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Lone run holds up for Indians against Twins, thanks to C.C.'s complete-game, shutout win
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Wednesday, Jun 11, 2008
CLEVELAND: A slight buzz of anticipation spread through the crowd of 26,874 after Jhonny Peralta made the Indians' last out of the eighth inning.
Would he or wouldn't he? It took less than a minute to find out.
When C.C. Sabathia ambled out of the dugout, the fans greeted him with a huge cheer that reached a crescendo as he climbed to the top of the mound.
To the gathering at Progressive Field, it was as if Sabathia had scaled Mount Everest and was about to plant the flag.
It was an impressive response for a starting pitcher with a 4-8 record, and that was after the 1-0 win over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.
Then again, Sabathia isn't a 4-8 pitcher, even though that's what the numbers say. Certainly, that's not what all the numbers say.
In nine of Sabathia's 14 starts, he has been supported by two or fewer runs.
He lost 1-0 to the New York Yankees on April 27, and the Tribe was beaten 2-1 in 10 innings by the Texas Rangers on May 25, though Sabathia was not charged with the loss.
Before Tuesday night, his only low-run win came on May 14, when he shut out the Oakland Athletics 2-0, so he kind of had this one coming.
''What can you say about the guy?'' manager Eric Wedge said. ''He was outstanding in every way. For that (run) to stand up for nine innings says a lot about the guy
standing on the hill.''
Even plate umpire Joe West put in a good word for Sabathia.
According to Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, West told him, ''That's the best I've seen him in two years, and that's saying something, because he won the Cy Young last year.''
It was Sabathia's second shutout of the season and third complete game. He did not allow a runner to reach third and only one — leadoff batter Carlos Gomez, who started the game with a single — got to second.
Of Minnesota's five hits, two were bunts. Sabathia did not issue a walk, and after Joe Mauer singled in the fourth, Sabathia retired 17 batters in a row to finish out the game.
''That's the best I've pitched all year,'' he said. ''I wasn't thinking about the runs. I just try to keep the game close and hope we score.''
Sabathia did not overwhelm the Twins by muscling up and throwing fastballs in the high 90s, at least not until late in the game. But he struck out Brendan Harris for the third out of the eighth inning on a 97-mph fastball, and Matt Macri began the ninth by flailing at a pitch clocked at 96.
Overthrowing can get Sabathia into trouble, so when he unleashed a 98-mph pitch to Alexi Casilla with two outs in the ninth, Victor Martinez came out from behind the plate to issue a warning: Chill.
''Victor just told me to calm down,'' Sabathia said. ''I knew he was coming out here after that pitch. It must have been pretty bad.''
On Sabathia's next pitch, Casilla slapped an infield bouncer to end the game.
Sabathia was well aware of the applause when he came out for the ninth.
''I always feel good when the crowd is behind me,'' he said. ''You feed off that energy.''
The fans needn't have worried that Wedge might go to the bullpen to relieve Sabathia.
''It was his ballgame,'' the manager said.
For a brief moment, it appeared that the Indians would treat Twins starter Scott Baker rudely. With one out in the first inning, Grady Sizemore hit a long double to left and, one out later, Ryan Garko singled him home.
Even Peralta's line drive to the center fielder to end the inning seemed to foreshadow better things to come for the Tribe.
Instead, Baker gave up the occasional hit but never was threatened, as he allowed eight hits and one walk in seven innings.
The Indians hit five hard outs during the game — one in the eighth after Baker left — that might have caused damage, but one defender or another always got in the way of the ball's flight.
There was one disquieting note for the Tribe.
When Josh Barfield tried to check his swing on a pitch in the fourth inning, he strained the middle finger of his left hand and was forced to leave the game. He is listed as day to day.
The game marked a milestone of sorts: For the first time in almost a month (May 13-15 when they won three in a row over Oakland), the Indians won consecutive games.
''It starts with one step,'' Garko said. ''The last five or six games, we've put some stuff together.''
Sabathia's thoughts had turned to another sport.
With the 2-hour, 6-minute win having been completed only 13 minutes after sunset, Sabathia was anxious to turn the page.
''I didn't know what time it was, but it wasn't dark, so I figured it must be pretty early,'' he said. ''I might be able to catch the Lakers game.''
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com.
CLEVELAND: A slight buzz of anticipation spread through the crowd of 26,874 after Jhonny Peralta made the Indians' last out of the eighth inning.
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