Now that's the way to win a ballgame.
In their most lopsided home win in 56 years, the Tribe treated the fans to a fireworks display of their own on the 4th of July, pasting the hated Yankees 19-1 before a packed house at Jacobs Field.
The win came close to matching the Indians 22-0 defeat of the Yankees in New York back in 2004.
The first five hitters in the Indians lineup absolutely exploded, making minced meat of a host of different Yankee hurlers. Grady Sizemore, Ronnie Belliard, Jhonny Peralta, Travis Hafner, and Victor Martinez combined to accumulate the following numbers last night:
15-24, 5 doubles, 6 HR, 15 RBI, 13 runs
On the hill, the suddenly dominant Jake Westbrook offered up seven more strong innings, allowing just one unearned run to run his win-loss record on the season to 7-4. Rookie phenmom Edward Mujica hurled two more scoreless innings to close things out. Improbably, Mujica has yet to allow an earned run ALL SEASON in stops at AA Akron, AAA Buffalo, and now the big league club.
With the win, the Indians have now emerged victorious in four straight contests, and have run their record back up to 39-43 with four games still remaining before the All-Star break. While most fans have written off the teams chances at the post-season, reeling off these last four games before the break would at least make things interesting again. That scenario would see the team get to the break at 43-43, and riding an eight game winning streak.
In other news, www.mlb.com is reporting that Travis Hafner is currently in fourth place amongst the five contestants for the final spot on the AL All Star team. Voting is open until tomorrow at 6:00 PM ET. Presently, Minnesota Twins rookie hurler Francisco Liriano and Dodgers first baseman Nomar Garciaparra lead the voting for their respective leagues.