Justin Masterson is masterful in Cleveland Indians 5-3 win over New York Yankees
Tribe pitcher allows 3 hits in 8 innings

By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports writer

CLEVELAND: The summation was simple. No rocket science was needed to figure out why the Indians beat the Yankees 5-3 Wednesday night at Progressive Field.

“The night belonged to [Justin] Masterson,’’ manager Manny Acta said. “He was terrific. He usually struggles against lefties when he has issues. But with that heavily left-handed lineup, they were 0-for-19 against him. Masterson was unhittable, pretty much.’’

Masterson held New York scoreless for eight innings, yielding only three hits and two walks, but he was not allowed to go for the shutout because he had thrown too many pitches (112), and he seemed to be just a little more vulnerable in his last two innings.

“He threw a lot of pitches,’’ Acta said. “We talked to him before. He knew he wasn’t going out for the ninth.’’

Vinnie Pestano did and gave up three consecutive hits, retiring nobody. But Pestano wasn’t as ineffective as it might seem.

The first two hits were mis-hit bloops just out of the reach of outfielders. But when Nick Swisher doubled home a run, Acta summoned closer Chris Perez, who retired the Yankees on two (RBI) ground balls and a strikeout to earn his 21st save.

Not only did Masterson (7-06, 2.66 ERA) persist in throwing zeroes upon the scoreboard, but he also resisted the urge to strangle his offensive (and that can be taken two ways) lodge brothers, who continually wasted opportunities.

Then again, Masterson is a good-natured soul to the extreme.

Win or lose, he almost always finds the bright side, even when events out of his control go against him.

That’s been easier to do this year than last, despite a string of 11 starts in which he failed to win a game and lost six. And never mind that he pitched well enough to win almost all of them.

Now he is on a winning streak of two after manhandling the Yankees. The only hits Masterson allowed were singles by Alex Rodriguez in the second, Russell Martin in the fifth and a weighty double by Derek Jeter in the eighth that gave him 2,997 career hits.

Jeter went 3-for-13 for Progressive Field, which means he can go for No. 3,000 at home against Tampa Bay in a four-game series that precedes the All-Star break.

Masterson was in trouble only once, when A-Rod singled to lead off the second, and Robinson Cano reached on an error by Asdrubal Cabrera at short.

Matt LaPorta saved a hit and probably a run with a diving stop of Swisher’s smash down the first-base line, but that still put runners at second and third with one out. Masterson then struck out Jorge Posada on a 96-mile-per-hour fastball and retired Martin on a bouncer to first.

“That’s what you call a shutdown inning,’’ Acta said. “After you score, you want to shut down the other team, and that’s what happened. You can’t let them get back in the game after you score. It’s like you wasted your runs.’’

After that, the powerful Yankee lineup might just as well have been a Sunday morning pickup team, as Masterson walked two and struck out six.

In addition to LaPorta’s saving play, Grady Sizemore made a leaping catch of Swisher’s drive to the center-field fence to start the fifth, and Asdrubal Cabrera and Orlando Cabrera made tough plays on ground balls to help Masterson finish off the eighth.

The Tribe attack was maddeningly inefficient, stranding 13, seven in scoring position. With runners on second or third, the Indians were 2-for-13. And they left the bases loaded twice.

“We left a lot of guys on base, but we also had some good at-bats,’’ Acta said. “I know we had a chance to put the game away, but five runs were enough.’’

In the end, they scored in spite of themselves. Masterson lived with a two-run lead generated in the first inning off Phil Hughes, who was making his first start since April because of a shoulder injury.

Travis Hafner’s single scored one run, the other scoring on an error by Martin, who dug a pitch out of the dirt and tried to nail Asdrubal Cabrera at third. Instead, he threw the ball into left field, allowing Cabrera to score.

Lonnie Chisenhall contributed a big RBI with his first major-league home run with two out and nobody on in the seventh.

The “big’’ two-run rally in the eighth was accomplished with a bases-loaded walk by Carlos Santana and Sizemore’s sacrifice fly.

But they all count.

2.66 ERA. Wow, I didn't realize he was doing that well. So is he the ace or Carrasco? Extremely happy with both and Tomlin, too. All we need is someone to fill the final 2 spots who can at least keep us in ball games; maybe an ERA of 4.50 rather than 8.00

With good pitching, there is always a chance to win.

It would be a very difficult task to choose the most improved Tribe player from last season to now.

Remember how much Masterson struggled vs lefties last season? The EE lefties went 0 for 19 last night.

This season is fun.

ROCKY- 0 for 19 against Yankee lefties! Did not realize that. The Boston trade will really look OK if Hagadone comes up and becomes a lefty Pestano.

Loufla- If Masterson continues near this level, he's enough return for Victor to tilt that deal in Clevelands' favor big time.

A No. 2 or maybe even No. 1 starter is a great return for any position player, and since we had replacement waiting for Victor we "didn't have anything to lose", sort of.

Haven't heard how hard Hagadone is throwing. A little rough in his debut weeks in AAA but he's been sharp the last four outings, 6 2/3 innings, 4 hits, 2 walks, no runs, 7 strikeouts.

The final piece of the Victor trade, Bryan Price, a Red Sox No. 1 or supplemental round pick, is looking better this year in the Akron bullpen but probably will not add more weight to our side of the balance.

I like the fact that maybe Boston got screwed in that deal.

That whole 'Nation' Thing irritates me.

I don't mind the "nation" thing. It's the "America's Team" crap (Braves, Cowboys) that bugs me most.

Tribe moves Fausto Carmona down in rotation: Cleveland Indians Insider

Published: Thursday, July 07, 2011, 9:35 PM Updated: Thursday, July 07, 2011, 10:39 PM
By Paul Hoynes, The Plain Dealer


CLEVELAND, Ohio — Last weekend in Cincinnati, Indians manager Manny Acta said there was a good chance that he'd juggle the Indians starting rotation over the All-Star break. Acta said it was important to move the starters who give the Indians the best chance to win to the front of the rotation.

Thursday night he gave an indication of what the reworked rotation might look like when he said that Fausto Carmona would be moved back to the fifth spot. Carmona was the Opening Day starter on April 1.

Part of the reason is because Carmona is on the disabled list after straining his right quadriceps muscle running to first base on Saturday against the Reds. The soonest he'd be able to rejoin the rotation would be July 18, the Tribe's fifth game coming out of the break.

The move may have been made even if Carmona was healthy. He's 1-7 in his last nine starts and 4-10 with a 5.78 ERA overall.

"We're pushing Fausto to the back end of the rotation so he can have as much time as possible [to get healthy]," said Acta. "I'll make news for you guys in a day or two with the rotation in the second half. I don't want to give you everything in one day."

The Tribe's top three starters are Josh Tomlin (10-4, 3.86), Justin Masterson (7-6, 2.66) and Carlos Carrasco (8-5, 3.95).

Carmona played catch Thursday and was scheduled to throw a bullpen session Wednesday when the Indians hold a workout to get ready to resume play nextThursday in Baltimore. He'll probably make a rehab start as well.

VT'er wrote:I don't mind the "nation" thing. It's the "America's Team" crap (Braves, Cowboys) that bugs me most.

I always felt that Red Sox Nation referred to all the New England states.

I thought the Nation was their version of Americas' team.

Ocker

CLEVELAND: All night — actually for the second night in a row — the Indians littered the bases with runners, then watched them wither and die.

Granted, they beat the New York Yankee 5-3 Wednesday, stranding 13, but could they win two in a row with such inefficiency? The answer was yes.

Travis Hafner stepped to the plate with one out, one run home and the bases loaded in the ninth and drove Luis Perez’s first pitch into the right-field seats for a grand slam that gave the Tribe a 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays at Progressive Field.

“I got kind of a scouting report from [Michael] Brantley on Perez,” said Hafner, talking about why he swung at the first pitch. “He said the guy had a good sinker, so I was looking for something up in the zone.”

In other words, as a left-handed batter, Hafner had no desire to try to hit a left-hander’s sinker.

“I tried to do it early,” Hafner said, laughing.

It was no joke to the Blue Jays, who held a 4-0 lead going into the ninth.

So Hafner’s 12th career slam wasn’t the only problem for the visitors, and especially Perez, who had help in making Hafner‘s day.

“It’s awesome,” Hafner said. “There’s nothing like it. It’s the most fun you can have in baseball.”

Frank Francisco started the inning for the Jays and gave up a single to Travis Buck, a double to Matt LaPorta and a walk to Jack Hannahan to load the bases.

Enter Perez, who struck out Brantley but gave up a single to Asdrubal Cabrera to drive in the first run and bring up Hafner.

“We had the right guy up there, but it started with the guys at the bottom of our lineup,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “After the first two guys got on — I didn’t think about a walk-off — but I thought we had a pretty good chance with our lineup rolling over.

“Everybody needs to have hope. Every day of your life, you have to think you’re going to do it.”

Zach McAllister pitched well enough — if not long enough — to win his major-league debut, but he never had a chance.

McAllister was called up from Triple-A Columbus to take the spot reserved for Fausto Carmona, who is on the disabled list with a strained quad. McAllister is a control pitcher who didn’t quite have his command, throwing 94 pitches in four innings.

“He controlled the damage,” Acta said. “He was OK. Obviously, he probably had a few butterflies and got a little antsy.

“He threw the ball well. His velocity was better [92-93 mph] than we saw in spring training. He struggled with his command and that hurt him, but that’s not his M.O. The guy is known for throwing strikes.”

His inability to do that consistently was a big disappointment to McAllister.

“One of the things I wasn’t happy about was not executing with my command,” McAllister said. “I felt pretty calm, but I had some jitters. I look forward to being up here again this year. It was still a great experience for me.”

He was charged with three runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks. He struck out four.

Blue Jays starter Carlos Villanueva retired the side only once, in his sixth and final inning, but he had little trouble avoiding an onslaught of runs, or even an onslaught of one run.

For the game, the Indians stranded eight; it would have been more but they bounced into double plays in the seventh and eighth innings. Going into the ninth, they were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

“We still lead the league in batting average with runners in scoring position,” Acta said. “We did struggle, but I can’t complain about it.”

Lonnie Chisenhall suffered a facial contusion when he was hit with a Villanueva pitch in the second inning that bounced off his helmet and struck his cheek and nose, which began bleeding.

“Right now it’s a contusion,” Acta said. “Tomorrow he’ll see as specialist.”

In the past 20 games, Indians hitters have been struck 11 times with pitches. The club ranks third in the American League in getting hit with 36, behind the Chicago White Sox (51) and the Yankees (41).

Until the ninth, the Tribe did not do much — aside from the good workmanship of the bullpen — to help itself, committing two errors and wasting scoring chances.

“It was one of the most boring games of the year for eight innings,” Acta said. “We couldn’t do anything right.”

But all the nasty stuff was forgiven and soon will be forgotten because of another stirring rally.

“It was an amazing comeback at the end,” Acta said.

Hoynes' effort

CLEVELAND, Ohio — There were 18,816 fans at Progressive Field on Thursday night. They managed to raise their voices to sound like 16 -- until the ninth inning.

Then it was bedlam. It was New Year's Eve at Times Square.

Travis Hafner hit a grand slam with one out in the ninth to give the Indians a 5-4 victory over Toronto. The Indians did nothing, nada, zilch for eight innings until Hafner sent a moon ball from lefty Luis Perez into the right field seats to win it.

"That's about as hard as I can hit a ball," said Hafner, who turned and shouted one second after ball met bat.

Pronk knew it was gone. So did everyone else in the ballpark. The only question was would it land on East Ninth Street?

It was the 12th grand slam of Hafner's career and the second walkoff slam of the season by the Tribe. Carlos Santana did it to the Detroit Tigers on April 29. Manny Ramirez holds the franchise record with 13 grand slams.

Hafner didn't know how many slams he'd hit until a reporter told him. The one thing he did know is that "I love the grannies."

The Indians entered the ninth trailing, 4-0. They were out on their feet. Manager Manny Acta was ready to throw in the towel.

But Travis Buck opened with a single off Frank Francisco. Matt LaPorta followed with a double and Jack Hannahan worked a walk to load the bases. Out went Francisco and in came Perez (1-2).

After the game, Perez invited reporters to talk to him and then cursed them.

Perez struck out Michael Brantley, but Asdrubal Cabrera singled home Buck to make it 4-1. Then Hafner drove Perez's first pitch high and deep into the night.

"Michael Brantley gave me a scouting report on him," said Hafner, hitting .347 after going 3-for-4. "He said his fastball had good run and sink. So I was looking for something up in the zone."

The victory went to Tony Sipp (4-1), who worked the ninth. He gave up Jose Bautista's 29th homer with one out. It looked like the end, but it was only the beginning for an Indians team that has won seven of its past 10 games.

"Amazing comeback," Acta said.

For eight innings Progressive Field sounded like a college library during spring break. It seemed as if the Indians had hung a do not disturb sign on the locker room door after taking two out of three from the Yankees.

"Before the ninth, those were eight of the most boring innings of baseball that we've played," Acta said. "It seemed like it was going to be a wasted night."

Carlos Villanueva, who started the season in the bullpen, pitched six scoreless innings for the Blue Jays. He allowed six hits, two walks and struck out seven. Along the way he hit rookie third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall with a pitch in the head. Chisenhall left the game with "facial contusions."

Chisenhall, who just recovered from a concussion suffered at Class AAA Columbus when he slid into third base, received a CT scan at Lutheran Hospital. The Indians said there was no sign of a concussion. Lonnie Soloff, Indians head athletic trainer, will update his condition today.

Zach McAllister, filling in for injured Fausto Carmona, made his big-league debut for the Tribe. McAllister threw a lot of pitches (94) but not many innings (four). Hafner saved McAllister from a loss in his debut.

He allowed three runs on five hits. He struck out four and walked three. After the game he was optioned to Class AAA Columbus and replaced by infielder Luis Valbuena.

The Indians, who stranded 13 runners in Wednesday's win against the Yankees, stranded nine in the first five innings against Villanueva. In the seventh and eighth, they changed tactics as Hafner and Orlando Cabrera hit into inning-ending double plays.

Toronto scratched out a 1-0 lead in the second. Aaron Hill drew a leadoff walk and stole second with one out. He continued to third when Asdrubal Cabrera, covering second, couldn't handle Santana's throw to the bag and was charged with an error.

Travis Snider singled home Hill. McAllister struck out J.P. Arencibia and should have been out of the inning when Rajai Davis sent a bouncer back to the mound. McAllister, however, threw the ball into the seats behind third base for the second error of the inning.

Toronto made it 3-0 in the fourth on singles by Arencibia and Davis. With the bases loaded, Asdrubal Cabrera knocked down Bautista hot shot to short and threw to second for the force to end the inning.

"Red Sox Nation" refers to the legion of Red Sox fans, wherever they may be. It's not an attempt to out-arrogant Atlanta and Dallas. Plenty of New England pulls for the Yankmes.

From the Toronto Sun:

CLEVELAND - A four-run lead is usually more than enough for a team’s closer to hold down in the ninth.

But thanks to another ratty outing from Frank Francisco, the Toronto Blue Jays' 4-0 lead wasn’t large enough.

Francisco wasn’t around by the time Travis Hafner hit a grand slam on the first pitch off lefty Luis Perez to win it 5-4 for the Cleveland Indians.

But it was Francisco who lit the fuse as he couldn’t retire any of the three batters he faced — resulting in two hits and a walk — before manager John Farrell had seen enough and yanked him from the game.

In came Perez and it was hardly a fair spot to place a rookie in asking him to put out the fire with the bases loaded and nobody out in just his second save situation of his major league career.

Perez started in the right direction by striking out Michael Brantley but then gave up a two-strike RBI single to Asdrubal Cabrera.

That brought the hulking Haffner to the plate. On Perez’ first pitch Haffner didn’t miss, and the rest is history.

“Regardless of the time of the season, that’s a gut-wrenching loss,” Farrell said. “It was evident through the first three hitters (Francisco) wasn’t sharp, the location wasn’t quite there and given where they are in the lineup with the left-handers coming I made the move to get Luis.

“I realize it’s a young pitcher in that situation but as susceptible as they can be against left-handers, and his sinking fastball, (we) looked to get a ball on the ground for potentially a double play in that situation.”

The only other option for Farrell after Francisco was right-hander Jon Rauch, who is not as effective against lefties as Perez has been.

In the Jays clubhouse, Francisco was running hot.

He waved a reporter over asking: “Are you looking for me?” Then when approached he turned and said, “F--- you,” and steamed towards the showers.

Classy move.

Francisco has blown hot and cold when called to close them out and on the season has 10 saves in 14 opportunities.

Rauch is 7-for-9 in save situations but doesn’t throw as hard as Francisco and relies on control and contact to get hitters out.

A dependable, consistent closer is something that the Jays haven’t been able to establish all year.

“Consitsency is the word,” Farrell said. “Franky was dominant, his last outing in Boston (three punchouts following a leadoff single). Yet he quite wasn’t there tonight.”

When Francisco wasn’t up to the task, Farrell believed his best option, given the next five Cleveland hitters either batted left-handed or were switch hitters, was his only left-hander available — Perez.

“With the left-on-left matchup, that was the choice,” he said.

The outcome ruined a Houdini-like outing from starter Carlos Villanueva.

He threw six scoreless innings, struck out a career-high seven batters and stranded nine runners along the way.

MAN IN MOTION

The Jays' opening run in the second inning was set up by their Man in Motion, Aaron Hill.

Prior to this season, Hill’s best season swiping bags came in 2009 when he stole all of six bases.

But this campaign, Hill has been off and running. In the second, he led off with a walk, stole second and ended up at third when the throw from the catcher caromed off the glove of Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. It was Hill’s 11th stolen base of the season and he has yet to be thrown out.

Seconds later, Hill trotted home on Travis Snider’s line drive single to centre.

However, all good things must come to an end, and in the fifth Hill was finally thrown out attempting to steal second.

IN PRAISE OF BAUTISTA

Now that Jose Bautista has moved from curiosity to all-star and has received the endorsement of the fans across the United States by ending with the most votes for the upcoming mid-summer classic in Phoenix, he is becoming almost hoarse due to interview requests.

So it was no surprise when the first day in Cleveland, the local columnists flocked around manager Farrell to pick his brain about Bautista’s exploits.

The Jays right fielder turned third baseman is once again in the midst of one of his hot runs at the plate. He hit a one-out bomb in the ninth against the Indians, his fifth homer in his last seven games and eighth in his last 15, to climb to 29 home runs and stretch his lead in that department.

Like all managers with gifted players, Farrell never gets tired of Bautista queries and likes to steer the writers away from his on-the-field exploits to what he means to the organization and team in the clubhouse and as an ambassador of the city and Canada.

“People will always point to the numbers, the home runs, the RBIs, the total fan voting that he received,” Farrell said. “We’re privy to and privileged to see the person and to me that is what makes him very special.

“What really sets him apart from many others is that he has the team first and plays for the name on the front of the jersey as opposed to the name on the back.”

As if on cue, Bautista came up with an eye-popping defensive play in the fourth. With one out, Matt LaPorta hit a ground ball up the third-base line that Bautista made a sliding backhand catch on in foul territory. He quickly jumped to his feet and threw a laser to first, a throw that would have made former Jays third baseman Scott Rolen proud, to nail the runner. It saved a run as Jack Hannahan followed with a triple to right.

No doubt it will be viewed later on ESPN as one of their Web Gems.