That is exactly what the doctor ordered... To be cliche if I can.
August 29th, 2011
Oakland Athletics - 1
Cleveland Indians - 2
W: David Huff (2-2) L: Brandon McCarthy (7-7) S: Chris Perez (30)
Brandon McCarthy was undefeated at Progressive Field.
Not any more. For whatever reason, McCarthy had some good karma going in Cleveland and that continued, even with Oakland.
"We couldn't do much against McCarthy," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "He was very, very good with that cutter and the sinker coming from the same slot. He worked both sides of the plate and was very effective. He had us going back and forth, chasing his pitches. But we got some clutch hitting."
He probably shouldn't have lost that game last night, especially after giving up just two runs off five hits and a walk in eight innings. But Justin Masterson shouldn't have lost on Sunday, so there ya go.
David Huff certainly didn't deserve to lose either and it was only icing on the cake that he was able to get the win after pitching six shutout frames. Huff was in control. He threw a good amount of pitches, but he really was ahead of the game most of the night. The Matsui double in the sixth came with two outs and the Weeks double in the third came with one out, but Huff easily maneuvered around it.
"Coming off of nine days' rest, I was a little up in the zone at the start," Huff said. "But eventually, I settled down and made pitches and got ahead in the later innings -- four, five and six."
Huff was good, real good. It was nice to see, especially after the clunker he had last time out. Last time showed he wasn't as good as he was pitching, but last night showed he wasn't a fluke. Basically, Huff has it. Outside of that one start last week when he gave up five runs, he's given up just one run in his other five starts.
People, that's a 0.39 ERA in four starts. He's not doing this with smoke and mirrors. He's got something right going on. He hasn't done this against Oakland, Minnesota, and Seattle either. He's pitched well against Boston and Los Angeles as well as Minnesota and Oakland.
Am I anointing him the next Cliff Lee? Is four starts something to get really excited about? No, not in either case. But four starts like that are great building blocks. People were ready to throw Huff onto the trash heap. A throw in in a trade. The next Jeremy Sowers. He was of no use to some people.
Yet here he is and he's pitching well.
Huff got the win thanks to a big hit by Kosuke Fukudome in the sixth. With Zeke Carrera on first, Fukudome hit a hard line shot to right field that was an easy double. For Zeke, it was an easy decision to go for home, the question was would he be safe? It was a close play, but Carrera's speed won out. It wasn't a bad throw by any means, which makes it all the more impressive.
Fukudome was 2-for-3 in the two-hole. Manny has been moving him around and likes that he can do that, but I personally like him in the two-hole. That is where I thought he should have been hitting at from the get-go. He's a on-base guy and he really fits in that spot, regardless of the big RBI double he had last night.
Carlos Santana was also 2-for-3, having hit a huge solo shot in the seventh. It was huge because of the run scored in the eighth. It was said by multiple people on my Twitterfeed, but it has to be the quietest 20-home run season for a catcher in a long time. It's hard to believe he's had such a good season in that department, yet really not produce in terms of being a consistent hitter like we know he can be.
Still, that was a big hit and it was the insurance run the Indians really needed to put it away with a downright scary dominant ninth inning from Rage. Big win. Big win. Even more so because the Tigers lost, something the bullpen was well aware of.
"We're all aware of what Detroit's doing," Perez said. "The last time we checked it was 9-4."
Oh Chris...
Random Details...
I like two hour and a half hour games. I like them very much. I get more sleep this way.
Zeke got caught stealing early after the Suzuki/McCarthy battery pretty much guessed he was going. That prompted some commentary from the booth about how Sandy Alomar Jr. said Zeke is still very green. That's very true, but for being so green, he's still doing a good job. Regardless of the defensive miscues, which are unacceptable for someone that Manny Acta says is one of the better defensive outfielders in the system, he is doing a good job offensively.
Joe Smith was scary good in the seventh inning. The leadoff double soured his night since it ended up coming around to score, but he was so quick, I think that prompted Manny to bring him out to start the eighth inning. Oh and the way Vinnie Pestano ended the eighth? I shudder.
Quiet 0-for-3 for Jimmy last night. Just the one home run so far.
[RANDOM RUNDOWN]
It would appear as if that the oblique injury Shin-Soo Choo is battling will keep him out for up to two weeks. The pain he felt last weekend was just too much for him to continue playing. By the time he gets going, and that isn't even a set time table as to when that will happen, two weeks will probably pass.
It is a bad break that he is missing any time at all, but two more weeks without someone who was actually producing? Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse.
Outfielder Michael Brantley probably isn't happy to be missing the rest of the season, but he is happy that he has answers to what was wrong and that it is a pretty clear-cut procedure that commonly results in no future issues.
"It's good to finally get some answers," Brantley said. "You can take care of it. It's not something that's going to hinder you your whole career."
From hurt outfielders to healing outfielders. Trevor Crowe is back in-state and will be with Triple-A Columbus to continue his rehab assignment. He played six games with the Arizona squad and if anything, it's good to know he could be a September re-enforcement
An MRI on Josh Tomlin's elbow showed no tear and that is pretty good news. He probably still won't be back this season, but there is a little hope there.
With Tomlin out and Carrasco not ready, there is a spot open in the rotation and that will go to Jeanmar Gomez, who will probably occupy that spot for the time being. Jeanmar has had a great year at Columbus, and has been in line to make starts for Cleveland this year, but hasn't been overly impressive.
Jerad Head certainly didn't expect to get his first hit the way he did, but he wasn't complaining.
"I never thought that's the way it'd come," Head said, "but to get it out of the way was nice and allowed me to settle in and get comfortable in the box."
It's funny, but Head makes it two undraftede free agents to be on the team right now. Him and Frank Herrmann. That's pretty remarkable. UDFA's don't make it too much, let alone two to be on one team.
He wasn't undrafted, but a great story on the injury pitching prospect Kyle Landis overcame to make his return to baseball. Tipped from Top Prospect Alert's Blog, Landis returned from over a year and a half of rehab after suffering from a overtaxed musculocutaneous nerve. It's very rare, but it had to be very scare for Landis to lose feeling in his right arm.
Any arm injury is scary, but when you can't pick anything up without it feeling like you are picking up the earth? I would say it is a minor miracle that he's pitching again. It had to be scary for Landis, but he certainly wouldn't have been able to come back without a positive attitude.
[RAFAEL PEREZ TWEET WATCH]
Cole Cook is on a roll right now... You are following him right?
I own kids jeopardy.
-
What I got from Columbiana: "Hi, my name is @zoesaldana, and I'm the sexiest most badass chick in Hollywood." #nolongeraboysclub
-
If nothing else, my ability to order complex drink/food combinations at top speed with a slip up pegs me as a city kid
-
Has Jason Statham ever been in a movie without a gun?
Days Without a Tweet: 98
-
You can read more Morning Rundown and other features on Nino's blog, The Tribe Daily.