AL: CLEVELAND at TEXAS <div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - SCORING UPDATE SINGLE BY MARK TEIXEIRA SCORED KENNY LOFTON. SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, M TEIXEIRA ON FIRST, 2 OUT CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 7 TEXAS 5 BOTTOM, 9TH DUE UP FOR TEXAS: S SOSA (.240, 0-FOR-3, BB)</div>
AL: CLEVELAND at TEXAS <div class="pre">AL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - CLEVELAND 0 4 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 7 10 1 TEXAS 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 5 12 0 (FINAL) BATTERIES: CLE - C.C. SABATHIA, RAFAEL PEREZ (7TH), RAFAEL BETANCOURT (8TH), JOE BOROWSKI (9TH) AND VICTOR MARTINEZ TEX - KAMERON LOE, RON MAHAY (7TH), FRANK FRANCISCO (7TH) AND GERALD LAIRD HOME RUNS: CLE - GRADY SIZEMORE (16) OFF KAMERON LOE IN THE 5TH, 0 ON TEX - GERALD LAIRD (6) OFF C.C. SABATHIA IN THE 2ND, 1 ON</div>
AL: CLEVELAND at TEXAS <div class="pre">AL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - CLEVELAND 0 4 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 7 10 1 TEXAS 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 5 12 0 (FINAL) BATTERIES: CLE - C.C. SABATHIA, RAFAEL PEREZ (7TH), RAFAEL BETANCOURT (8TH), JOE BOROWSKI (9TH) AND VICTOR MARTINEZ TEX - KAMERON LOE, RON MAHAY (7TH), FRANK FRANCISCO (7TH) AND GERALD LAIRD WP - C.C. SABATHIA (13-4) LP - KAMERON LOE (5-8) SAVE - JOE BOROWSKI (27) HOME RUNS: CLE - GRADY SIZEMORE (16) OFF KAMERON LOE IN THE 5TH, 0 ON TEX - GERALD LAIRD (6) OFF C.C. SABATHIA IN THE 2ND, 1 ON TIME: 3:03 ATT: 28,108 PROBABLES: CLE - FAUSTO CARMONA (11-4, 3.77) TEX - BRANDON MCCARTHY (4-6, 5.59)</div>
AL: CLEVELAND at TEXAS <div class="pre">CLEVELAND (7) VS TEXAS (5) - FINAL CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg G Sizemore cf 5 1 2 2 0 1 0 .279 C Blake 3b 5 1 2 0 0 1 1 .271 V Martinez c 4 0 1 0 1 0 1 .321 T Hafner dh 4 1 1 0 1 0 1 .266 J Peralta ss 3 1 1 0 1 0 2 .287 R Garko 1b 3 2 1 1 1 0 1 .317 T Nixon rf 3 1 1 2 1 0 0 .243 F Gutierrez rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .329 B Francisco lf 3 0 1 2 0 1 3 .306 J Barfield 2b 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .251 Totals 34 7 10 7 5 4 11 BATTING: 2B - T Nixon (14, K Loe); R Garko (16, F Francisco); C Blake (23, F Francisco). 3B - C Blake (4, K Loe). HR - G Sizemore (16, 5th inning off K Loe 0 on, 0 Out). SF - B Francisco. RBI - T Nixon 2 (30), B Francisco 2 (7), G Sizemore 2 (49), R Garko (39). 2-out RBI - G Sizemore. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Peralta 2, B Francisco 2. GIDP - T Hafner. Team LOB - 7. BASERUNNING: CS - B Francisco (2, 2nd base by F Francisco/G Laird). FIELDING: E - C Sabathia (1, throw). DP: 1 (J Barfield-J Peralta-R Garko). TEXAS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg K Lofton cf 5 1 1 0 0 0 3 .307 J Hairston Jr 2b 5 0 0 0 0 1 1 .209 M Teixeira 1b 5 0 2 1 0 1 0 .302 S Sosa dh 4 0 0 0 1 1 2 .239 M Byrd rf 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .351 B Wilkerson lf 3 2 2 0 1 0 1 .225 G Laird c 4 1 2 2 0 1 3 .232 R Vazquez ss 4 1 3 0 0 0 2 .257 T Metcalf 3b 3 0 1 1 0 0 4 .209 Totals 37 5 12 4 2 5 18 BATTING: 2B - B Wilkerson (12, C Sabathia); R Vazquez (8, C Sabathia). HR - G Laird (6, 2nd inning off C Sabathia 1 on, 2 Out). SF - T Metcalf. RBI - G Laird 2 (31), T Metcalf (5), M Teixeira (45). 2-out RBI - G Laird 2, M Teixeira. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - R Vazquez 1, K Lofton 1, T Metcalf 1. GIDP - K Lofton. Team LOB - 8. BASERUNNING: SB - K Lofton (21, 2nd base off J Borowski/V Martinez). FIELDING: DP: 1 (R Vazquez-M Teixeira). ---------------------------------------------------- CLEVELAND - 040 020 010 -- 7 TEXAS - 030 100 001 -- 5 ---------------------------------------------------- CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era C Sabathia (W, 13-4) 6 9 4 3 1 2 1 3.81 R Perez (H, 3) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.86 R Betancourt (H, 20) 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1.24 J Borowski (S, 27) 1 2 1 1 0 1 0 5.26 TEXAS ip h r er bb so hr era K Loe (L, 5-8) 6 6 6 6 4 2 1 5.69 R Mahay 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.08 F Francisco 2 1/3 3 1 1 1 2 0 4.30 WP - K Loe. IBB - T Hafner (by K Loe), T Nixon (by K Loe). HBP - J Peralta (by K Loe). Pitches-strikes: C Sabathia 98-63; R Perez 11-9; R Betancourt 26-19; J Borowski 17-12; K Loe 97-53; R Mahay 7-6; F Francisco 48-32. Ground balls-fly balls: C Sabathia 4-12; R Perez 2-0; R Betancourt 1-1; J Borowski 0-2; K Loe 11-5; R Mahay 2-0; F Francisco 2-2. Batters faced: C Sabathia 27; R Perez 3; R Betancourt 5; J Borowski 5; K Loe 29; R Mahay 2; F Francisco 10. UMPIRES: HP--Bob Davidson. 1B--Sam Holbrook. 2B--Hunter Wendelstedt. 3B--Randy Marsh. T--3:03. Att--28,108. Weather: 83 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 14 mph, in from right.</div>
AL: CLEVELAND at TEXAS <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CLEVELAND (7) AT TEXAS (5) - HOW THEY SCORED ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CLEVELAND 2ND: T Hafner singled to right. T Hafner to second on wild pitch by K Loe. J Peralta hit by pitch. R Garko walked, T Hafner to third, J Peralta to second. T Nixon doubled to deep right, T Hafner and J Peralta scored, R Garko to third. B Francisco hit sacrifice fly to right, R Garko scored, T Nixon to third. J Barfield grounded out to shortstop. G Sizemore singled to center, T Nixon scored. C Blake grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, G Sizemore out at second. (4 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, TEXAS 0. TEXAS 2ND: S Sosa popped out to shortstop. M Byrd struck out swinging. B Wilkerson doubled to deep right. G Laird homered to center, B Wilkerson scored. R Vazquez doubled to deep center. T Metcalf reached on infield single to pitcher, R Vazquez scored, T Metcalf to second on throwing error by pitcher C Sabathia. K Lofton lined out to third. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 1 Error) CLEVELAND 4, TEXAS 3. TEXAS 4TH: B Wilkerson walked. G Laird reached on bunt single to second, B Wilkerson to second. R Vazquez reached on bunt single to catcher, B Wilkerson to third, G Laird to second. T Metcalf hit sacrifice fly to center, B Wilkerson scored. K Lofton grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, R Vazquez out at second.(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, TEXAS 4. CLEVELAND 5TH: G Sizemore homered to right center. C Blake tripled to deep left. V Martinez grounded out to pitcher. T Hafner intentionally walked. J Peralta walked, T Hafner to second. R Garko grounded out to second, C Blake scored, T Hafner to third, J Peralta to second. T Nixon intentionally walked. B Francisco flied out to center. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 6, TEXAS 4. CLEVELAND 8TH: R Garko hit a ground rule double to deep center. T Nixon grounded out to first, R Garko to third. B Francisco singled to center, R Garko scored. B Francisco caught stealing second, catcher to second. J Barfield struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 7, TEXAS 4. TEXAS 9TH: J Borowski relieved R Betancourt. T Metcalf fouled out to first. K Lofton reached on bunt single to pitcher. K Lofton stole second. J Hairston Jr popped out to second. M Teixeira singled to right, K Lofton scored. S Sosa struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 7, TEXAS 5.</div>
Sizemore, Sabathia lift Indians past Rangers <h3>CLEVELAND 7, TEXAS 5</h3>ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- Grady Sizemore helped C.C.Sabathia get back on track. Sizemore belted a go-ahead home run in the fifth inning topropel the Cleveland Indians to a 7-5 victory over the TexasRangers on Thursday night. Sabathia (13-4) snapped a personal two-game losing streak tobecome the major leagues' first 13-game winner this season.Cleveland's ace lefthander allowed four runs - three earned - onnine hits in six innings. The Indians jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second inning, thenwatched Texas climb back into the game and tie it in the bottomof the fourth. Then Sizemore led off the fifth with a solo home run thatrestored Cleveland to a lead it would not relinquish. Sizemorealso added an RBI single and made an outstanding catch in centerfield. Trot Nixon and Ben Francisco each also had two RBI for theIndians. After Sizemore's home run in the fifth, Cleveland added anotherrun against Texas starter Kameron Loe (5-8) to go up 6-4. Sizemore's mammoth blast, his 16th home run of the season,landed beyond the Rangers' bullpen in right center field. CaseyBlake followed with a triple into left, and two walks later -one intentional to Travis Hafner - Loe had loaded the bases withone out. Blake scored on Ryan Garko's groundout that would have been aninning-ending double play, but Texas shortstop Ramon Vazquez -subbing for All-Star Michael Young, who missed the game toattend to his wife's grandmother's funeral - stepped off secondbase on the exchange. Francisco's RBI single in the eighth scored Garko, who extendedhis career-high hitting streak to 13 with a double to accountfor Cleveland's final run. Trailing, 4-3, in the bottom of the fourth, the Rangers tied thescore but squandered a golden opportunity to take the lead. Brad Wilkerson walked and Gerald Laird and Vazquez each laiddown bunt singles to load the bases with none out. RookieTravis Metcalf then launched a shot to dead center field thatinitially looked like it might go for a grand slam, but Sizemoremade an impressive running catch on the warning track.Wilkerson tagged up for the tying run before Kenny Loftongrounded into a double play to end the inning. Loe got into trouble quickly in the second, loading the baseswith none out to set the stage for Nixon's double into the rightfield corner that scored Hafner and Jhonny Peralta. Francisco followed with a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Garko,and Nixon later scored from third on Sizemore's single up themiddle to give Cleveland a four-run lead. The Rangers struck back in the bottom of the inning, rallyingfor three runs - all with two outs. After Wilkerson doubled,Laird halved the lead with a two-run home run, the fifthSabathia has surrendered in his last three starts after havingallowed just one in the previous six. Vazquez followed with a double that one-hopped the wall inright-center and he subsequently scored when Sabathia's throw onMetcalf's short squibbler sailed past first base and out ofplay. The Rangers pulled within two in the bottom of the ninth on MarkTeixeira's two-out RBI single, but Frank Francisco struck outSammy Sosa to end the game.
AL: CLEVELAND at TEXAS <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CLEVELAND (7) AT TEXAS (5) - EVENT LOG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cleveland Starting Lineups -- G Sizemore CF, C Blake 3B, V Martinez C, T Hafner DH, J Peralta SS, R Garko 1B, T Nixon RF, B Francisco LF, J Barfield 2B, C Sabathia LHP. Texas Starting Lineups -- K Lofton CF, J Hairston Jr 2B, M Teixeira 1B, S Sosa DH, M Byrd RF, B Wilkerson LF, G Laird C, R Vazquez SS, T Metcalf 3B, K Loe RHP. Umpires -- Bob Davidson (HP), Sam Holbrook (1B), Hunter Wendelstedt (2B), Randy Marsh (3B). Gametime Weather: 83 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind in from right at 14 mph. CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore grounded out to second. C Blake struck out swinging. V Martinez grounded out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 0, TEXAS 0. TEXAS 1ST: K Lofton lined out to shortstop. J Hairston Jr grounded out to third. M Teixeira lined out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 0, TEXAS 0. CLEVELAND 2ND: T Hafner singled to right. T Hafner to second on wild pitch by K Loe. J Peralta hit by pitch. R Garko walked, T Hafner to third, J Peralta to second. T Nixon doubled to deep right, T Hafner and J Peralta scored, R Garko to third. B Francisco hit sacrifice fly to right, R Garko scored, T Nixon to third. J Barfield grounded out to shortstop. G Sizemore singled to center, T Nixon scored. C Blake grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, G Sizemore out at second. (4 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, TEXAS 0. TEXAS 2ND: S Sosa popped out to shortstop. M Byrd struck out swinging. B Wilkerson doubled to deep right. G Laird homered to center, B Wilkerson scored. R Vazquez doubled to deep center. T Metcalf reached on infield single to pitcher, R Vazquez scored, T Metcalf to second on throwing error by pitcher C Sabathia. K Lofton lined out to third. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 1 Error) CLEVELAND 4, TEXAS 3. CLEVELAND 3RD: V Martinez grounded out to shortstop. T Hafner grounded out to shortstop. J Peralta singled to left. R Garko grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, TEXAS 3. TEXAS 3RD: J Hairston Jr flied out to center. M Teixeira singled to center. S Sosa lined out to shortstop. M Byrd grounded into fielder's choice to second, M Teixeira out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, TEXAS 3. CLEVELAND 4TH: T Nixon grounded out to shortstop. B Francisco struck out swinging. J Barfield grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, TEXAS 3. TEXAS 4TH: B Wilkerson walked. G Laird reached on bunt single to second, B Wilkerson to second. R Vazquez reached on bunt single to catcher, B Wilkerson to third, G Laird to second. T Metcalf hit sacrifice fly to center, B Wilkerson scored. K Lofton grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, R Vazquez out at second.(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, TEXAS 4. CLEVELAND 5TH: G Sizemore homered to right center. C Blake tripled to deep left. V Martinez grounded out to pitcher. T Hafner intentionally walked. J Peralta walked, T Hafner to second. R Garko grounded out to second, C Blake scored, T Hafner to third, J Peralta to second. T Nixon intentionally walked. B Francisco flied out to center. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 6, TEXAS 4. TEXAS 5TH: J Hairston Jr bunt popped out to first. M Teixeira struck out looking. S Sosa popped out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 6, TEXAS 4. CLEVELAND 6TH: J Barfield flied out to left. G Sizemore popped out to shortstop. C Blake flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 6, TEXAS 4. TEXAS 6TH: M Byrd singled to left. B Wilkerson lined out to left. G Laird flied out to left. R Vazquez singled to right, M Byrd to third. T Metcalf flied out to center. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 6, TEXAS 4. CLEVELAND 7TH: R Mahay relieved K Loe. V Martinez singled to right. T Hafner grounded into double play, shortstop to first, V Martinez out at second. F Francisco relieved R Mahay. J Peralta flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 6, TEXAS 4. TEXAS 7TH: R Perez relieved C Sabathia. K Lofton grounded out to second. J Hairston Jr struck out swinging. M Teixeira grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 6, TEXAS 4. CLEVELAND 8TH: R Garko hit a ground rule double to deep center. T Nixon grounded out to first, R Garko to third. B Francisco singled to center, R Garko scored. B Francisco caught stealing second, catcher to second. J Barfield struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 7, TEXAS 4. TEXAS 8TH: R Betancourt relieved R Perez. F Gutierrez in right field. S Sosa walked. M Byrd flied out to center. B Wilkerson singled to center, S Sosa to second. G Laird struck out swinging. R Vazquez grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 7, TEXAS 4. CLEVELAND 9TH: G Sizemore struck out swinging. C Blake doubled to deep left. V Martinez walked. T Hafner grounded out to pitcher, C Blake to third, V Martinez to second. J Peralta fouled out to catcher. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 7, TEXAS 4. TEXAS 9TH: J Borowski relieved R Betancourt. T Metcalf fouled out to first. K Lofton reached on bunt single to pitcher. K Lofton stole second. J Hairston Jr popped out to second. M Teixeira singled to right, K Lofton scored. S Sosa struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 7, TEXAS 5.</div>
Sizemore, Sabathia lift Indians past Rangers <h3>CLEVELAND 7, TEXAS 5</h3>ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- Grady Sizemore helped C.C.Sabathia get back on track. Sizemore belted a go-ahead home run in the fifth inning topropel the Cleveland Indians to a 7-5 victory over the TexasRangers on Thursday night. Sabathia (13-4) snapped a personal two-game losing streak tobecome the major leagues' first 13-game winner this season.Cleveland's ace lefthander allowed four runs - three earned - onnine hits in six innings. "I thought it was positive, it was definitely an improvement,"Sabathia said of his outing. "I feel good, I'm just trying togo out and make sure I throw all my pitches for strikes, finishoff everything. My changeup had been up a little bit, I justwanted to make sure I finished it off. I got some good ones inthere. I definitely feel good about the way I pitched today." The Indians jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second inning, thenwatched Texas climb back into the game and tie it in the bottomof the fourth. Then Sizemore led off the fifth with a solo home run thatrestored Cleveland to a lead it would not relinquish. "I believe it was a sinker, fastball," Sizemore said."Obviously, they had a big inning and you want to come back andget on top of them. I wasn't trying to hit a homer or anything.I got behind in the count and I was trying to get a good swingon the ball." Sizemore also added an RBI single and made an outstanding catchin center field. "I'll tell you one thing that was big, was Grady Sizemore comingback up there after they scored another run to tie the game,the leadoff hitter getting a home run," Cleveland manager EricWedge said. "It brought the momentum right back to our side.That was huge." Trot Nixon and Ben Francisco each also had two RBI for theIndians. After Sizemore's home run in the fifth, Cleveland added anotherrun against Texas starter Kameron Loe (5-8) to go up 6-4. Sizemore's mammoth blast, his 16th home run of the season,landed beyond the Rangers' bullpen in right center field. CaseyBlake followed with a triple into left, and two walks later -one intentional to Travis Hafner - Loe had loaded the bases withone out. Blake scored on Ryan Garko's groundout that would have been aninning-ending double play, but Texas shortstop Ramon Vazquez -subbing for All-Star Michael Young, who missed the game toattend to his wife's grandmother's funeral - stepped off secondbase on the exchange. "We didn't get any breaks," Texas catcher Gerald Laird said."Kam kept us in it. We just couldn't put up those extra runs.Sometimes the breaks don't go your way. It's tough to swallowbut we played a good game." Francisco's RBI single in the eighth scored Garko, who extendedhis career-high hitting streak to 13 with a double to accountfor Cleveland's final run. "I don't even care about hitting streaks, I think they're themost overrated thing in baseball," Garko said. "I'm just glad Idrove in a run and scored a couple of runs, that's moreimportant to me." "I know that he's swinging the bat well," Wedge said of Garko."He's a young man that loves being up there in RBI situations.He plays the game with no fear and a tremendous amount ofconfidence. I've seen a lot of toughness this year that I liketo see." Trailing, 4-3, in the bottom of the fourth, the Rangers tied thescore but squandered a golden opportunity to take the lead. Brad Wilkerson walked and Gerald Laird and Vazquez each laiddown bunt singles to load the bases with none out. RookieTravis Metcalf then launched a shot to dead center field thatinitially looked like it might go for a grand slam, but Sizemoremade an impressive running catch on the warning track.Wilkerson tagged up for the tying run before Kenny Loftongrounded into a double play to end the inning. "That was big, too," Wedge said of Sizemore's catch. "Grady,he's a special player. He defines getting after it. When youget after it and you do that in this game at this level, thattells you everything you need to know and that's one of the manyreasons he's special." Loe got into trouble quickly in the second, loading the baseswith none out to set the stage for Nixon's double into the rightfield corner that scored Hafner and Jhonny Peralta. Francisco followed with a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Garko,and Nixon later scored from third on Sizemore's single up themiddle to give Cleveland a four-run lead. "It's hard to recover from a four-run inning," Loe said. "I gotin a jam and hurt myself by walking a guy and hitting a guy. Alot of my losses have been because of one bad inning. I've gotto turn things around. It's definitely frustrating." The Rangers struck back in the bottom of the inning, rallyingfor three runs - all with two outs. After Wilkerson doubled,Laird halved the lead with a two-run home run, the fifthSabathia has surrendered in his last three starts after havingallowed just one in the previous six. "I just told myself to keep making pitches," Sabathia said ofworking out of trouble in the fourth. "The previous two startsI had, the one right before the break and the one right after,that inning would have blew up on me, so I felt good aboutgetting out of there with one run and able to make some pitchesto get out of that inning." Vazquez followed with a double that one-hopped the wall inright-center and he subsequently scored when Sabathia's throw onMetcalf's short squibbler sailed past first base and out ofplay. "We put (the ball) in play, attacked Sabathia pretty well,"Texas manager Ron Washington said. "We had some opportunities,but that's what good pitchers do. He responded to put up somezeros. But we made him work. He isn't 13-4 on a fluke." The Rangers pulled within two in the bottom of the ninth on MarkTeixeira's two-out RBI single, but Frank Francisco struck outSammy Sosa to end the game.
