GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: CLEVELAND (50-32) at DETROIT (47-33)

Blake's late homer helps Indians edge Tigers in opener

<h3>CLEVELAND 5, DETROIT 4 (11 INNINGS)</h3>DETROIT (Ticker) -- Casey Blake made sure the ClevelandIndians continue to roll in the Motor City.

Blake delivered the go-ahead homer in the bottom of the 11thinning as the Indians pushed their winning streak to six gameswith a 5-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night.

Earlier this season, the Indians came into Comerica Park andtook three straight from May 25-27. With the win, they are nowthree games ahead in the American League Central Division.

Blake hit his 12th homer of the season over the left field fenceagainst Tigers reliever Jose Capellan (0-1), who was making hisdebut since being acquired from Milwaukee on Sunday.

Tom Mastny (6-2) got out of a bases-loaded situation in the 10thfor the win and closer Joe Borowski retired the final threebatters for his 25th save for Cleveland, which is 6-2 againstthe Tigers.

The Indians tied the game in the eighth, when pinch hitter BenFrancisco belted his third blast of the season against relieverChad Durbin.

Cleveland starter Paul Byrd gave up four runs and six hits withthree strikeouts in seven innings. The righthander is 7-2all-time when facing the Tigers.

Tigers starter Nate Robertson lasted five innings, allowingthree runs and striking out a season-high eight to remainwinless since May 19 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Robertson could have pitched longer, but manager Jim Leylanddecided to go pull the lefthander, who just recently came offthe 15-day disabled list with a tired arm.

In the fifth, All-Star Carlos Guillen stroked a bases-loaded RBIsingle off Byrd, scoring Placido Polanco for a 4-3 advantage.Detroit had a chance to add another run, but Gary Sheffield wasthrown out at home by left fielder Jason Michaels just secondsafter Polanco crossed.

Sheffield, who failed to make the American League All-Star teamdespite his impressive numbers, smacked his 19th blast in thethird. He ranks among the league leaders in RBI (53) andhomers.

Detroit's Ivan Rodriguez became just the fourth catcher inleague history to be behind the plate for at least 2,000 games,joining Carlton Fisk (2,226), Bob Boone (2,225) and Gary Carter(2,056).

 

AL: CLEVELAND at DETROIT

<div class="pre">CLEVELAND (5) VS DETROIT (4) - FINAL IN 11 INNINGS

CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 5 1 1 0 1 2 4 .282
C Blake 3b 4 2 2 1 1 0 0 .271
J Peralta ss 5 1 1 2 0 2 2 .282
V Martinez 1b 4 0 1 0 1 1 1 .324
T Hafner dh 4 0 1 0 0 2 3 .257
J Michaels lf 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 .288
a-B Francisco ph-lf 2 1 1 1 0 1 0 .500
K Shoppach c 5 0 1 0 0 2 2 .354
F Gutierrez rf 3 0 1 0 1 1 2 .290
J Barfield 2b 4 0 0 0 1 2 3 .253

Totals 37 5 9 5 6 13 20

a-homered to left for J Michaels in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - J Peralta (15, N Robertson); K Shoppach (9, Z Miner). HR - B
Francisco (3, 8th inning off C Durbin 0 on, 1 Out), C Blake (12, 11th inning
off J Capellan 0 on, 2 Out). S - C Blake , F Gutierrez. SF - J Michaels , J
Peralta. RBI - J Peralta 2 (49), J Michaels (26), B Francisco (5), C Blake
(42). 2-out RBI - C Blake. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - T Hafner
1, F Gutierrez 1, G Sizemore 1. GIDP - G Sizemore. Reached via catcher's
interference - T Hafner 1. Team LOB - 10.

FIELDING: E - J Peralta (13, ground ball). Outfield assists - J Michaels (G
Sheffield at Home).


DETROIT ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Granderson cf 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 .285
P Polanco 2b 5 1 2 0 0 0 0 .331
G Sheffield dh 5 1 3 1 0 0 0 .295
M Ordonez rf 3 1 1 0 2 0 0 .369
C Guillen ss 5 1 2 1 0 0 4 .322
I Rodriguez c 5 0 1 1 0 0 3 .279
S Casey 1b 4 0 0 1 0 1 2 .291
C Monroe lf 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .219
B Inge 3b 5 0 0 0 0 2 3 .247

Totals 41 4 9 4 2 5 15

BATTING: 2B - C Guillen (19, P Byrd). HR - G Sheffield (19, 3rd inning off P
Byrd 0 on, 1 Out). SF - S Casey. RBI - I Rodriguez (44), S Casey (31), G
Sheffield (53), C Guillen (60). 2-out RBI - C Guillen. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - I Rodriguez 2, C Granderson 1. Team LOB - 8.

FIELDING: E - I Rodriguez (4, catchers interference). DP: 1 (P Polanco-C
Guillen-S Casey).


----------------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND - 102 000 010 01 -- 5
DETROIT - 021 010 000 00 -- 4
----------------------------------------------------

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
P Byrd 7 7 4 4 1 3 1 4.71
R Betancourt 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.19
T Mastny (W, 6-2) 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 5.06
J Borowski (S, 25) 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 5.51

DETROIT ip h r er bb so hr era
N Robertson 5 6 3 3 2 8 0 4.86
Z Miner (H, 2) 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 2.02
M McBride (H, 1) 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.70
C Durbin (B, 1) 1 1/3 1 1 1 3 1 1 4.25
B Seay 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.74
J Capellan (L, 0-1) 2 1 1 1 0 3 1 4.50

WP - P Byrd, T Mastny. IBB - V Martinez (by C Durbin), M Ordonez (by T
Mastny). HBP - C Monroe (by P Byrd). Pitches-strikes: P Byrd 104-68; R
Betancourt 28-21; T Mastny 27-15; J Borowski 9-7; N Robertson 108-69; Z Miner
25-14; M McBride 4-3; C Durbin 25-11; B Seay 5-3; J Capellan 25-20. Ground
balls-fly balls: P Byrd 6-11; R Betancourt 2-4; T Mastny 1-2; J Borowski 0-1; N
Robertson 0-7; Z Miner 4-2; M McBride 1-0; C Durbin 1-2; B Seay 0-0; J Capellan
0-3. Batters faced: P Byrd 30; R Betancourt 6; T Mastny 6; J Borowski 3; N
Robertson 24; Z Miner 7; M McBride 1; C Durbin 8; B Seay 1; J Capellan 7.

UMPIRES: HP--Derryl Cousins. 1B--Kerwin Danley. 2B--Doug Eddings. 3B--Dana
Demuth.

T--3:52. Att--40,741.
Weather: 74 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 10 mph, right to
left.</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at DETROIT

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CLEVELAND (5) AT DETROIT (4) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore reached on bunt single to first. C Blake singled
to center, G Sizemore to third. J Peralta hit sacrifice fly to right,
G Sizemore scored. V Martinez struck out looking. T Hafner struck out swinging.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 1, DETROIT 0.

DETROIT 2ND: M Ordonez singled to center. C Guillen doubled to deep right,
M Ordonez to third. I Rodriguez singled to left, M Ordonez scored, C Guillen
to third. I Rodriguez to second on wild pitch by P Byrd. S Casey hit sacrifice
fly to center, C Guillen scored. C Monroe safe at first on error by shortstop
J Peralta. B Inge struck out looking. C Granderson flied out to center.
(2 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) CLEVELAND 1, DETROIT 2.

CLEVELAND 3RD: C Blake walked. J Peralta doubled to deep left, C Blake
scored. V Martinez singled to center, J Peralta to third. T Hafner reached
first base on catcher's interference, V Martinez to second. J Michaels hit
sacrifice fly to center, J Peralta scored. K Shoppach flied out to center,
V Martinez to third. F Gutierrez struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Error)
CLEVELAND 3, DETROIT 2.

DETROIT 3RD: P Polanco flied out to right. G Sheffield homered to left.
M Ordonez flied out to center. C Guillen popped out to second. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, DETROIT 3.

DETROIT 5TH: B Inge lined out to center. C Granderson grounded out to
first. P Polanco singled to center. G Sheffield reached on infield single to
third, P Polanco to second. M Ordonez walked, P Polanco to third, G Sheffield
to second. C Guillen singled to left, P Polanco scored, G Sheffield thrown out
at home, M Ordonez to second. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, DETROIT 4.

CLEVELAND 8TH: M McBride relieved Z Miner. T Hafner grounded out to
shortstop. C Durbin relieved M McBride. B Francisco hit for J Michaels.
B Francisco homered to left. K Shoppach fouled out to catcher. F Gutierrez
walked. J Barfield flied out to left. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4,
DETROIT 4.

CLEVELAND 11TH: J Barfield struck out swinging. G Sizemore flied out to
left. C Blake homered to left. J Peralta flied out to center. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) CLEVELAND 5, DETROIT 4.</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at DETROIT

<div class="pre">AL FINAL 11
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
- - - - - - - - -
CLEVELAND 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0
DETROIT 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0

10 11 R H E
-- -- - - -
CLEVELAND 0 1 5 9 1
DETROIT 0 0 4 9 1 (FINAL 11)

BATTERIES: CLE - PAUL BYRD, RAFAEL BETANCOURT (8TH), TOM MASTNY (10TH), JOE
BOROWSKI (11TH) AND KELLY SHOPPACH

DET - NATE ROBERTSON, ZACH MINER (6TH), MACAY MCBRIDE
(8TH), CHAD DURBIN (8TH), BOBBY SEAY (9TH), JOSE CAPELLAN
(10TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ


WP - TOM MASTNY (6-2)
LP - JOSE CAPELLAN (0-1)
SAVE - JOE BOROWSKI (25)

HOME RUNS: CLE - BEN FRANCISCO (3) OFF CHAD DURBIN IN THE 8TH, 0 ON
CASEY BLAKE (12) OFF JOSE CAPELLAN IN THE 11TH, 0 ON

DET - GARY SHEFFIELD (19) OFF PAUL BYRD IN THE 3RD, 0 ON


TIME: 3:52 ATT: 40,741

PROBABLES: CLE - JAKE WESTBROOK (1-3, 6.10)
DET - KENNY ROGERS (2-0, 0.75)</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at DETROIT

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CLEVELAND (5) AT DETROIT (4) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cleveland Starting Lineups -- G Sizemore CF, C Blake 3B, J Peralta SS,
V Martinez 1B, T Hafner DH, J Michaels LF, K Shoppach C, F Gutierrez RF,
J Barfield 2B, 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 -- Derryl Cousins (HP), Kerwin Danley (1B), Doug Eddings (2B), Dana Demuth (3B).

Gametime Weather: 74 degrees, Cloudy, wind right to left at 10 mph.


CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore reached on bunt single to first. C Blake singled
to center, G Sizemore to third. J Peralta hit sacrifice fly to right,
G Sizemore scored. V Martinez struck out looking. T Hafner struck out swinging.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 1, DETROIT 0.

DETROIT 1ST: C Granderson flied out to left. P Polanco grounded out to
shortstop. G Sheffield grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 1, DETROIT 0.

CLEVELAND 2ND: J Michaels walked. K Shoppach struck out looking.
F Gutierrez singled to left, J Michaels to second. J Barfield lined out to
right. G Sizemore struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 1,
DETROIT 0.

DETROIT 2ND: M Ordonez singled to center. C Guillen doubled to deep right,
M Ordonez to third. I Rodriguez singled to left, M Ordonez scored, C Guillen
to third. I Rodriguez to second on wild pitch by P Byrd. S Casey hit sacrifice
fly to center, C Guillen scored. C Monroe safe at first on error by shortstop
J Peralta. B Inge struck out looking. C Granderson flied out to center.
(2 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) CLEVELAND 1, DETROIT 2.

CLEVELAND 3RD: C Blake walked. J Peralta doubled to deep left, C Blake
scored. V Martinez singled to center, J Peralta to third. T Hafner reached
first base on catcher's interference, V Martinez to second. J Michaels hit
sacrifice fly to center, J Peralta scored. K Shoppach flied out to center,
V Martinez to third. F Gutierrez struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Error)
CLEVELAND 3, DETROIT 2.

DETROIT 3RD: P Polanco flied out to right. G Sheffield homered to left.
M Ordonez flied out to center. C Guillen popped out to second. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, DETROIT 3.

CLEVELAND 4TH: J Barfield struck out looking. G Sizemore struck out
looking. C Blake fouled out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3,
DETROIT 3.

DETROIT 4TH: I Rodriguez flied out to right. S Casey grounded out to
first. C Monroe struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3,
DETROIT 3.

CLEVELAND 5TH: J Peralta struck out swinging. V Martinez flied out to
center. T Hafner singled to center. J Michaels flied out to right. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, DETROIT 3.

DETROIT 5TH: B Inge lined out to center. C Granderson grounded out to
first. P Polanco singled to center. G Sheffield reached on infield single to
third, P Polanco to second. M Ordonez walked, P Polanco to third, G Sheffield
to second. C Guillen singled to left, P Polanco scored, G Sheffield thrown out
at home. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, DETROIT 4.

CLEVELAND 6TH: Z Miner relieved N Robertson. K Shoppach doubled to deep
right. F Gutierrez sacrificed to pitcher, K Shoppach to third. J Barfield
walked. G Sizemore grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first,
J Barfield out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, DETROIT 4.

DETROIT 6TH: I Rodriguez grounded out to second. S Casey flied out to
center. C Monroe hit by pitch. B Inge struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, DETROIT 4.

CLEVELAND 7TH: C Blake flied out to center. J Peralta grounded out to
third. V Martinez flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3,
DETROIT 4.

DETROIT 7TH: C Granderson lined out to right. P Polanco flied out to
right. G Sheffield grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 3, DETROIT 4.

CLEVELAND 8TH: M McBride relieved Z Miner. T Hafner grounded out to
shortstop. C Durbin relieved M McBride. B Francisco hit for J Michaels.
B Francisco homered to left. K Shoppach fouled out to catcher. F Gutierrez
walked. J Barfield flied out to left. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4,
DETROIT 4.

DETROIT 8TH: B Francisco in left field. R Betancourt relieved P Byrd.
M Ordonez lined out to left. C Guillen grounded out to first. I Rodriguez
grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, DETROIT 4.

CLEVELAND 9TH: G Sizemore walked. C Blake sacrificed to catcher,
G Sizemore to second. J Peralta struck out looking. V Martinez intentionally
walked. B Seay relieved C Durbin. T Hafner struck out swinging. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, DETROIT 4.

DETROIT 9TH: S Casey flied out to center. C Monroe flied out to center.
B Inge flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, DETROIT 4.

CLEVELAND 10TH: J Capellan relieved B Seay. B Francisco struck out looking.
K Shoppach struck out swinging. F Gutierrez popped out to shortstop. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, DETROIT 4.

DETROIT 10TH: T Mastny relieved R Betancourt. C Granderson lined out to
right. P Polanco singled to center. G Sheffield singled to left, P Polanco to
second. P Polanco to third, G Sheffield to second on wild pitch by T Mastny.
M Ordonez intentionally walked. C Guillen popped out to third. I Rodriguez
grounded out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, DETROIT 4.

CLEVELAND 11TH: J Barfield struck out swinging. G Sizemore flied out to
left. C Blake homered to left. J Peralta flied out to center. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) CLEVELAND 5, DETROIT 4.

DETROIT 11TH: J Borowski relieved T Mastny. S Casey struck out swinging.
C Monroe struck out swinging. B Inge flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) CLEVELAND 5, DETROIT 4.</div>

 

Blake's late homer helps Indians edge Tigers in opener

<h3>CLEVELAND 5, DETROIT 4 (11 INNINGS)</h3>DETROIT (Ticker) -- Casey Blake made sure the ClevelandIndians continue to roll in the Motor City.

Blake delivered the go-ahead homer in the bottom of the 11thinning as the Indians pushed their winning streak to six gameswith a 5-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night.

Earlier this season, the Indians came into Comerica Park andtook three straight from May 25-27. With the win, they are nowthree games ahead in the American League Central Division.

Blake hit his 12th homer of the season over the left field fenceagainst Tigers reliever Jose Capellan (0-1), who was making hisdebut since being acquired from Milwaukee on Sunday.

"I was really just trying to get something going there," Blakesaid. "Two outs, just trying to have a solid approach at theplate. I just happened to run into a slider, just kind of hung aslider there for me, hit it well, hit it on the barrel."

Tom Mastny (6-2) got out of a bases-loaded situation in the 10thfor the win and closer Joe Borowski retired the final threebatters for his 25th save for Cleveland, which is 6-2 againstthe Tigers.

Detroit had a chance to win in the bottom of the 10th with thebases loaded, but Mastny got All-Star Carlos Guillen to pop upand fellow All-Star Ivan Rodriguez to ground out to first.

The Indians tied the game in the eighth, when pinch hitter BenFrancisco belted his third blast of the season against relieverChad Durbin.

"I felt that the bullpen did a good job" Tigers manager JimLeyland said. "They got the big outs when they needed too. Acouple of bad pitches and that was the game."

Cleveland starter Paul Byrd gave up four runs and six hits withthree strikeouts in seven innings. The righthander is 7-2all-time when facing the Tigers.

"The game could have gone either way many times," Byrd said."It's a great sign that we come in here and win a game that wevery easily could have lost but just hung in there and made thepitches when we had to."

Tigers starter Nate Robertson lasted five innings, allowingthree runs and striking out a season-high eight to remainwinless since May 19 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Robertson could have pitched longer, but manager Jim Leylanddecided to go pull the lefthander, who just recently came offthe 15-day disabled list with a tired arm.

"I felt pretty good out there," Robertson said. "I had goodaction on all my pitches." I feel that I'm coming back, I got alot of swings and misses. I still threw a lot of pitches, but Ithrew a lot of strikes."

In the fifth, Guillen stroked a bases-loaded RBI single offByrd, scoring Placido Polanco for a 4-3 advantage. Detroit had achance to add another run, but Gary Sheffield was thrown out athome by left fielder Jason Michaels just seconds after Polancocrossed.

Sheffield, who failed to make the American League All-Star teamdespite his impressive numbers, smacked his 19th blast in thethird. He ranks among the league leaders in RBI (53) andhomers.

Rodriguez became just the fourth catcher in league history to bebehind the plate for at least 2,000 games, joining Carlton Fisk(2,226), Bob Boone (2,225) and Gary Carter (2,056).

"This was a big moment for me, I'm very happy," Rodriguez said."I have worked very hard to keep myself healthy and in shape. Ifeel that I have a lot left in me, I'm going to take it one dayat a time and see what happens in the future."