GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: OAKLAND (74-80) at CLEVELAND (90-62)

AL: OAKLAND at CLEVELAND

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OAKLAND (2) AT CLEVELAND (6) - EVENT LOG
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Oakland Starting Lineups -- S Stewart LF, D Barton 1B, N Swisher CF, J Cust RF,
M Piazza DH, M Ellis 2B, J Hannahan 3B, R Bowen C, D Murphy SS, D Braden LHP.

Cleveland Starting Lineups -- G Sizemore CF, A Cabrera 2B, T Hafner DH,
V Martinez C, R Garko 1B, J Peralta SS, J Michaels LF, F Gutierrez RF, C Blake 3B,
J Westbrook RHP.

Umpires -- Larry Vanover (HP), James Hoye (1B), Tony Randazzo (2B), Greg Gibson (3B).

Gametime Weather: 72 degrees, Sunny, wind in from right at 8 mph.


OAKLAND 1ST: S Stewart reached on infield single to first. D Barton
grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, S Stewart out at
second. N Swisher struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 0,
CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore reached on bunt single to second. A Cabrera
sacrificed to catcher, G Sizemore to second. T Hafner struck out swinging.
V Martinez grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 0,
CLEVELAND 0.

OAKLAND 2ND: J Cust grounded out to pitcher. M Piazza walked. M Ellis
grounded into double play, pitcher to shortstop to first, M Piazza out at
second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 0, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 2ND: R Garko walked. J Peralta singled to left center, R Garko
to second. R Garko to third, J Peralta to second on wild pitch by D Braden.
J Michaels grounded out to second, R Garko scored, J Peralta to third.
F Gutierrez walked. C Blake struck out swinging. G Sizemore singled to
shallow left, J Peralta scored, F Gutierrez to third. A Cabrera struck out
swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 0, CLEVELAND 2.

OAKLAND 3RD: J Hannahan flied out to left. R Bowen struck out looking.
D Murphy struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 0, CLEVELAND 2.

CLEVELAND 3RD: T Hafner grounded out to second. V Martinez grounded out to
shortstop. R Garko flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 0,
CLEVELAND 2.

OAKLAND 4TH: S Stewart doubled to deep right. D Barton grounded out to
second, S Stewart to third. N Swisher struck out swinging. J Cust struck out
swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 0, CLEVELAND 2.

CLEVELAND 4TH: J Peralta singled to left. J Michaels singled to left,
J Peralta to second. F Gutierrez flied out to center, J Peralta to third.
C Blake doubled to deep center, J Peralta and J Michaels scored. G Sizemore
tripled to right, C Blake scored. A Cabrera singled to left, G Sizemore
scored. S Casilla relieved D Braden. T Hafner grounded out to second,
A Cabrera to second. V Martinez intentionally walked. R Garko struck out
swinging. (4 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 0, CLEVELAND 6.

OAKLAND 5TH: M Piazza grounded out to pitcher. M Ellis flied out to
center. J Hannahan grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
OAKLAND 0, CLEVELAND 6.

CLEVELAND 5TH: J Peralta struck out swinging. J Michaels flied out to
right. F Gutierrez grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
OAKLAND 0, CLEVELAND 6.

OAKLAND 6TH: R Bowen struck out swinging. D Murphy singled to center.
S Stewart struck out swinging. D Barton homered to right, D Murphy scored.
N Swisher grounded out to first. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 2,
CLEVELAND 6.

CLEVELAND 6TH: C Blake struck out swinging. L DiNardo relieved S Casilla.
G Sizemore singled to right. A Cabrera grounded into double play, shortstop to
second to first, G Sizemore out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 2,
CLEVELAND 6.

OAKLAND 7TH: J Cust walked. M Piazza flied out to center. M Ellis struck
out swinging. J Hannahan struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
OAKLAND 2, CLEVELAND 6.

CLEVELAND 7TH: T Hafner singled to left center. V Martinez grounded into
double play, shortstop to first, T Hafner out at second. A Brown relieved
L DiNardo. R Garko walked. J Peralta flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) OAKLAND 2, CLEVELAND 6.

OAKLAND 8TH: R Perez relieved J Westbrook. R Bowen flied out to right.
D Murphy struck out swinging. S Stewart singled to left. D Barton doubled to
right, S Stewart to third. R Betancourt relieved R Perez. N Swisher struck out
swinging. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 2, CLEVELAND 6.

CLEVELAND 8TH: J Michaels walked. F Gutierrez sacrificed to pitcher,
J Michaels to second. C Blake grounded out to second, J Michaels to third.
G Sizemore intentionally walked. A Cabrera flied out to center. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 2, CLEVELAND 6.

OAKLAND 9TH: J Cust struck out looking. M Piazza popped out to second.
M Ellis struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 2, CLEVELAND 6.</div>

 

Indians clinch AL Central with win over A's

<h3>CLEVELAND 6, OAKLAND 2</h3>By Todd Krepop
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


CLEVELAND (Ticker) - The Cleveland Indians are back on top.

Jake Westbrook pitched seven solid innings and Grady Sizemorehad four hits as the Indians clinched its seventh AmericanLeague Central Division title with a 6-2 victory over theOakland Athletics on Sunday.


Cleveland (92-63) became the first team in baseball to clinchits division and the second team to punch its ticket to thepostseason. The Boston Red Sox clinched a playoff spotSaturday.


It was the first divisional title for the Indians since the 2001season. Cleveland used to be the dominant team in the ALCentral, winning the division six times in a seven-year span.Despite that success, the Indians were not able to win theirfirst World Series since 1948 - losing in 1995 to the AtlantaBraves and 1997 to the Florida Marlins.


Cleveland held a 1 1/2-game lead on the Detroit Tigers enteringplay on August 25. But what looked like could be a race to theend of September, turned out to be laugher as the Indians havewon 22 of their last 28 games - including a three-game sweep ofthe Tigers earlier in the week.


Westbrook (6-9) set a new a career high with nine strikeouts ashe allowed two runs and four hits. Westbrook's performancemirrored what has been a key to the Indians success this season- starting pitching that goes deep into games.


The Indians starters have pitched 979 innings this season - mostin the majors. The ability of the starters to go deep hasallowed the Tribe to keep a bullpen, which has been anotherstrength this season to remain fresh.


Rafael Perez got the first two outs in the eighth before givingup two hits. Rafael Betancourt came in and struck out NickSwisher on the eighth pitch of the at-bat to get out of the jamand preserve the Indians 6-2 lead.


Betancourt then worked a scoreless ninth to finish off the gameand set off a celebration at Jacobs Field.


Leading 2-0, Cleveland put together a four-run fourth to takecontrol of the game. Jhonny Peralta and Jason Michaels led offthe inning with back-to-back singles. Two batters later, CaseyBlake doubled off of Athletics' rookie starter Dallas Bradeninto the left-center gap to score two runs.


Sizemore followed with a triple down the right field line andsurprising rookie Asdrubal Cabrera blooped an RBI single toleft, extending the Indians lead to 6-0 and ending Braden'safternoon.


Braden (1-8) was not originally scheduled to start Sunday'sgame, but was inserted into the rotation after Rich Harden wasscratched on Saturday. He allowed six runs and eight hits in 31/3 innings against an Indians team that was intent oncelebrating at home.


Cleveland took the 2-0 lead in the second on an RBI grounder byMichaels and Sizemore's run-scoring single and would not lookback.


Rookie Daric Barton hit a two-run homer in the sixth for theA's, who have lost six of their last seven games.

 

Indians clinch AL Central with win over A's

<h3>CLEVELAND 6, OAKLAND 2</h3>By Todd Krepop
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- The Cleveland Indians are back on top.

Jake Westbrook pitched seven solid innings and Grady Sizemorehad four hits as the Indians clinched its seventh AmericanLeague Central Division title with a 6-2 victory over theOakland Athletics on Sunday.


Cleveland (92-63) became the first team in baseball to clinchits division and the second team to punch its ticket to thepostseason. The Boston Red Sox clinched a playoff spotSaturday.


"I'm so very proud of these guys and the city of Clevelandshould be proud of them," Indians manager Eric Wedge said."They do it the right way, with respect."


It was the first divisional title for the Indians since the 2001season. Cleveland used to be the dominant team in the ALCentral, winning the division six times in a seven-year span.Despite that success, the Indians were not able to win theirfirst World Series since 1948 - losing in 1995 to the AtlantaBraves and 1997 to the Florida Marlins.


Cleveland held a 1 1/2-game lead on the Detroit Tigers enteringplay on August 25. But what looked like could be a race to theend of September, turned out to be laugher as the Indians havewon 22 of their last 28 games - including a three-game sweep ofthe Tigers earlier in the week.


"Every good team goes through a stretch run where they playgreat baseball," said Indians ace C.C. Sabathia, who guaranteedthe Indians would win the division in early August. "We hadn'tgone through a stretch like that."


Sabathia, along with Kenny Lofton, are the only players thatremain from the 2001 team.


"This is just as special as the first time for me," said Lofton,who was acquired from Texas before the trading deadline. "Ithink to the young kids, being their first time through this ...it lets them know how special this team really is.

"When I got the chance to come back to Cleveland, I knew thisteam had a chance ... but I don't think some of the guys herereally understood how good they were. Now, they do. This is ateam of winners."


Westbrook (6-9) set a new a career high with nine strikeouts ashe allowed two runs and four hits. Westbrook's performancemirrored what has been a key to the Indians success this season- starting pitching that goes deep into games.


"It was fun for us to get it done here," Westbrook said. "Iwanted to go out there and give us a chance to win theballgame."


The Indians starters have pitched 979 innings this season - mostin the majors. The ability of the starters to go deep hasallowed the Tribe to keep a bullpen, which has been anotherstrength this season to remain fresh.


Rafael Perez got the first two outs in the eighth before givingup two hits. Rafael Betancourt came in and struck out NickSwisher on the eighth pitch of the at-bat to get out of the jamand preserve the Indians 6-2 lead.


Betancourt then worked a scoreless ninth for his second save ofthe season and set off a celebration at Jacobs Field.

"Every time you get the last out of the game, it's special,"Betancourt said. "To get the last out and get into thepostseason, I don't know how to describe it."


Leading 2-0, Cleveland put together a four-run fourth to takecontrol of the game. Jhonny Peralta and Jason Michaels led offthe inning with back-to-back singles. Two batters later, CaseyBlake doubled off of Athletics' rookie starter Dallas Bradeninto the left-center gap to score two runs.


"To get a chance to be part of this team is the highlight of mycareer so far," Blake said. "To be able to play every day andbe a leader of this group means a lot to me. Being part of aplayoff run and now a world championship run is just so very,very special."


Sizemore followed with a triple down the right field line andsurprising rookie Asdrubal Cabrera blooped an RBI single toleft, extending the Indians lead to 6-0 and ending Braden'safternoon.


"We're a family," Sizemore said. "A lot of these guys came uptogether. It's just a great feeling. We worked hard all seasonto be in this position."


Braden (1-8) was not originally scheduled to start Sunday'sgame, but was inserted into the rotation after Rich Harden wasscratched on Saturday. He allowed six runs and eight hits in 31/3 innings against an Indians team that was intent oncelebrating at home.


"We really wanted to win it at home," Wedge said. "That means alot to us. Hopefully, we can provide a few more exciting momentshere this year."


Cleveland took the 2-0 lead in the second on an RBI grounder byMichaels and Sizemore's run-scoring single and would not lookback.


"We jumped out and scored a couple of runs early and Westbrookgot us deep into the game," Wedge said.


Rookie Daric Barton hit a two-run homer in the sixth for theA's, who have lost six of their last seven games.


"Obviously, I give congratulations to the Cleveland Indians,"Oakland manager Bob Geren said. "Their front office did a greatjob. Eric Wedge is a friend of mine so I'm happy for him. Youcould feel the excitement in the air for them."