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Tribe ends losing streak with a rout of top team
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Friday, Jul 11, 2008
CLEVELAND: It probably looked like the same old Devil Rays to the Indians, even though the devil has been exorcised by the Tampa Bay marketing department.
But if this were any other season, what team would the Tribe likely choose to play to stop a 10-game losing streak? None other than Your Tam-Pa Bay Rays, as the public-address announcer at Tropicana Field is wont to intone.
And so it was that following an eight-game wipe-out in Chicago, Minnesota and Detroit, the Indians returned to Progressive Field on Thursday night and beat the Rays 13-2.
But these are not the Rays that have been the butt of jokes for their entire existence. This is a team tied for the best record in all of big-league baseball, even after the loss to the Tribe.
Asked if it was preferable to snap a long skid with a rout, manager Eric Wedge said: ''As long as it ends. We got that off our backs, and we can move forward. Hopefully, it's a start for us.''
So how did the Indians finally snap the embarrassing streak?
Except for giving up a two-run homer to light-hitting Jonny Gomes in the third inning, Aaron Laffey (5-5, 3.45 ERA) efficiently dispatched the Rays through the sixth.
''Laffey set the tone,'' Wedge said. ''He did a really good job.''
The key for Laffey was throwing pitches where he wanted.
''That's the best command I've had in five starts,'' he said.
The usually moribund Cleveland offense discovered that it still had a home run hack. David Dellucci, whose bat has been frighteningly quiet for months, whacked a two-run blast in the fifth to put the Indians on the scoreboard.
''I thought the home run gave us a shot of energy,'' Wedge said.
For Dellucci, batting .167 in his past 21 games, the home run was validation that he could still make an impact with his bat.
''It was huge for all of us,'' he said. ''That was the turning point of the game. We were able to relax and play with confidence. Laffey was able to relax and pitch with confidence. They say hitting is contagious. We showed that tonight.''
Laffey couldn't help but notice the lack of enthusiasm around him before Delucci's home run.
''Being down 2-0 felt like 10-0,'' he said. ''I felt that through the whole stadium, even though two runs are really nothing.''
Added Casey Blake: ''You've seen that so many times (lately). Kind of a ho-hum game, when we don't do a lot. But one of the great things about this game is that you get to go out and do it again the next night. You don't have to wait a week.''
Three more runs followed before former Wadsworth and Kent State standout Andy Sonnanstine could retire the side, with Ben Francisco also going deep with a runner on first. Before he left with one out in the sixth, Sonnanstine gave up another boomer, Shin-Soo Choo's solo homer to lead off the inning.
Sonnanstine (10-4, 4.58 ERA) isn't the first pitcher to struggle near his hometown. CC Sabathia never has been able to get it right when he pitches in Oakland. And so Sonnanstine was charged with six runs and nine hits.
The Tribe wasn't finished hitting home runs; Blake hit a drive over the wall in center, leading off the eighth inning against Gary Glover, giving the club four home runs for the night. It was Glover who turned the contest into a video game, giving up seven runs and leaving after retiring only two batters.
When the Tribe's offensive ''machine'' finally called it a night, Francisco and Blake turned out to be the biggest contributors. In addition to hitting his eighth homer of the year, Francisco singled in two more runs in the eighth, giving him four RBI for the game. Blake, who started the rally with his ninth home run, came up again in the eighth and singled home two more runs.
It was as if the Indians finally were able to release all the pent-up frustration created by the string of defeats and the loss of Sabathia in a trade to the Milwaukee Brewers earlier in the week.
''It was a great team effort,'' Blake said. ''We need that more often. It's a lot more fun.''
For four innings, it appeared that Sonnanstine would force an 11th consecutive loss on the Indians. Over that span, he allowed only one infield single and one outfield single, walking none.
But maybe he was thinking too much about how smoothly things were going or maybe he was thinking about the throng of family and friends watching him in the grandstand. After all, this was only the second time he had pitched in this ballpark.
For whatever reason, Sonnanstine's effectiveness declined precipitously in the fifth inning.
With the losing streak a thing of the past, all the Tribe has to worry about tonight is the Rays. And that is probably enough.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com.
CLEVELAND: It probably looked like the same old Devil Rays to the Indians, even though the devil has been exorcised by the Tampa Bay marketing department.
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