GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: CLEVELAND (94-64) at KANSAS CITY (68-90)

AL: CLEVELAND (94-64) at KANSAS CITY (68-90)

<h3>Indians look for win with ace Sabathia on the mound</h3>



Cleveland (94-65) at Kansas City (68-91),8:10 pm EDT

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- With the American LeagueCentral Division title locked up, the Cleveland Indians will tryto clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs whenthey open a three-game series with the Kansas City Royals onFriday.


The Indians are currently tied with the Boston Red Sox (94-65)for the best record in the AL and tops in the majors.

C.C. Sabathia (18-7, 3.19 ERA) will make his final stand for theAL Cy Young award when he takes the mound for the Indians.

Sabathia ranks in the top five in every meaningful pitchingcategory and leads the AL in innings pitched with 234 and issecond in complete games with four.


During his last outing, Sabathia was his usual dominant self,surrendering just two runs and five hits over seven stronginnings on September 19. Cleveland downed the Detroit TIgers,4-2, as Sabathia picked up his career-high 18th win of theseason.


Kyle Davies (7-14, 5.92) will try to diffuse the Indians acewhen he toes the rubber for the Royals.


Davies snapped a three-game losing streak with a win against theTigers on Saturday. The 24-year-old righthander surrenderedthree runs and nine hits over 5 1/3 innings, en route to the 7-4victory.

 

AL: CLEVELAND (94-64) at KANSAS CITY (68-90)

<h3>Indians aiming for AL's best record</h3>

<div class="pre">Cleveland (95-65) at Kansas City (68-92) 7:10 pm EDT</div>

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) - The Cleveland Indians arepenciled in for the postseason, but the best record in theAmerican League is another question.


The Indians will look to continue their push for the top spot inthe AL when they visit the Kansas City in the second of aweekend series on Saturday.


Sabathia went seven effective innings for his 100th career winand helped Cleveland snap its two-game slide with Friday's 5-3victory.


Jake Westbrook (6-9, 4.32 ERA) gets the call for the Indians,whose looking for his first victory away from home since midAugust. The righthander was solid last time out, allowing tworuns in seven innings for a 6-2 win over the Oakland Athletics.

Westbrook is 5-3 with a 2.54 ERA lifetime against the Royals. All-Star hurler Gil Meche (9-13, 3.69) gets his final start forKansas City, which is assured of its fourth straight last placefinish in the AL Central.


In his last outing, Meche gave up three runs and seven hitsthrough eight frames in a loss at Baltimore. The righthanderhas only two career wins in 11 starts against Cleveland.

 

AL: CLEVELAND (94-64) at KANSAS CITY (68-90)

<h3>Indians aiming for AL's best record</h3>

<div class="pre">Cleveland (95-65) at Kansas City (68-92) 7:10 pm EDT</div>

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) - The Cleveland Indians arepenciled in for the postseason, but the best record in theAmerican League is another question.


The Indians will look to continue their push for the top spot inthe AL when they visit the Kansas City in the second of aweekend series on Saturday.


Sabathia went seven effective innings for his 100th career winand helped Cleveland snap its two-game slide with Friday's 5-3victory.


Jake Westbrook (6-9, 4.32 ERA) gets the call for the Indians,whose looking for his first victory away from home since midAugust. The righthander was solid last time out, allowing tworuns in seven innings for a 6-2 win over the Oakland Athletics.

Westbrook is 5-3 with a 2.54 ERA lifetime against the Royals.

All-Star hurler Gil Meche (9-13, 3.69) gets his final start forKansas City, which is assured of its fourth straight last placefinish in the AL Central.


In his last outing, Meche gave up three runs and seven hitsthrough eight frames in a loss at Baltimore. The righthanderhas only two career wins in 11 starts against Cleveland.

 

AL: CLEVELAND (95-66) at KANSAS CITY (69-92)

<h3>Bell manages last game for Royals</h3>

<div class="pre">Cleveland (95-66) at Kansas City (69-92) 2:10 pm EDT</div>

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) - The Kansas City Royals wouldlike to send manager Buddy Bell out on a positive note when theyface the Cleveland Indians in their regular-season finale onSunday.


Bell announced earlier this season that he will resign afternearly three campaign to become the senior advisor to generalmanager Dayton Moore.


Rookie Luke Hochevar (0-0, 0.93 ERA) goes to the hill for theRoyals, who snapped their three-game slide with Saturday's 4-3win. The righthander is making his first career start afterthree appearance out of the bullpen.


The No. 1 overall selection in 2006, the 24-year-old Hochevarhas allowed just one run in 9 2/3 innings since being called upearlier this month.


Cleveland's Aaron Laffey (3-2, 4.87) aims for his fourth roadwin of the season. In his last outing, the lefthander yieldedone run and four hits in 5 2/3 frames in a no-decision atSeattle in Tuesday.


The Indians will sit the majority of its starters in preparationof their ALDS matchup against the New York Yankees on Thursdayat Jacobs Field.

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">CLEVELAND AT KANSAS CITY -- LINEUPS

CLEVELAND KANSAS CITY
AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI
Grady Sizemore CF .278 24 78 Joey Gathright CF .308 0 18
Asdrubal Cabrera SS .285 3 22 Esteban German 2B .267 4 37
Travis Hafner DH .265 24 98 Billy Butler DH .286 8 52
Ryan Garko 1B .290 21 61 Mike Sweeney 1B .263 7 38
Franklin Gutierrez RF .266 13 36 Emil Brown RF .260 6 62
Casey Blake 3B .269 18 78 Alex Gordon 3B .248 15 60
Chris Gomez 2B .303 1 20 Justin Huber LF .000 0 0
Jason Michaels LF .269 7 39 Paul Phillips C .182 0 2
Kelly Shoppach C .253 7 30 Tony Pena Jr SS .267 2 46

Aaron Laffey LHP (3-2, 4.87) Luke Hochevar (0-0, 0.93)</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY
WARMUPS: CLE - AARON LAFFEY (3-2, 4.87)
KAN - LUKE HOCHEVAR (0-0, 0.93)

UMPIRES: HP - MIKE ESTABROOK
1B - LAZ DIAZ
2B - WALLY BELL
3B - BILL WELKE

WEATHER: 79 Degrees, partly cloudy
WIND: 11 mph, right to left</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY
STARTING BATS: CLE - AARON LAFFEY AND KELLY SHOPPACH
KAN - LUKE HOCHEVAR AND PAUL PHILLIPS

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: G SIZEMORE (.278, 24 HR, 78 RBI)
A CABRERA (.285, 3 HR, 22 RBI)
T HAFNER (.265, 24 HR, 98 RBI)</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CLEVELAND 0 0 0 0
KANSAS CITY 0 0 0 (BOT 1)

CURRENT PITCHERS: CLE - AARON LAFFEY
KAN - LUKE HOCHEVAR

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: J GATHRIGHT (.308, 0 HR, 18 RBI)
E GERMAN (.267, 4 HR, 37 RBI)
B BUTLER (.286, 8 HR, 52 RBI)</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">CLEVELAND (0) VS KANSAS CITY (0) - MID 1ST - IN PROGRESS

CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .278
A Cabrera ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .283
T Hafner dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .265
R Garko 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .290
F Gutierrez rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .266
C Blake 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269
C Gomez 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .303
J Michaels lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269
K Shoppach c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .253

Totals 2 0 0 0 1 0 2

BATTING: GIDP - T Hafner. Team LOB - 0.


KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Gathright cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .308
E German 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267
B Butler dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286
M Sweeney 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .263
E Brown rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .260
A Gordon 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .248
J Huber lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
P Phillips c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .182
T Pena Jr ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267

Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (E German-A Gordon-M Sweeney).


----------------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND - 0 -- 0
KANSAS CITY - -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
A Laffey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.87

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
L Hochevar 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.84

Pitches-strikes: L Hochevar 13-7. Ground balls-fly balls: L Hochevar 3-0.
Batters faced: L Hochevar 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Mike Estabrook. 1B--Laz Diaz. 2B--Wally Bell. 3B--Bill Welke.

Weather: 82 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 23 mph, right to left.</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY
CONFIRMED STARTERS: CLE - AARON LAFFEY
KAN - LUKE HOCHEVAR</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CLEVELAND 0 0 0 0
KANSAS CITY 0 0 1 0 (TOP 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: CLE - AARON LAFFEY
KAN - LUKE HOCHEVAR

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: R GARKO (.290, 21 HR, 61 RBI)
F GUTIERREZ (.266, 13 HR, 36 RBI)
C BLAKE (.269, 18 HR, 78 RBI)</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">CLEVELAND (0) VS KANSAS CITY (0) - END 1ST - IN PROGRESS

CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .278
A Cabrera ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .283
T Hafner dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .265
R Garko 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .290
F Gutierrez rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .266
C Blake 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269
C Gomez 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .303
J Michaels lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269
K Shoppach c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .253

Totals 2 0 0 0 1 0 2

BATTING: GIDP - T Hafner. Team LOB - 0.


KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Gathright cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .307
E German 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267
B Butler dh 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .288
M Sweeney 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .262
E Brown rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .260
A Gordon 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .248
J Huber lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
P Phillips c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .182
T Pena Jr ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267

Totals 4 0 1 0 0 1 1

BATTING: 2B - B Butler (22, A Laffey). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out
- M Sweeney 1. Team LOB - 1.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (E German-A Gordon-M Sweeney).


----------------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND - 0 -- 0
KANSAS CITY - 0 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
A Laffey 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.76

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
L Hochevar 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.84

Pitches-strikes: A Laffey 16-9; L Hochevar 13-7. Ground balls-fly balls: A
Laffey 1-1; L Hochevar 3-0. Batters faced: A Laffey 4; L Hochevar 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Mike Estabrook. 1B--Laz Diaz. 2B--Wally Bell. 3B--Bill Welke.

Weather: 82 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 23 mph, right to left.</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CLEVELAND 0 0 0 1 0
KANSAS CITY 0 0 1 0 (BOT 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: CLE - AARON LAFFEY
KAN - LUKE HOCHEVAR

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: E BROWN (.260, 6 HR, 62 RBI)
A GORDON (.248, 15 HR, 60 RBI)
J HUBER (.000, 0 HR, 0 RBI)</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">CLEVELAND (0) VS KANSAS CITY (0) - MID 2ND - IN PROGRESS

CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .278
A Cabrera ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .283
T Hafner dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .265
R Garko 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .290
F Gutierrez rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .265
C Blake 3b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .270
C Gomez 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .301
J Michaels lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269
K Shoppach c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .253

Totals 6 0 1 0 1 0 3

BATTING: GIDP - T Hafner. Team LOB - 1.


KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Gathright cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .307
E German 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267
B Butler dh 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .288
M Sweeney 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .262
E Brown rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .260
A Gordon 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .248
J Huber lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
P Phillips c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .182
T Pena Jr ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267

Totals 4 0 1 0 0 1 1

BATTING: 2B - B Butler (22, A Laffey). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out
- M Sweeney 1. Team LOB - 1.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (E German-A Gordon-M Sweeney).


----------------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND - 00 -- 0
KANSAS CITY - 0 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
A Laffey 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.76

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
L Hochevar 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0.77

Pitches-strikes: A Laffey 16-9; L Hochevar 30-18. Ground balls-fly balls: A
Laffey 1-1; L Hochevar 5-1. Batters faced: A Laffey 4; L Hochevar 7.

UMPIRES: HP--Mike Estabrook. 1B--Laz Diaz. 2B--Wally Bell. 3B--Bill Welke.

Weather: 82 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 23 mph, right to left.</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CLEVELAND 0 0 0 1 0
KANSAS CITY 0 0 0 1 0 (TOP 3)

CURRENT PITCHERS: CLE - AARON LAFFEY
KAN - LUKE HOCHEVAR

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: J MICHAELS (.269, 7 HR, 39 RBI)
K SHOPPACH (.253, 7 HR, 30 RBI)
G SIZEMORE (.278, 0-FOR-0, BB)</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">CLEVELAND (0) VS KANSAS CITY (0) - END 2ND - IN PROGRESS

CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .278
A Cabrera ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .283
T Hafner dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .265
R Garko 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .290
F Gutierrez rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .265
C Blake 3b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .270
C Gomez 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .301
J Michaels lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269
K Shoppach c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .253

Totals 6 0 1 0 1 0 3

BATTING: GIDP - T Hafner. Team LOB - 1.


KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Gathright cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .307
E German 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267
B Butler dh 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .288
M Sweeney 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .262
E Brown rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .259
A Gordon 3b 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .248
J Huber lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
P Phillips c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .182
T Pena Jr ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267

Totals 7 0 1 0 0 2 1

BATTING: 2B - B Butler (22, A Laffey). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out
- M Sweeney 1. Team LOB - 1.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (E German-A Gordon-M Sweeney).


----------------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND - 00 -- 0
KANSAS CITY - 00 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
A Laffey 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 4.66

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
L Hochevar 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0.77

Pitches-strikes: A Laffey 28-17; L Hochevar 30-18. Ground balls-fly balls: A
Laffey 3-1; L Hochevar 5-1. Batters faced: A Laffey 7; L Hochevar 7.

UMPIRES: HP--Mike Estabrook. 1B--Laz Diaz. 2B--Wally Bell. 3B--Bill Welke.

Weather: 82 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 23 mph, right to left.</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: L Rivas ran for A Cabrera.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, L RIVAS ON FIRST, J MICHAELS ON SECOND, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 0
KANSAS CITY 0 TOP, 3RD

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: T Hafner (.265, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY TRAVIS HAFNER SCORED JASON MICHAELS AND LUIS
RIVAS.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, T HAFNER ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 2
KANSAS CITY 0 TOP, 3RD

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: R GARKO (.290, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CLEVELAND 0 0 2 2 3 0
KANSAS CITY 0 0 0 1 0 (BOT 3)

CURRENT PITCHERS: CLE - AARON LAFFEY
KAN - LUKE HOCHEVAR

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: P PHILLIPS (.182, 0 HR, 2 RBI)
T PENA JR (.267, 2 HR, 46 RBI)
J GATHRIGHT (.307, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">CLEVELAND (2) VS KANSAS CITY (0) - MID 3RD - IN PROGRESS

CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .277
A Cabrera ss 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .283
L Rivas pr 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .375
T Hafner dh 2 0 1 2 0 0 1 .266
R Garko 1b 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 .289
F Gutierrez rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .265
C Blake 3b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .270
C Gomez 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .301
J Michaels lf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .272
K Shoppach c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .253

Totals 10 2 3 2 2 1 5

BATTING: 2B - T Hafner (25, L Hochevar). S - K Shoppach. RBI - T Hafner 2
(100). 2-out RBI - T Hafner 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - R
Garko 1. GIDP - T Hafner. Team LOB - 2.


KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Gathright cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .307
E German 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267
B Butler dh 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .288
M Sweeney 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .262
E Brown rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .259
A Gordon 3b 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .248
J Huber lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
P Phillips c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .182
T Pena Jr ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267

Totals 7 0 1 0 0 2 1

BATTING: 2B - B Butler (22, A Laffey). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out
- M Sweeney 1. Team LOB - 1.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (E German-A Gordon-M Sweeney).


----------------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND - 002 -- 2
KANSAS CITY - 00 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
A Laffey 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 4.66

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
L Hochevar 3 3 2 2 2 1 0 2.13

Pitches-strikes: A Laffey 28-17; L Hochevar 51-28. Ground balls-fly balls: A
Laffey 3-1; L Hochevar 6-2. Batters faced: A Laffey 7; L Hochevar 13.

UMPIRES: HP--Mike Estabrook. 1B--Laz Diaz. 2B--Wally Bell. 3B--Bill Welke.

Weather: 82 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 23 mph, right to left.</div>