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By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 11:36 p.m. EDT, Sep 25, 2009
CLEVELAND: History will have to wait. The 2009 Indians soundly rejected the chance to enter the hallowed pages of the record book, proclaiming with a victory over the Baltimore Orioles: ''We don't need no stinkin' losing streak.''
The number of consecutive Tribe defeats had reached 11 going into the game, one less than the franchise record, set in 1931.
But the Orioles came to town with a losing streak of their own, which reached eight games after Friday night's 4-2 defeat at Progressive Field.
Were the guys happy? For the first time in almost two weeks, the stereo was playing in the clubhouse.
''It's good to hear music,'' said Kerry Wood, who earned his 20th save of the season. ''They could be singing in German and I wouldn't care.''
Lou Marson, who drove in his first big-league run with a double and walked to force home an insurance run in the ninth, was relieved that the streak was over.
''It feels good,'' he said. ''I think that's the first win we've had when I've been behind the plate. And the best part was the end, when we shake hands and congratulate everybody.''
Snapping a losing streak of that duration becomes more difficult the longer it goes.
''It means a lot [to win],'' Indians manager Eric Wedge said. ''Any time you have a streak like that, it gets tougher and tougher to win a ballgame.''
Wood knows that it becomes tougher to maintain a positive attitude as the streak builds.
''I don't know if I've ever been on a team that lost 11, but I've been there for eight or nine,'' he said. ''After four or five, you anticipate that things will go wrong. I know it shouldn't be that way, but you start expecting bad things to happen.''
''I knew what was going on,'' Fausto Carmona said through his translator, first-base coach Luis Rivera. ''Of course, I wanted to stop it. But my main focus was to stay aggressive and go after the hitters.''
Watching the Orioles litter the bases with runners, it was hard to believe that Carmona allowed only two runs in six innings. He gave up nine hits, including one home run and two doubles, but because he walked only one, he was saved from enduring a much more painful evening on the mound.
''I thought Fausto was as good as I've seen him this year,'' Wedge said. ''When it did get away from him, he was able to reel himself in. . . .I wanted to get him out of there on a positive note, because he had to work pretty hard the previous [fifth] inning.''
Carmona (4-12, 6.62 ERA) yielded one run in the second on three singles, the last belonging to Michael Aubrey. You might remember Aubrey. He developed in the Tribe farm system, but injuries continually held him back until last year, so he was traded to the Orioles in June for a player to be named.
In the third, Carmona put the first two runners on base but extricated himself from trouble by inducing Nick Markakis to bounce into a double play.
The Orioles had a runner on first with one out in the fifth and runners on second and third with two outs but couldn't produce the timely hit.
Markakis led off the sixth with a home run, and two outs later, Ty Wigginton singled and had to stop at third because Aubrey's drive to right bounced into the seats for a ground rule double. With a chance to drive in two runs, Cesar Izturis struck out to end the inning.
You could look at Carmona's harried night two ways: He pitched himself into trouble several times but smartly pitched himself out of trouble. Or he still has not rediscovered the proper consistency in his delivery to stay out of harm's way in the first place.
There probably is a little truth in each hypothesis.
''Everything has slowed down for me a little,'' Carmona said. ''I'm able to execute pitches and not worry about the runners.''
On the mound for the Orioles was rookie David Hernandez, who limited the Tribe to two runs in six innings on Aug. 27 at Camden Yards. He pitched almost as well Friday night, giving up three runs and six hits in six innings.
The Indians scored all their runs off Hernandez in the fifth, when Luis Valbuena led off with a home run, Andy Marte and Marson doubled for run No. 2, and Marson scored on an error when third baseman Melvin Mora threw into the runner on Trevor Crowe's sacrifice bunt.
Although Hernandez has fared well against the Tribe, he hasn't been so fortunate in other recent outings. In Hernandez's seven previous starts, he posted an 8.18 ERA and gave up 15 home runs in 311/3 innings.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/tribematters. Follow the Indians on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Indians.
CLEVELAND: History will have to wait. The 2009 Indians soundly rejected the chance to enter the hallowed pages of the record book, proclaiming with a victory over the Baltimore Orioles: ''We don't need no stinkin' losing streak.''
The number of consecutive Tribe defeats had reached 11 going into the game, one less than the franchise record, set in 1931.
But the Orioles came to town with a losing streak of their own, which reached eight games after Friday night's 4-2 defeat at Progressive Field.
Were the guys happy? For the first time in almost two weeks, the stereo was playing in the clubhouse.
''It's good to hear music,'' said Kerry Wood, who earned his 20th save of the season. ''They could be singing in German and I wouldn't care.''
Lou Marson, who drove in his first big-league run with a double and walked to force home an insurance run in the ninth, was relieved that the streak was over.
''It feels good,'' he said. ''I think that's the first win we've had when I've been behind the plate. And the best part was the end, when we shake hands and congratulate everybody.''
Snapping a losing streak of that duration becomes more difficult the longer it goes.
''It means a lot [to win],'' Indians manager Eric Wedge said. ''Any time you have a streak like that, it gets tougher and tougher to win a ballgame.''
Wood knows that it becomes tougher to maintain a positive attitude as the streak builds.
''I don't know if I've ever been on a team that lost 11, but I've been there for eight or nine,'' he said. ''After four or five, you anticipate that things will go wrong. I know it shouldn't be that way, but you start expecting bad things to happen.''
''I knew what was going on,'' Fausto Carmona said through his translator, first-base coach Luis Rivera. ''Of course, I wanted to stop it. But my main focus was to stay aggressive and go after the hitters.''
Watching the Orioles litter the bases with runners, it was hard to believe that Carmona allowed only two runs in six innings. He gave up nine hits, including one home run and two doubles, but because he walked only one, he was saved from enduring a much more painful evening on the mound.
''I thought Fausto was as good as I've seen him this year,'' Wedge said. ''When it did get away from him, he was able to reel himself in. . . .I wanted to get him out of there on a positive note, because he had to work pretty hard the previous [fifth] inning.''
Carmona (4-12, 6.62 ERA) yielded one run in the second on three singles, the last belonging to Michael Aubrey. You might remember Aubrey. He developed in the Tribe farm system, but injuries continually held him back until last year, so he was traded to the Orioles in June for a player to be named.
In the third, Carmona put the first two runners on base but extricated himself from trouble by inducing Nick Markakis to bounce into a double play.
The Orioles had a runner on first with one out in the fifth and runners on second and third with two outs but couldn't produce the timely hit.
Markakis led off the sixth with a home run, and two outs later, Ty Wigginton singled and had to stop at third because Aubrey's drive to right bounced into the seats for a ground rule double. With a chance to drive in two runs, Cesar Izturis struck out to end the inning.
You could look at Carmona's harried night two ways: He pitched himself into trouble several times but smartly pitched himself out of trouble. Or he still has not rediscovered the proper consistency in his delivery to stay out of harm's way in the first place.
There probably is a little truth in each hypothesis.
''Everything has slowed down for me a little,'' Carmona said. ''I'm able to execute pitches and not worry about the runners.''
On the mound for the Orioles was rookie David Hernandez, who limited the Tribe to two runs in six innings on Aug. 27 at Camden Yards. He pitched almost as well Friday night, giving up three runs and six hits in six innings.
The Indians scored all their runs off Hernandez in the fifth, when Luis Valbuena led off with a home run, Andy Marte and Marson doubled for run No. 2, and Marson scored on an error when third baseman Melvin Mora threw into the runner on Trevor Crowe's sacrifice bunt.
Although Hernandez has fared well against the Tribe, he hasn't been so fortunate in other recent outings. In Hernandez's seven previous starts, he posted an 8.18 ERA and gave up 15 home runs in 311/3 innings.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/tribematters. Follow the Indians on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Indians.
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