Final
Indians-White Sox Preview
Aug 8, 2009 - 5:38 AM By KATE HEDLIN STATS WriterCleveland (46-62) at Chicago (56-53), 7:05 p.m. EDT
Facing lowered expectations after trading away much of their talent, the Cleveland Indians are enjoying their best run of the season.
The Indians look to win their fourth straight Saturday when they continue a three-game series with the Chicago White Sox.
Cleveland (47-62) beat Chicago (56-54) 6-2 on Friday for its 11th win in 16 games. Kelly Shoppach homered twice and Jeremy Sowers won for the first time in eight starts against the White Sox.
Cleveland, which is in fourth place in the AL Central - 11 1/2 games out of first - is batting .300 during the last 16 games, averaging 6.1 runs despite having dealt two of their best hitters in Victor Martinez and Ryan Garko to Boston and San Francisco, respectively.
"You pitch well, you play pretty good defense and you hit and you're going to win games regardless of what names are out there on the field," Shoppach said. "Sometimes when you get guys coming up here and there's no pressure on them, they get an opportunity to get comfortable real quick. If we were at the top of this pennant race and we have a bunch of young guys in the lineup, they're going to feel some pressure to perform."
Shoppach is 9 for 19 (.474) in the last five games with eight RBIs.
Chicago, which had scored 48 runs in winning five of seven games against division-leaders New York and Los Angeles, stranded nine runners and failed to score after loading the bases with no out in the eighth. Paul Konerko, who went 0 for 4 on Friday, has just two RBIs in his last 10 games.
The loss dropped the White Sox three games behind Central-leading Detroit.
Despite turning six double plays, the White Sox also committed three errors and have made eight in their last three games.
The Indians will hand the ball to Justin Masterson (3-3, 4.32 ERA) for his first start since joining Cleveland as part of the deal that sent Martinez to Boston. Masterson, who has made one relief appearance since the trade, is taking the mound in place of Carl Pavano, who was traded to the Twins on Friday.
Masterson made six starts for Boston this season, going 2-2 with a 4.58 ERA. The right-hander lasted at least six innings in four of those outings.
Masterson hasn't allowed an earned run in his last 10 innings of work, giving up four hits while striking out 12. He pitched 4 2-3 innings of relief last season against the White Sox, allowing one run and five hits.
Carlos Torres (0-0, 4.50), making his second major league appearance, will counter for the White Sox. The 26-year-old right-hander debuted against Tampa Bay on July 22, gave up two homers and three runs overall in six innings and did not get a decision in Chicago's 4-3 win.
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CLEVELAND (5) AT CHI WHITE SOX (8) - EVENT LOG
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Cleveland Starting Lineups -- G Sizemore CF, A Cabrera SS, S Choo RF, J Peralta 3B,
T Hafner DH, C Gimenez 1B, L Valbuena 2B, K Shoppach C, T Crowe LF,
J Masterson RHP.
Chi White Sox Starting Lineups -- S Podsednik CF, G Beckham 3B, J Thome DH,
P Konerko 1B,
Aug 8 10:26 PM - AL
AT CHI WHITE SOX - SCORING UPDATE
ERROR BY JHONNY PERALTA ALLOWED SCOTT PODSEDNIK TO SCORE.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, P KONERKO ON FIRST, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 5
CHI WHITE SOX 8 BOTTOM,8TH
DUE UP FOR CHI WHITE SOX: A PIERZYNSKI (.315, 2-FOR-4, RBI)
Guardians 5, White Sox 8 Bot 8, 0 OutsAug 8 10:08 PM - AL
AT CHI WHITE SOX - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY CHRIS GETZ SCORED A.J. PIERZYNSKI
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, C GETZ ON FIRST, C QUENTIN ON THIRD, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 5
CHI WHITE SOX 7 BOTTOM,7TH
DUE UP FOR CHI WHITE SOX: A RAMIREZ (.268, 0-FOR-2, BB)
Guardians 5, White Sox 7 Bot 7, 0 OutsAug 8 9:43 PM - AL
AT CHI WHITE SOX - SCORING UPDATE
SACRIFICE FLY BY GORDON BECKHAM SCORED DEWAYNE WISE
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, NONE ON, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 5
CHI WHITE SOX 6 BOTTOM,6TH
DUE UP FOR CHI WHITE SOX: J THOME (.258, 2-FOR-3, HR, 2 RBI)
Guardians 5, White Sox 6 Bot 6, 0 OutsAug 8 9:17 PM - AL
AT CHI WHITE SOX - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY CARLOS QUENTIN SCORED A.J. PIERZYNSKI AND PAUL
KONERKO
SITUATION: 4 RUNS IN, C QUENTIN ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 5
CHI WHITE SOX 5 BOTTOM,5TH
DUE UP FOR CHI WHITE SOX: C GETZ (.269, 1-FOR-2)
Guardians 5, White Sox 5 Bot 5, 0 OutsAug 8 8:54 PM - AL
AT CHI WHITE SOX - SCORING UPDATE
TWO-RUN HOME RUN BY JIM THOME (21) TO CENTER WITH 1 OUT IN
THE 5TH OFF TOMO OHKA SCORED GORDON BECKHAM.
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 5, CHI WHITE SOX 3
DUE UP FOR CHI WHITE SOX: P KONERKO (.285, 0-FOR-1, HBP)
Guardians 5, White Sox 3 Bot 5, 0 OutsAug 8 8:48 PM - AL
AT CHI WHITE SOX - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY LUIS VALBUENA SCORED CHRIS GIMENEZ
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, L VALBUENA ON SECOND, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 5
CHI WHITE SOX 1 TOP,5TH
DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: K SHOPPACH (.219, 0-FOR-1, BB)
Guardians 5, White Sox 1 Top 5, 0 OutsAug 8 8:38 PM - AL
AT CHI WHITE SOX - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY ASDRUBAL CABRERA SCORED KELLY SHOPPACH
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, A CABRERA ON FIRST, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 4
CHI WHITE SOX 1 TOP,4TH
DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: S CHOO (.295, 0-FOR-0, 2 BB)
Guardians 4, White Sox 1 Top 4, 0 OutsAug 8 8:19 PM - AL
AT CHI WHITE SOX - SCORING UPDATE
GROUND OUT BY GRADY SIZEMORE SCORED LUIS VALBUENA
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, K SHOPPACH ON THIRD, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 3
CHI WHITE SOX 1 TOP,4TH
DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: A CABRERA (.309, 1-FOR-1, BB)
Guardians 3, White Sox 1 Top 4, 0 OutsAug 8 8:17 PM - AL
AT CHI WHITE SOX - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY JHONNY PERALTA SCORED SHIN-SOO CHOO AND ASDRUBAL
CABRERA
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, J PERALTA ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 2
CHI WHITE SOX 1 TOP,3RD
DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: T HAFNER (.279, 0-FOR-1)
Guardians 2, White Sox 1 Top 3, 0 OutsAug 8 7:55 PM - AL
AT CHI WHITE SOX - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY A.J. PIERZYNSKI SCORED GORDON BECKHAM
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, A PIERZYNSKI ON FIRST, P KONERKO ON SECOND, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 0
CHI WHITE SOX 1 BOTTOM,1ST
DUE UP FOR CHI WHITE SOX: C QUENTIN (.224, 11 HR, 25 RBI)
Guardians 0, White Sox 1 Bot 1, 0 OutsAug 8 7:27 PM
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