had help from new lineup addition, Jim Thome, who also hit his first home run in his Cleveland homecoming.

Fausto Carmona demonstated both sides of his split personality on the mound Saturday evening, motoring through the first three innings with ease. However, in the fourth inning, he gave up three runs, followed by another in the fourth and setting the stage in the seventh before giving way to Tony Sipp. Carmona allowed six runs, five earned on eight hits in six and one-third innings.

Game Preview: Kansas City (54-78) vs. Cleveland (64-64)

August 27, 2011 | Mike Brandyberry

By Matt Van Wormer

While the “Thomecoming” didn’t go exactly as planned for Jim Thome last night (0-4, 2 K), the emotion in the building was palpable as the Indians were able to squeak out the 2-1 victory over the Central Division cellar dwellers in front of a packed house that welcomed back their prodigal son with open arms and voices. The Tribe will look to keep things rolling in a positive direction and put another tally in the win column at Progressive Field tonight. It will be a rematch of sorts as the two pitchers that went head-to-head on July 31st in Cleveland go at each other again.

Non-Save Situation For The Season; Mariners 3, Indians 2

August 23, 2011 | Mike Brandyberry

By Mike Brandyberry

In a contest that featured Eric Wedge and Manny Acta as managers, Acta still found a way to finish second in the contest.

Acta’s decision to go to Chris Perez in a non-save situation in the ninth inning, despite his repeated struggles in that role, certainly cost the Indians this evening’s game and possibly their playoff hopes. The Seattle Mariners were able to take the first game of a pivotal series and homestand, 3-2 over the Indians.

Series Preview: Seattle (53-72) vs. Cleveland (62-61)

August 22, 2011 | Mike Brandyberry

By Matt Van Wormer

At certain times, a team needs to take a look at itself in the mirror and ask themselves if they are who they intend to be. This is one of those gut check times for the Cleveland Indians. After failing to even maintain pace with the Tigers in Detroit this weekend, the Indians sit four and a half games back of the Central Division leaders and just one game over .500. The White Sox are hot on the Indians tails as well and with Seattle, Kansas City and Oakland coming to town, Cleveland has to take advantage of these sub .500 teams. These “should-win” games will tell us all we need to know about the Indians’ post-season chances.

Fausto Finally Finds His Groove; Indians 4, White Sox 1

August 18, 2011 | Mike Brandyberry

By Ryan Hohman

Fausto Carmona had perhaps his strongest outing of the season on Wednesday night, scattering four hits over 8 and 1/3 innings, to lead the Cleveland Indians over the Chicago White Sox 4-1 in game two of a crucial division series.

Jason Donald got things going in the second inning with a ground rule double. Jack Hannahan followed with a single to score Donald from second, putting the Tribe up 1-0.

In the bottom half of the second, Alexi Ramirez took Carmona deep over the left field wall for his 13th home run of the season, knotting the game up at one apiece.

From that point forward, Fausto was lights out, retiring 22 of the next 27 batters he faced.

Series Preview: Indians (60-57) vs. White Sox (60-60)

August 16, 2011 | Mike Brandyberry

By Matt Van Wormer

The Indians won a rain shortened series against the Minnesota Twins this past weekend and looked poised to take advantage of some great pitching by David Huff before the skies opened up and dumped over three inches of rain on Progressive Field. The Indians showed some signs of life, both on Friday and Saturday, banging out 12 and 10 hits respectively but scoring just three runs in each contest. The bullpen pitched lights out and the starters did their thing too. Now, it’s on to another Central Division foe on the South Side of Chicago. The White Sox have clawed their way back to .500 and think they have just as much right to the Central Division Crown. They will not go down without a fight.

So Close; Tigers 4, Indians 3

August 12, 2011 | Mike Brandyberry

By Mike Brandyberry

Baseball can be decided by just a couple plays, or by a matter of inches. All the inches went the way of the Tigers Thursday evening as they were able to hold off the Indians and win the series finale, 4-3. The victory Detroit widens their Central Division lead to three games.

Austin Jackson lead off the game with a ground ball to third baseman, Lonnie Chisenhall, who threw high and wide to first base. Carlos Santana could have caught the ball had he come off the bag, but instead he missed the ball, by a couple inches, and it flew out of play allowing Jackson to go to second base. Ryan Raburn advanced Jackson to third on a chopper in front of the plate and Magglio Ordonez scored him on a sacrifice fly to right field.

Series Preview: Detroit (61-53) vs. Cleveland (56-56)

August 9, 2011 | Mike Brandyberry

By Matt Van Wormer

The Indians return home with a .500 record after a tough road trip that saw the Indians lose four of the seven games they played. The worst part was the fact that the Tribe was in every game and could have had a 7-0 trip. Instead, they get back to Progressive Field with the Central Division leading Detroit Tigers in town holding a four game lead. So far on the year, the Indians are 4-2 against the Tigers and will need to perform well against them, and the rest of the Central Division, if they want to stay in the thick of the playoff race.

Series Preview: Cleveland (55-54) vs. Texas(62-50)

August 5, 2011 | Mike Brandyberry

By Matt Van Wormer

After salvaging a split against the Boston Red Sox last night, the Indians left the Eastern Division leader and traveled to Arlington to take on the Western Division leading Texas Rangers. Cleveland managed to not dip below the .500 mark for the first time since April 5th when the started their game against Boston with a 1-2 record. They also clinched a victory in the season series with Boston, taking it 6-4. This series with Texas looms large as the Indians prepare to face the Tigers at the end of this road trip. The Rangers swept the Indians in their four game series at the beginning of June.