GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: CLEVELAND (28-17) at DETROIT (29-17)

AL: CLEVELAND at DETROIT

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CLEVELAND 2 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 2 7 12 0
DETROIT 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 4 11 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: CLE - PAUL BYRD, RAFAEL BETANCOURT (7TH), JOE BOROWSKI (9TH) AND
KELLY SHOPPACH

DET - NATE ROBERTSON, WILFREDO LEDEZMA (6TH), TIM
BYRDAK (8TH), JOSE MESA (9TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ


WP - PAUL BYRD (5-1)
LP - NATE ROBERTSON (4-4)
SAVE - JOE BOROWSKI (15)

HOME RUNS: CLE - CASEY BLAKE (6) OFF NATE ROBERTSON IN THE 1ST, 0 ON
VICTOR MARTINEZ (7) OFF NATE ROBERTSON IN THE 1ST, 0 ON
JOSH BARFIELD (2) OFF NATE ROBERTSON IN THE 4TH, 1 ON

DET - CRAIG MONROE (6) OFF PAUL BYRD IN THE 7TH, 0 ON


TIME: 2:58 ATT: 40,074

PROBABLES: CLE - C.C. SABATHIA (6-1, 3.51)
DET - JUSTIN VERLANDER (5-1, 2.68)</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at DETROIT

<div class="pre">CLEVELAND (7) VS DETROIT (4) - FINAL

CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 5 0 2 1 0 1 3 .274
C Blake rf 2 2 1 1 3 1 1 .268
T Hafner dh 5 1 1 1 0 1 4 .270
V Martinez 1b 5 1 1 1 0 1 2 .318
J Peralta ss 4 0 2 1 0 1 0 .280
J Michaels lf 5 1 1 0 0 0 2 .281
J Barfield 2b 3 2 1 2 1 0 0 .234
K Shoppach c 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 .326
A Marte 3b 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .180

Totals 36 7 12 7 5 6 15

BATTING: 3B - T Hafner (1, T Byrdak). HR - C Blake (6, 1st inning off N
Robertson 0 on, 1 Out), V Martinez (7, 1st inning off N Robertson 0 on, 2 Out),
J Barfield (2, 4th inning off N Robertson 1 on, 1 Out). SF - J Peralta. RBI - C
Blake (24), V Martinez (36), J Barfield 2 (23), G Sizemore (24), T Hafner (32),
J Peralta (33). 2-out RBI - V Martinez, G Sizemore. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - T Hafner 2, C Blake 1, G Sizemore 1. GIDP - J Michaels. Team
LOB - 8.

BASERUNNING: SB - G Sizemore (16, 2nd base off W Ledezma/I Rodriguez). CS - C
Blake (3, 2nd base by N Robertson).

FIELDING: DP: 1 (J Peralta-J Barfield-V Martinez).


DETROIT ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Granderson cf 5 0 1 0 0 2 1 .283
P Polanco 2b 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .326
G Sheffield dh 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .240
M Ordonez rf 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 .358
C Guillen ss 4 2 3 1 0 0 0 .337
I Rodriguez c 4 0 3 2 0 0 1 .278
S Casey 1b 4 0 2 0 0 0 2 .262
C Monroe lf 4 1 1 1 0 0 3 .233
B Inge 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .218

Totals 37 4 11 4 0 6 12

BATTING: 2B - M Ordonez (24, P Byrd); C Guillen (14, P Byrd). 3B - C Guillen
(4, P Byrd). HR - C Monroe (6, 7th inning off P Byrd 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - I
Rodriguez 2 (23), C Guillen (36), C Monroe (27). 2-out RBI - C Guillen, I
Rodriguez. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - B Inge 1. GIDP - I
Rodriguez. Team LOB - 6.

FIELDING: E - I Rodriguez (2, throw). DP: 1 (C Guillen-P Polanco-S Casey).


----------------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND - 200 201 002 -- 7
DETROIT - 010 002 100 -- 4
----------------------------------------------------

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
P Byrd (W, 5-1) 6 1/3 9 4 4 0 4 1 3.81
R Betancourt (H, 9) 1 2/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.83
J Borowski (S, 15) 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 7.50

DETROIT ip h r er bb so hr era
N Robertson (L, 4-4) 5 2/3 10 5 5 3 2 3 4.03
W Ledezma 2 1 0 0 1 2 0 5.18
T Byrdak 2/3 1 2 2 1 2 0 4.26
J Mesa 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 11.57

WP - N Robertson. Pitches-strikes: P Byrd 73-60; R Betancourt 16-15; J
Borowski 10-7; N Robertson 101-60; W Ledezma 38-25; T Byrdak 22-13; J Mesa
10-7. Ground balls-fly balls: P Byrd 4-11; R Betancourt 2-2; J Borowski 0-2; N
Robertson 12-2; W Ledezma 2-2; T Byrdak 0-0; J Mesa 1-1. Batters faced: P Byrd
28; R Betancourt 5; J Borowski 4; N Robertson 28; W Ledezma 8; T Byrdak 4; J
Mesa 2.

UMPIRES: HP--Bruce Froemming. 1B--Mark Wegner. 2B--Brian Runge. 3B--Mike
Winters.

T--2:58. Att--40,074.
Weather: 70 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 10 mph, right to
left.</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at DETROIT

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
CLEVELAND 7
DETROIT 4 FINAL</div>

 

Indians power past Tigers into first place

<h3>CLEVELAND 7, DETROIT 4</h3>DETROIT (Ticker) -- The Cleveland Indians powered back intofirst place in the American League Central.

Casey Blake and Victor Martinez blasted homers in the firstinning to lead the Indians to a 7-4 victory over the defendingAmerican League-champion Detroit Tigers in a battle of the toptwo teams in the AL Central.

Josh Barfield added a two-run shot for Cleveland (29-17), whichregained a one-half lead over Detroit (29-18) to secure just itsfourth win in its last 11 games at Comerica Park.

A trendy pick to finish atop one of baseball's toughestdivisions, the Indians have proven worthy of the hype.Cleveland has a stable of young players, who make up aformidable lineup.

It was on display Friday right from the start. After studleadoff man Grady Sizemore grounded out to second to start thegame, Blake blasted a soaring shot into the right fieldgrandstand, and Martinez then deposited a two-out blast in thesame area - both off Tigers starter Nate Robertson (4-4).

Barfield added another blast off Robertson in the third, ropinga shot down the left field line to make it 4-1.

After Sizemore added an RBI single in the sixth, the Tigers puttogether a quick two-out rally in the bottom of the frame to getback in the game.

Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen stroked back-to-back doublesfor the first run, and Ivan Rodriguez smacked his secondrun-scoring single of the game to plate the second tally.

One inning later, Craig Monroe belted a solo homer to make it5-4, and Curtis Granderson followed with a single to chaseIndians starter Paul Byrd. The righthander allowed three runsand nine hits, while striking out four without walking a batterin 6 1/3 frames.

Rafael Betancourt came in and retired Placido Polanco and GarySheffield to end the threat in the seventh. Sheffield ripped aliner down the line, which was caught by a diving Andy Marte forthe final out of the inning.

The righthander also tossed a scoreless eighth, inducingRodriguez into an inning-ending double play, setting up the JoeBorowski - who hurled the ninth for his 15th save - tied for theAL lead.

The much-maligned closer was the beneficiary of Travis Hafner'sRBI triple in the top of the ninth - his first of the season -and Jhonny Peralta hit a sacrifice fly to plate two much-neededinsurance runs.

Robertson allowed five runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings, whilestriking out two and walking three.

Guillen and Rodriguez each stroked three hits for the Tigers,who suffered just their second loss in their last seven games.

 

AL: CLEVELAND at DETROIT

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CLEVELAND (7) AT DETROIT (4) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore grounded out to second. C Blake homered to left.
T Hafner struck out swinging. V Martinez homered to right. J Peralta
grounded out to third. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, DETROIT 0.

DETROIT 2ND: M Ordonez fouled out to third. C Guillen tripled to deep
right. I Rodriguez singled to right, C Guillen scored. S Casey singled to
left, I Rodriguez to second. C Monroe flied out to left. B Inge flied out
to center. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, DETROIT 1.

CLEVELAND 4TH: J Peralta struck out swinging. J Michaels singled to
center. J Barfield homered to left, J Michaels scored. K Shoppach singled
to left. A Marte grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, K Shoppach out
at second. G Sizemore singled to center, A Marte to third. C Blake walked,
G Sizemore to second. T Hafner grounded out to catcher. (2 Runs, 4 Hits,
0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, DETROIT 1.

CLEVELAND 6TH: J Barfield walked. J Barfield to second on wild pitch by
N Robertson. K Shoppach grounded out to pitcher, J Barfield to third. A Marte
grounded out to shortstop. G Sizemore singled to right, J Barfield scored.
W Ledezma relieved N Robertson. G Sizemore stole second, G Sizemore safe at
third on throwing error by catcher I Rodriguez. C Blake struck out looking.
(1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Error) CLEVELAND 5, DETROIT 1.

DETROIT 6TH: P Polanco flied out to center. G Sheffield struck out
swinging. M Ordonez doubled to deep center. C Guillen hit a ground rule
double to deep left, M Ordonez scored. I Rodriguez singled to center,
C Guillen scored. S Casey grounded out to second. (2 Runs, 3 Hits,
0 Errors) CLEVELAND 5, DETROIT 3.

DETROIT 7TH: C Monroe homered to left. B Inge flied out to center.
C Granderson singled to right. R Betancourt relieved P Byrd. P Polanco
struck out swinging. G Sheffield lined out to third. (1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) CLEVELAND 5, DETROIT 4.

CLEVELAND 9TH: C Blake walked. T Hafner tripled to deep left center,
C Blake scored. V Martinez struck out swinging. J Mesa relieved T Byrdak.
J Peralta hit sacrifice fly to right, T Hafner scored. J Michaels grounded
out to pitcher. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 7, DETROIT 4.</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at DETROIT

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CLEVELAND (7) AT DETROIT (4) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cleveland Starting Lineups -- G Sizemore CF, C Blake RF, T Hafner DH,
V Martinez 1B, J Peralta SS, J Michaels LF, J Barfield 2B, K Shoppach C,
A Marte 3B, P Byrd RHP.

Detroit Starting Lineups -- C Granderson CF, P Polanco 2B, G Sheffield DH,
M Ordonez RF, C Guillen SS, I Rodriguez C, S Casey 1B, C Monroe LF, B Inge 3B,
N Robertson LHP.

Umpires -- Bruce Froemming (HP), Mark Wegner (1B), Brian Runge (2B),
Mike Winters (3B).

Gametime Weather: 70 degrees, Cloudy, wind right to left at 10 mph.


CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore grounded out to second. C Blake homered to left.
T Hafner struck out swinging. V Martinez homered to right. J Peralta
grounded out to third. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, DETROIT 0.

DETROIT 1ST: C Granderson flied out to left. P Polanco struck out looking.
G Sheffield lined out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2,
DETROIT 0.

CLEVELAND 2ND: J Michaels grounded out to third. J Barfield grounded out
to third. K Shoppach singled to center. A Marte singled to center, K Shoppach
to second. G Sizemore grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 2, DETROIT 0.

DETROIT 2ND: M Ordonez fouled out to third. C Guillen tripled to deep
right. I Rodriguez singled to right, C Guillen scored. S Casey singled to
left, I Rodriguez to second. C Monroe flied out to left. B Inge flied out
to center. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, DETROIT 1.

CLEVELAND 3RD: C Blake walked. T Hafner lined out to second. V Martinez
lined out to right. C Blake caught stealing second, pitcher to first to
second.(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, DETROIT 1.

DETROIT 3RD: C Granderson struck out swinging. P Polanco flied out to
right. G Sheffield grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 2, DETROIT 1.

CLEVELAND 4TH: J Peralta struck out swinging. J Michaels singled to
center. J Barfield homered to left, J Michaels scored. K Shoppach singled
to left. A Marte grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, K Shoppach out
at second. G Sizemore singled to center, A Marte to third. C Blake walked,
G Sizemore to second. T Hafner grounded out to catcher. (2 Runs, 4 Hits,
0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, DETROIT 1.

DETROIT 4TH: M Ordonez grounded out to third. C Guillen flied out to
center. I Rodriguez singled to center. S Casey popped out to third. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, DETROIT 1.

CLEVELAND 5TH: V Martinez grounded out to shortstop. J Peralta singled to
left. J Michaels grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first,
J Peralta out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, DETROIT 1.

DETROIT 5TH: C Monroe lined out to center. B Inge struck out swinging.
C Granderson grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4,
DETROIT 1.

CLEVELAND 6TH: J Barfield walked. J Barfield to second on wild pitch by
N Robertson. K Shoppach grounded out to pitcher, J Barfield to third. A Marte
grounded out to shortstop. G Sizemore singled to right, J Barfield scored.
W Ledezma relieved N Robertson. G Sizemore stole second, G Sizemore safe at
third on throwing error by catcher I Rodriguez. C Blake struck out looking.
(1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Error) CLEVELAND 5, DETROIT 1.

DETROIT 6TH: P Polanco flied out to center. G Sheffield struck out
swinging. M Ordonez doubled to deep center. C Guillen hit a ground rule
double to deep left, M Ordonez scored. I Rodriguez singled to center,
C Guillen scored. S Casey grounded out to second. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 5, DETROIT 3.

CLEVELAND 7TH: T Hafner grounded out to second. V Martinez grounded out to
third. J Peralta singled to left. J Michaels flied out to center. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 5, DETROIT 3.

DETROIT 7TH: C Monroe homered to left. B Inge flied out to center.
C Granderson singled to right. R Betancourt relieved P Byrd. P Polanco
struck out swinging. G Sheffield lined out to third. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 5, DETROIT 4.

CLEVELAND 8TH: J Barfield flied out to right. K Shoppach walked. A Marte
struck out swinging. T Byrdak relieved W Ledezma. G Sizemore struck out
swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 5, DETROIT 4.

DETROIT 8TH: M Ordonez fouled out to right. C Guillen singled to left.
I Rodriguez grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, C Guillen
out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 5, DETROIT 4.

CLEVELAND 9TH: C Blake walked. T Hafner tripled to deep left center,
C Blake scored. V Martinez struck out swinging. J Mesa relieved T Byrdak.
J Peralta hit sacrifice fly to right, T Hafner scored. J Michaels grounded
out to pitcher. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 7, DETROIT 4.

DETROIT 9TH: J Borowski relieved R Betancourt. S Casey singled to center.
C Monroe popped out to second. B Inge popped out to second. C Granderson
struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 7, DETROIT 4.</div>

 

Indians power past Tigers into first place

<h3>CLEVELAND 7, DETROIT 4</h3>DETROIT (Ticker) -- The Cleveland Indians powered back intofirst place in the American League Central.

Casey Blake and Victor Martinez blasted homers in the firstinning to lead the Indians to a 7-4 victory over the defendingAmerican League-champion Detroit Tigers in a battle of the toptwo teams in the AL Central.

Josh Barfield added a two-run shot for Cleveland (29-17), whichregained a one-half lead over Detroit (29-18) to secure just itsfourth win in its last 11 games at Comerica Park.

A trendy pick to finish atop one of baseball's toughestdivisions, the Indians have proven worthy of the hype. Clevelandhas a stable of young players, who make up a formidable lineup.

"I think this whole division, the AL Central, we're going tobeat up on each other all year," Tigers outfielder Craig Monroesaid. "I like (Cleveland's) chances."

It was on display Friday right from the start. After studleadoff man Grady Sizemore grounded out to second to start thegame, Blake blasted a soaring shot into the right fieldgrandstand, and Martinez then deposited a two-out blast in thesame area - both off Tigers starter Nate Robertson (4-4).

Barfield added another blast off Robertson in the third, ropinga shot down the left field line to make it 4-1.

"It's big to get an early lead," Barfield said. "It took thepressure off of Byrd and he was able to settle down and pitchhis game. I'm swinging the bat much better and getting betterat-bats. I think I'm turning the corner."

After Sizemore added an RBI single in the sixth, the Tigers puttogether a quick two-out rally in the bottom of the frame to getback in the game.

Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen stroked back-to-back doublesfor the first run, and Ivan Rodriguez smacked his secondrun-scoring single of the game to plate the second tally.

"It was a good ballgame," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "Wefought our way back in it. The add-on runs there in the ninthwere disastrous for us. We fought our way back in the ballgame,I have no problem with it.

"Right now, I talk about it all the time, when you use yourbullpen because you want to, that's one thing. And when you useit because you have to, that's another. Right now, we'reasking a little too much of our bullpen."

One inning later, Monroe belted a solo homer to make it 5-4, andCurtis Granderson followed with a single to chase Indiansstarter Paul Byrd. The righthander allowed three runs and ninehits, while striking out four without walking a batter in 6 1/3frames.

"The story is not my pitching. It's (Jason) Michaels leapinglike superman to take a homer away and it was the bullpen thatkept us in the game," said Byrd, who was referring to aMichaels' remarkable catch to rob Monroe of a three-run homer inthe third. "I threw too many strikes tonight. I tried to getnasty and it got me into trouble. I threw too many hittablepitches and didn't make the ones I wanted too."

Rafael Betancourt came in and retired Placido Polanco and GarySheffield to end the threat in the seventh. Sheffield ripped aliner down the line, which was caught by a diving Andy Marte forthe final out of the inning.

"All I every wanted to do when I come into a game is do my job,"Betancourt said. "It's not only me, there are seven of us outto get guys out. That's what we are there for."

The righthander also tossed a scoreless eighth, inducingRodriguez into an inning-ending double play, setting up the JoeBorowski - who hurled the ninth for his 15th save - tied for theAL lead.

The much-maligned closer was the beneficiary of Travis Hafner'sRBI triple in the top of the ninth - his first of the season -and Jhonny Peralta hit a sacrifice fly to plate two much-neededinsurance runs.

"I just wanted to hit the ball good," Peralta said. "It turnedout to be a very important run for us."

Robertson allowed five runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings, whilestriking out two and walking three.

"I felt fine," Robertson said. "That's the thing. That'swhat's really baffling to me right now. I feel fine, I'm notfooling guys. Tonight, a little different story. I left somepitches up. One on a hitter's count, one on my count where Ihad the advantage, the 0-2 home run, just left it right over theplate. I've got to figure something out because I'm notfooling too many guys."

Guillen and Rodriguez each stroked three hits for the Tigers,who suffered just their second loss in their last seven games.