Written by Jonathan Knight

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BIRTHDAY BOMBS: When Jim Thome hit his emotional homer on Saturday night, it was the third time in his career he’d gone yard on his birthday. He also did it in 1993 and 1996.

ALL-TIME TOTALS: The Indians’ all-time record against the Royals jumped to 293-277. Their mark against the Athletics moved to 219-250.

EVEN STEVEN: The Indians’ record in one-run games is now 24-24. Ironically, the Tribe is now an even 24-24 in games against division opponents.

STOPPING THE BLEEDING: After compiling losing records in the months of June and July, the Indians went 15-13 in August.

WINNING THE ONES YOU SHOULD: The Indians are 42-25 against teams that currently have a losing record and 26-41 against teams that are currently at or above the .500 mark.

RULING THE ROYALS: With two wins against Kansas City last weekend, the Indians clinched victory in the season series over the Royals for the eighth straight year. Since 2004, the Tribe is 85-58 against Kansas City.

QUIETLY EFFECTIVE: Monday night’s business-like performance by Chris Perez was his 19th 1-2-3 inning of the season in what is now 56 appearances. For as much heat as he’s taken recently, it was his sixth 1-2-3 inning in the month of August, the most he’s had in any month since posting six in his sterling start in April.

MARATHON MEN: Wednesday night’s marathon was the Indians’ longest game since Sept. 8 of last season when they lost to the Angels, also in 16 innings by the same score. Their record in extra-inning games this season is now an even 6-6 - the same record they posted in extras in 2010.

INTO THE NIGHT: At five hours and two minutes, the Wednesday marathon it was the longest Tribe game in terms of time since going the same duration in a 13-inning victory over Detroit on July 31, 2009.

MORE DRAMA: The 16-inning affair Wednesday night/Thursday morning marked the Indians’ 33rd come-from-behind victory of the season, as well as their 22nd win in their last at bat and 11th walk-off win. They’ve now passed last year’s total of 30 come-from-behind wins

ELITE COMPANY: With Monday’s save, Chris Perez became only the sixth Indian to ever record 30 saves in one season, joining Jose Mesa, Joe Borowski, Bob Wickman, Doug Jones, and Mike Jackson. This is the 11th time an Indian pitcher has recorded 30 or more saves in a year, with Jones doing it three times and Mesa, Jackson, and Wickman each doing it twice.

SECOND TO NONE AT TWO-TO-ONE: Monday was also the eighth time this year the Indians have been involved in a game with a 2-1 final score. They’ve won four and lost four. It was the 15th time overall that the Tribe held an opponent to one run.

RARE: The Indians won three of four games against Oakland, yet were outscored by the Athletics 13-12. Even more notable was the Indians winning three of the four games while hitting just .095 (2 for 21) with runners in scoring position for the series.

FINALLY TAKING A FOUR SET: By winning three of four against Oakland, the Indians won a four-game series for the first time in  eight tries, since taking three of four from Kansas City last September.

SHORT-CHANGED AGAIN: Sunday marked the fifth time this season Justin Masterson has had a “quality” start (at least 6 IP, no more than 3 ER) and took a loss. He now has 21 quality starts for the season, but only nine of those have earned him victories.

A MODEL OF CONSISTENCY: Justin Masterson’s ERA in his eight losses is an impressive 3.71, compared to an ERA of 2.42 in his 10 victories. In his 11 no-decisions, he has a 2.60 ERA.

GOOD MEMORIES: Jim Thome’s homer on Saturday night was his first in a Tribe uniform since Sept. 28, 2002 - his 52nd of the season - also against the Royals, off pitcher Jeremy Affeldt. Just like Saturday night, his last Cleveland home run brought the Indians back from behind to tie the game - that was a three-run shot in the eighth inning that sent the game to extra innings. The Indians went on to win in the 10th inning when Omar Vizquel scored on an error on a ball hit by Ellis Burks.

PADDING HIS LEAD: Now with 335 career home runs for the Indians, Jim Thome leads second-place Albert Belle by 93 home runs. The only active player on the Indians’ top 10 all-time home run list is Travis Hafner - who is now 149 behind Thome.

MORE THOME HISTORY: Jim Thome’s second walk on Tuesday night was his 1,000th as a member of the Indians. He’s easily the franchise’s all-time leader, now with 143 more than second-place Tris Speaker.

UBALDO UPRISING: With a sterling start against Kansas City on Friday night, Ubaldo Jimenez dropped his Cleveland ERA from 7.29 to 5.79. His overall season ERA now stands at 4.71.

PROGRESS REPORT: The Indians are averaging 4.22 runs per game and allowing 4.35. Their team batting average is .250 (10th in the AL) and team ERA is 3.92 (ninth in the AL).

A YEAR AGO: After 134 games in 2010, the Indians stood at 54-80, last place in the AL Central, 23 games back of the first-place Twins.

 

KANSAS CITY SERIES BY THE NUMBERS:

 The Indians outscored the Royals, 11-10. One of the Royals’ runs was unearned. The Indians committed two errors and the Royals committed one.

Overall Hitting

Kansas City 31 for 104 (.298), 5 walks

Cleveland 25 for 93 (.269), 12 walks

 

With Runners in Scoring Position

Kansas City 8 for 30 (.267), 22 left on base

Cleveland 8 for 23 (.348), 20 left on base

 

Extra-Base Hits

Kansas City 6 (2 HR)

Cleveland 6 (2 HR)

 

Overall Pitching

Kansas City 25 IP, 25 H, 12 BB, 23 SO, 11 ER, 3.96 ERA

Cleveland 27 IP, 31 H, 5 BB, 18 SO, 9 ER, 3.00 ERA

 

Starting Pitchers

Kansas City 1-1; 19.1 IP, 17 H, 8 BB, 17 SO, 7 ER, 3.26 ERA

Cleveland 1-1; 19.1 IP, 24 H, 4 BB, 15 SO, 8 ER, 3.72 ERA

 

Relief Pitchers

Kansas City 0-1, 1 save; 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 BB, 6 SO, 4 ER, 6.35 ERA

Cleveland 1-0, 2 saves; 7.2 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 3 SO, 1 ER, 1.17 ERA

 

OAKLAND SERIES BY THE NUMBERS:

The Indians outscored the Athletics, 13-12. Two of the A’s runs was unearned. The Indians committed three errors and Oakland committed one.

Overall Hitting

Oakland 37 for 161 (.230), 13 walks

Cleveland 31 for 147 (.211), 10 walks

 

With Runners in Scoring Position

Oakland 9 for 45 (.200), 38 left on base

Cleveland 2 for 21 (.095), 27 left on base

 

Extra-Base Hits

Oakland 10 (1 HR)

Cleveland 11 (5 HR)

 

Overall Pitching

Oakland 40.1 IP, 31 H, 10 BB, 42 SO, 12 ER, 2.68 ERA

Cleveland 43 IP, 37 H, 13 BB, 39 SO, 11 ER, 2.30 ERA

 

Starting Pitchers

Oakland 1-2; 26.1 IP, 22 H, 9 BB, 25 SO, 10 ER, 3.42 ERA

Cleveland 2-1; 24 IP, 23 H, 7 BB, 20 SO, 6 ER, 2.25 ERA

 

Relief Pitchers

Oakland 0-1; 14 IP, 9 H, 1 BB, 17 SO, 2 ER, 1.29 ERA

Cleveland 1-0, 1 save; 19 IP, 14 H, 6 BB, 19 SO, 5 ER, 2.37 ERA

 

UP NEXT:

at Kansas City Royals [57-81]

(Friday 8:10 p.m.; Saturday 7:10 p.m., Sunday 2:10 p.m.)

Probable Starters:

Masterson (10-8, 2.83 ERA); Huff (2-2, 2.08 ERA); Gomez (1-2, 4.55 ERA)

Last year: Indians won series, 10-8

This year: Indians lead series, 10-5

 

Detroit Tigers [75-62]

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

Probable Starters:

Jimenez (2-1, 5.56 ERA); Carmona (6-13, 4.84 ERA); Masterson

Last year: Series tied, 9-9

This year: Series tied, 6-6

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