By Matthew Van Wormer
Two road series, two road series wins. The Indians got shut down by King Felix but got to closer, Brandon League, for two runs in the top of the ninth, followed by a 1-2-3 save by Chris Perez. Now, the Tribe heads to Oakland to try and continue their road warrior ways.
Indians hitters will be facing off against right-hander Graham Godfrey (0-2, 4.09 ERA) who has not had much offensive support from his teammates. His two outings have not been horrible, pitching a total of 11 innings and giving up just five earned runs. Godfrey may be pitching for his job tonight.
Ubaldo Jimenez (1-0, 4.50 ERA) will get the starting nod for the Tribe in the series opener. Jimenez struggled through five grueling innings on Sunday against the Royals but picked up the win as the Tribe offense exploded for 13 runs. Jimenez will have to get his pitches under control so he can bring down the 17+ pitches per inning average he has going into tonight’s contest.
Indians hitters had just seven hits last night but many of them came at the right time with Jack Hannahan knocking in the game winning runs. Timely hitting has been very good for the Tribe so far in 2012 and it must continue. Also helpful is the return to form by the Bullpen Mafia. Those guys have thrown ten straight scoreless innings and don’t look to be slowing down anytime soon.
Buck up, Tribe fans! There are just two more late-night, west coast games until August when the Indians return to the left side of the map. So tune in at 10:07 p.m local time on STO and the Cleveland Indians Radio Network.
Cleveland Indians Starting Lineup
1. Michael Brantley, CF
2. Jason Kipnis, 2B
3. Shin-Soo Choo, RF
4. Carlos Santana, C
5. Travis Hafner, DH
6. Shelley Duncan, LF
7. Casey Kotchman, 1B
8. Jack Hannahan, 3B
9. Jason Donald, SS
Oakland Athletics Starting Lineup
1. Jemile Weeks, 2B
2. Cliff Pennington, SS
3. Josh Reddick, RF
4. Yoenis Cespedes, CF
5. Seth Smith, LF
6. Jonny Gomes, DH
7. Kila Ka’aihue, 1B
8. Anthony Recker, C
9. Eric Sogard, 3B
Photo: Getty Images
