Written by Jonathan Knight

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FINALLY GETTING SOME CREDIT: Thursday’s sterling outing by Justin Masterson marked his 20th quality start (at least 6 IP, no more than 3 ER) of the season - only six of his starts have failed to qualify. In those 20 games, Masterson’s record is 9-4 and the Indians’ record is 13-7. The Tribe has won the last five games Masterson has started.

ALL-TIME TOTALS: The Indians’ all-time record against the Twins improved to 365-348. Their mark against the White Sox jumped to 989-1,031.

KEEPING IT IN THE PARK: When Juan Pierre hit his solo homer in the fourth inning of Tuesday’s series opener with the White Sox, it broke a string of 70.2 consecutive innings in which Indians pitchers did not allow a home run.

STRINGING WINS TOGETHER: By winning two of three against Detroit followed by a two-game sweep of the Twins in their abbreviated series and then two of three over the White Sox, the Indians won three straight series for the first time since taking two of three from the Diamondbacks (June 27-29), Reds (July 1-3), and Yankees (July 4-6).

AVERAGE UBALDO: In his three starts with the Indians, Ubaldo Jimenez has an ERA of 4.58 and has allowed 21 hits in 17.2 innings pitched. The Indians have lost two of the three games he’s started. In the two losses, Jimenez’s ERA is 8.38.

DIVISIONAL MATTERS: The Indians now stand at 22-20 against Central Division opponents.

STORM CLOUDS: Sunday’s rainout was the Indians’ fourth postponement of the season - ironically, none of which came in the bizarre weather month of April.

TOSSING UP ZEROES: When Frank Herrmann allowed a run in the sixth inning of the White Sox opener on Tuesday, it broke a string of 19.2 consecutive scoreless innings pitched by the Tribe bullpen.

HEARTBREAKERS: Tuesday marked the Indians’ seventh straight road defeat in which the opponent scored the winning run in its last at-bat, including four walk-off victories.

THE COMEBACK KIDS STRIKE AGAIN: The win in the opener of the Minnesota series marked the Indians’ 28th come-from-behind victory of the season and their 19th victory in their last at-bat. The 29th come-from-behind win followed Thursday night in Chicago.

LOSING THE CLOSE ONES: The Tribe is now 20-21 in one-run games - having lost six of the last eight - and 5-6 in extra innings - having lost three of the last four.

FREE PASSES: Carlos Santana leads the team with 72 walks, more than double the next-best total of 35 by Asdrubal Cabrera.

SURPRISING: Despite their strong starting pitching this season, the Indians have only collected two complete games - tied for fewest in the AL. The Angels and Rays have the most with 11. The Tribe also has the fewest shutouts with four - 10 behind the league-leading Rangers.

FEW FREE PASSES: Tribe pitchers have permitted a league-low 320 walks.

FAUSTO FIGHTING BACK: Though he has a record of just 2-3 over his last eight starts, in that period, Fausto Carmona has an ERA of 2.76 and the Indians have won five of the eight games. Over that stretch, Carmona has lowered his season ERA a full run - from 5.98 to 4.89.

BREAKING BUEHRLE: Before Wednesday night, the White Sox had won the last five games Mark Buehrle had started against Indians.

PUNISHED BY THE PALE HOSE: Even after the rousing two victories Wednesday and Thursday, the Indians are now just 3-7 against the White Sox this season and have lost nine of their last 12 meetings and 13 of their last 17.

DRIVE FOR FIVE: Tuesday night marked just the 10th time this season that the Indians lost a game in which they managed to score at least five runs. They’re now 6-33 when their opponent scores at least five.

WHIFFLE BALL: Indians’ batters lead the American League in strikeouts with 938.

PROGRESS REPORT: The Indians are averaging 4.29 runs per game and allowing 4.24. Their team batting average is .248 (10th in the AL) and team ERA is 3.87 (eighth in the AL).

A YEAR AGO: After 120 games in 2010, the Indians stood at 49-71, last place in the AL Central, 21 games back of the first-place Twins.

 

MINNESOTA SERIES BY THE NUMBERS:

The Indians outscored the Twins, 6-3. One of the Indians’ runs was unearned. The Twins committed two errors and the Indians committed one.

Overall Hitting

Minnesota 10 for 62 (.161), 2 walks

Cleveland 22 for 67 (.328), 3 walks

 

With Runners in Scoring Position

Minnesota 3 for 8 (.375), 7 left on base

Cleveland 3 for 18 (.167), 17 left on base

 

Extra-Base Hits

Minnesota 1 (0 HR)

Cleveland 4 (1 HR)

 

Overall Pitching

Minnesota 16 IP, 22 H, 3 BB, 16 SO, 5 ER, 2.81 ERA

Cleveland 18 IP, 10 H, 2 BB, 8 SO, 3 ER, 1.50 ERA

 

Starting Pitchers

Minnesota 0-1; 14 IP, 19 H, 2 BB, 13 SO, 4 ER, 2.57 ERA

Cleveland 1-0; 14 IP, 9 H, 2 BB, 6 SO, 3 ER, 1.93 ERA

 

Relief Pitchers

Minnesota 0-1; 2 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 3 SO, 1 ER, 4.50 ERA

Cleveland 1-0, 2 saves; 4 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 ER, 0.00 ERA

 

CHICAGO SERIES BY THE NUMBERS:

The Indians outscored the White Sox, 15-11. One of Chicago’s runs was unearned. The Indians committed one error.

Overall Hitting

Cleveland 31 for 120 (.258), 15 walks

Chicago 35 for 125 (.280), 11 walks

 

With Runners in Scoring Position

Cleveland 7 for 30 (.233), 30 left on base

Chicago 10 for 35 (.286), 32 left on base

 

Extra-Base Hits

Cleveland 8 (2 HR)

Chicago 13 (3 HR)

 

Overall Pitching

Cleveland 31.1 IP, 35 H, 11 BB, 22 SO, 10 ER, 2.87 ERA

Chicago 32 IP, 31 H, 15 BB, 40 SO, 15 ER, 4.22 ERA

 

Starting Pitchers

Cleveland 2-0; 19 IP, 20 H, 7 BB, 13 SO, 7 ER, 2.01 ERA

Chicago 0-1; 14.1 IP, 20 H, 3 BB, 15 SO, 9 ER, 5.65 ERA

 

Relief Pitchers

Cleveland 0-1, 2 saves; 12.1 IP, 15 H, 4 BB, 9 SO, 3 ER, 2.19 ERA

Chicago 1-1; 17.2 IP, 11 H, 12 BB, 25 SO, 6 ER, 3.06 ERA

 

UP NEXT:

at Detroit Tigers [65-58]

(Friday 7:05 p.m.; Saturday 7:05 p.m., Sunday 1:05 p.m.)

Probable Starters:

Tomlin (12-5, 3.97 ERA); Huff (1-1, 0.51 ERA); Jimenez (7-9, 4.48 ERA)

Last year: Series tied, 9-9

This year: Indians lead series, 6-3

 

Seattle Mariners [53-69]

(Monday 7:05 p.m., Tuesday 1:05 p.m. & 7:05 p.m., Wednesday 12:05 p.m.)

Probable Starters:

Carmona (6-12, 4.89 ERA); Masterson (10-7, 2.71 ERA); Gomez (0-2, 5.70 ERA); Tomlin

Last year: Mariners won series, 4-3

This year: Indians lead series, 4-0