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Three-run homer in 11th inning brings win over Twins
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published on Wednesday, Sep 17, 2008
CLEVELAND: At some point during spring training, the manager will respond to a question about the makeup of the roster by saying, ''We don't have to cut players; they cut themselves.''
The same thing is true when training camp happens to come in September. As long as Eric Wedge is manager of the Indians, all the games will count. But this year, with the Tribe long out of the race, Wedge, his staff and General Manager Mark Shapiro are watching closely as players audition for 2009.
Not that Tuesday night's 12-9, 11-inning victory over the Minnesota Twins was incidental. Wedge plays 'em all to win.
So does Victor Martinez, whose one-out, three-run homer off lethal closer Joe Nathan put a dent in the Twins' hopes to catch the Chicago White Sox, the Central Division leaders, who are now 21/2 games in front.
Martinez, who has hit his only two home runs since coming off the disabled list Aug. 29, came into the game 1-for-10 against Nathan.
Like spring training, as tryouts proceed, the wheat eventually separates from the chaf without much prompting. In that regard, let's hear it for Rich Rundles, Jensen Lewis and Tom Mastny, who did their
jobs with alacrity.
Zach Jackson made his seventh start since being called up from Triple-A Buffalo in mid-August. At times, he has shown signs that he can be a major-league pitcher, but he also has been vulnerable to a fault.
No more so than Tuesday night, when he gave up seven runs in 51/3 innings, almost blowing an 8-1 advantage.
Be wary of pitchers who struggle to get through the fifth inning when they have a lead, especially a large one. That's because the fifth is the decisive inning, the inning that determines whether a starter is awarded the win.
Jackson gave up four runs and five hits in the fifth to trim the Twins' deficit from seven to three. He came out for the sixth (why is difficult to determine) and gave up singles to the first two batters before recording an out, his last, on a sacrifice bunt.
Ostensibly, Juan Rincon came in to rescue him. Instead, Rincon gave up a two-run single to make it 8-7. The runs were charged to Jackson, not Rincon, but Wedge and Shapiro aren't likely to forget who delivered the pitch that put the Twins on the verge of a tie.
In has previous outing, against the Kansas City Royals on Sunday, Rincon relieved Edward Mujica and allowed an RBI double to the first batter he faced. Again, the run was charged not to Rincon, but to Mujica.
Then there was Rafael Betancourt, who probably will have a job next year, partly because he has a guaranteed contract.
Betancourt's pace has diminished from turtle-sluggish to bluegrass-inert during a dry summer. Betancourt needed 33 pitches — 20 of them balls — and eight meaningless throws to first to get through the eighth inning, turning the Tribe's 8-7 lead into a 9-8 deficit.
Betancourt made a mess of the inning mostly by walking four, one intentionally, and allowing an RBI double.
Grady Sizemore couldn't exonerate Betancourt, but he did the next best thing: bounce a home run off the right-field foul pole with one out in the eighth to tie the score 9-9.
Indians attackers did some serious damage to Twins starter Francisco Liriano, the one-time wunderkind trying to find his way back after Tommy John elbow surgery.
Liriano's 3.62 ERA didn't rise as much as it might have because of two errors in the third inning that made four runs unearned. But Liriano did little to stem the tide, and this was after he gave up a three-run homer to Ryan Garko and a solo blast to Asdrubal Cabrera in the second inning.
Garko lifted his season RBI total to 79 with four, and Cabrera drove in two runs, one with a single.
Extra innings might have been avoided had someone been able to drive in Jhonny Peralta, who led off the seventh with a triple.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com.
CLEVELAND: At some point during spring training, the manager will respond to a question about the makeup of the roster by saying, ''We don't have to cut players; they cut themselves.''
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Larkspur, CO
Posted 11:07 AM, 09/17/2008
Are there really no comments on this type of a win? Is that because everyone is watching the Browns or is the comment section broken.
Posted 12:17 PM, 09/17/2008
Just happened to read this today. Usually, I just read the PD these days. There, it's much easier to comment as I like to. I like to add spacing and an occasional "style" to the text. Can't do that here. Other than that, it's nice to know that the Indians are outscoring the Browns. A win is a win.
Wooster, Oh
Posted 12:29 PM, 09/17/2008
What is the problem with Betancourt? He is nothing more than mediocre and he takes more time doing not much of anything than any other pitcher, which makes him doubly exasperating. Will he be with the Indians next year? I wonder if they might trade him.
