clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Game Forty: Indians 2, Athletics 0

280514105_athletics_indians_72470846_lbig_medium

via www.fangraphs.com

Highest WPA Lowest WPA
CC Sabathia .582 David Dellucci -.107
Grady Sizemore .114 Victor Martinez -.073
Ryan Garko .082 Travis Hafner -.058

CC Sabathia obviously was embarrassed by actually giving up a run in his last start. So tonight he pitched the best outing of an Indians starter in the past four days (which is saying something), shutting out the Athletics on five hits and striking out 11. And with that shutout, all five starters in the Cleveland rotation have pitched at least seven shutout innings in their last starts, an amazing feat. The Indians as a team now have seven (!) shutouts. Cleveland starters have now gone 43.1 innings without allowing a run. The run prevention has been such that despite an offense last in the league in batting average and slugging, they could wake up tomorrow the leaders of the AL Central.

The offense tonight didn't need to do much, but could have done a whole lot more. Grady Sizemore lead off the game with a home run, and Ryan Garko added a homer in the fourth. They could have ended all doubt in the fifth, when Joe Blanton loaded the bases with nobody out with two walks after a Ben Francisco double, but Jhonny Peralta swung weakly at a pitch on the outside corner and topped a grounder right back to Blanton, who started a 1-2-3 double play, That turnabout seemed to rejuvenate Blanton, who was probably one hit from hitting the showers. Blanton went on to pitch through the seventh.