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Never Forget 31-0
<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width="98%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>Two Errant Throws Lead To 3-2 Loss
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Travis Hafner ... solo homer is not enough.
</TD><TD noWrap width=3></TD><TD vAlign=top>By Chuck Murr Indians Ink
Date: Sep 4, 2005
To err is human. To do it twice in a row on consecutive bunts will cost you a ballgame. The Indians found that out in painful fashion, throwing away a ballgame in the bottom of the ninth inning to the rival Minnesota Twins and losing, 3-2 Saturday night. Cleveland is one game back in the AL wild-card race; the Twins got within five games of the lead.
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The Twins took an 8-7 lead in the season series with its fourth one-run victory over Cleveland this year. The Indians have defeated Minnesota five times by a single run.
Cleveland, held hitless by Johan Santana until Victor Martinez singled with one out in the fifth inning, had pulled into a 2-2 tie in the top of the ninth off normally reliable Twins closer Joe Nathan.
Casey Blake hit a leadoff double, was bunted to third by Grady Sizemore and scored on a sacrifice fly by Coco Crisp to tie it. It was the first run allowed by Nathan in 18 appearances since the all-star break. He has given up only two runs in 29 innings over 26 appearances since June 27.
It was only the fourth blown save of the year for Nathan (7-3), who ended up getting the win.
Juan Castro opened the bottom of the ninth with a bunt single -- his third hit. Third baseman Aaron Boone made a barehand pickup, but threw the ball down the right-field line for an error, sending Castro to second. Nick Punto then bunted and pitcher Bob Howry cut in front of Boone to make the play, but his throw to first hit the runner for an error, enabling Castro to score easily.
"It was a good ballgame until the end," said manager Eric Wedge. "Boonie has been fantastic for all us all year. That was just a tough play. As it turned out, the next one was tough, too. We just weren't able to execute. The ball, the runner, everything got there at the same time."
Indians starter Kevin Millwood pitched well, but Santana was sensational. He struck out 10 without walking a batter over eight innings. The only other hit he allowed was Travis Hafner's 23rd homer in the seventh inning that pulled the Indians within 2-1.
"Millwood was a warrior once again," said Wedge. "He had to work pretty hard, pitching against Santana who was outstanding in his own right."
Millwood gave up nine hits, four walks and two runs over seven innings, striking out only one. He held the Twins scoreless until the sixth. Lew Ford walked, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on a double by Justin Morneau. Castro followed with an RBI single for a 2-0 lead.
"Blake, the bunt and Coco got it done in the top half," said Wedge. "The bottom half of the inning got away from us, but that doesn't take anything away from the way we battled back or the way Kevin pitched."
Scott Sauerbeck struck out two and gave up one hit in the eighth before Howry came on for Cleveland.
Once again, Millwood got little offensive help. It was the 12th time in his 25 starts that the Indians scored two runs or less. After a 2-1 loss last Saturday in Toronto, he said: "I've had the urge to break things, but right now it's to the point where it's almost funny. There's not much I can do about it. I figure I'd save myself a few hundred bucks and just sit down and have a beer."
MINOR MATTERS
CLASS AAA BUFFALO (81-61) won at Ottawa, 4-3, as the Bisons continued to tune up for the upcoming playoffs. Jake Gautreau (.254) had two hits and two RBI, Ernie Young (.281) went 3-for-4, while Mike Kinkade (.284) and Jason Cooper (.254) both went 2-for-4. Fausto Carmona (7-4, 3.25 ERA) gave up three runs over seven innings. Brian Tallet (4.05 ERA) pitched a perfect eighth and Jake Robbins (3.14 ERA) gave up two hits in a scoreless ninth for his 22nd save.
CLASS AA AKRON (82-58) routed visiting Portland, 11-4 as it prepares for the playoffs, too. Eider Torres (.282) went 4-for-5 and scored three runs while Shaun Larkin (.252) drove in three with three hits. Pat Osborn (.285), Nate Panther (.296) and Jon Van Every (.246) also had two hits apiece. Brian Slocum (4.40 ERA) gave up two hits and struck out three over four scoreless innings. Adam Hanson (8.00 ERA) gave up five walks, four hits and four runs over the final five innings.
CLASS A KINSTON (33-35) which won its division in the first half, continued to try and get back into form for the playoffs with a 9-5 win in 14 innings at Myrtle Beach. Kinston scored twice in the top of the ninth to tie it, 5-5, and won it with four in the top of the 14th. Kinston trailed, 5-0, after five innings. Argenis Reyes (.296) went 5-for-7 with two runs and two RBI while Brian Barton (.325) and Rodney Choy Foo (.288) had two RBI apiece. Starter Scott Roehl (1.57 ERA) allowed one run over four innings. Shea Douglas (9.56 ERA) gave up four runs over two innings before Jim Ed Warden (3.72) worked four sensational shutout innings, striking out five and allowing only one hit. Kyle Collins (3.38 ERA) struck out two over two perfect innings. Winner Matt Davis (4-6, 5.70 ERA) got out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the bottom of the 13th, then struck out two in a perfect 14th.
CLASS A LAKE COUNTY (31-35) gave up a ninth-inning run and lost at home to West Virginia, 4-3, making it seven setbacks in a row. Chris Gimenez (.231) had two of the Captains' six hits. Starter Reid Santos (4.94 ERA) gave up only one hit over six innings, but it was a three-run homer in the first inning after he walked the leadoff batter and hit the next guy with a pitch. Julio Pinto (3.86 ERA) worked a scoreless seventh and eighth, but yielded the winning run in the ninth before Adrian Schau (5.15 ERA) threw a double-play ball to get out of a bases-loaded jam.
CLASS A MAHONING VALLEY (32-39) gave up one run in the bottom of the ninth and lost at Auburn, 5-4. Evandy DeLeon (.264) had three of the Scrappers' seven hits and Derrick Peterson (.210) went 2-for-3. Kyle Denney, sidelined since June after being hit in the head with a line drive while pitching at Class AAA Buffalo, started and gave up two runs in one inning. Scott Lewis (4.72 ERA) then worked two scoreless innings and Matt Haynes (5.06 ERA) allowed one run over two innings. Albert Vargas (1-2, 3.93 ERA) gave up two runs over 3 1/3 innings.
ROOKIE LEAGUE BURLINGTON (25-43) was not scheduled as it concluded the season on Tuesday. First baseman P.J. Hiser, who was promoted to Mahoning Valley in early August, was named to the Appalachian League All-Star team. He was batting .326 with 11 home runs and 36 RBIs before being called up and was Burlington's only selection to the team.
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</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top bgColor=#ffffff>
Travis Hafner ... solo homer is not enough.
</TD><TD noWrap width=3></TD><TD vAlign=top>By Chuck Murr Indians Ink
Date: Sep 4, 2005
To err is human. To do it twice in a row on consecutive bunts will cost you a ballgame. The Indians found that out in painful fashion, throwing away a ballgame in the bottom of the ninth inning to the rival Minnesota Twins and losing, 3-2 Saturday night. Cleveland is one game back in the AL wild-card race; the Twins got within five games of the lead.
</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3>
The Twins took an 8-7 lead in the season series with its fourth one-run victory over Cleveland this year. The Indians have defeated Minnesota five times by a single run.
Cleveland, held hitless by Johan Santana until Victor Martinez singled with one out in the fifth inning, had pulled into a 2-2 tie in the top of the ninth off normally reliable Twins closer Joe Nathan.
Casey Blake hit a leadoff double, was bunted to third by Grady Sizemore and scored on a sacrifice fly by Coco Crisp to tie it. It was the first run allowed by Nathan in 18 appearances since the all-star break. He has given up only two runs in 29 innings over 26 appearances since June 27.
It was only the fourth blown save of the year for Nathan (7-3), who ended up getting the win.
Juan Castro opened the bottom of the ninth with a bunt single -- his third hit. Third baseman Aaron Boone made a barehand pickup, but threw the ball down the right-field line for an error, sending Castro to second. Nick Punto then bunted and pitcher Bob Howry cut in front of Boone to make the play, but his throw to first hit the runner for an error, enabling Castro to score easily.
"It was a good ballgame until the end," said manager Eric Wedge. "Boonie has been fantastic for all us all year. That was just a tough play. As it turned out, the next one was tough, too. We just weren't able to execute. The ball, the runner, everything got there at the same time."
Indians starter Kevin Millwood pitched well, but Santana was sensational. He struck out 10 without walking a batter over eight innings. The only other hit he allowed was Travis Hafner's 23rd homer in the seventh inning that pulled the Indians within 2-1.
"Millwood was a warrior once again," said Wedge. "He had to work pretty hard, pitching against Santana who was outstanding in his own right."
Millwood gave up nine hits, four walks and two runs over seven innings, striking out only one. He held the Twins scoreless until the sixth. Lew Ford walked, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on a double by Justin Morneau. Castro followed with an RBI single for a 2-0 lead.
"Blake, the bunt and Coco got it done in the top half," said Wedge. "The bottom half of the inning got away from us, but that doesn't take anything away from the way we battled back or the way Kevin pitched."
Scott Sauerbeck struck out two and gave up one hit in the eighth before Howry came on for Cleveland.
Once again, Millwood got little offensive help. It was the 12th time in his 25 starts that the Indians scored two runs or less. After a 2-1 loss last Saturday in Toronto, he said: "I've had the urge to break things, but right now it's to the point where it's almost funny. There's not much I can do about it. I figure I'd save myself a few hundred bucks and just sit down and have a beer."
MINOR MATTERS
CLASS AAA BUFFALO (81-61) won at Ottawa, 4-3, as the Bisons continued to tune up for the upcoming playoffs. Jake Gautreau (.254) had two hits and two RBI, Ernie Young (.281) went 3-for-4, while Mike Kinkade (.284) and Jason Cooper (.254) both went 2-for-4. Fausto Carmona (7-4, 3.25 ERA) gave up three runs over seven innings. Brian Tallet (4.05 ERA) pitched a perfect eighth and Jake Robbins (3.14 ERA) gave up two hits in a scoreless ninth for his 22nd save.
CLASS AA AKRON (82-58) routed visiting Portland, 11-4 as it prepares for the playoffs, too. Eider Torres (.282) went 4-for-5 and scored three runs while Shaun Larkin (.252) drove in three with three hits. Pat Osborn (.285), Nate Panther (.296) and Jon Van Every (.246) also had two hits apiece. Brian Slocum (4.40 ERA) gave up two hits and struck out three over four scoreless innings. Adam Hanson (8.00 ERA) gave up five walks, four hits and four runs over the final five innings.
CLASS A KINSTON (33-35) which won its division in the first half, continued to try and get back into form for the playoffs with a 9-5 win in 14 innings at Myrtle Beach. Kinston scored twice in the top of the ninth to tie it, 5-5, and won it with four in the top of the 14th. Kinston trailed, 5-0, after five innings. Argenis Reyes (.296) went 5-for-7 with two runs and two RBI while Brian Barton (.325) and Rodney Choy Foo (.288) had two RBI apiece. Starter Scott Roehl (1.57 ERA) allowed one run over four innings. Shea Douglas (9.56 ERA) gave up four runs over two innings before Jim Ed Warden (3.72) worked four sensational shutout innings, striking out five and allowing only one hit. Kyle Collins (3.38 ERA) struck out two over two perfect innings. Winner Matt Davis (4-6, 5.70 ERA) got out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the bottom of the 13th, then struck out two in a perfect 14th.
CLASS A LAKE COUNTY (31-35) gave up a ninth-inning run and lost at home to West Virginia, 4-3, making it seven setbacks in a row. Chris Gimenez (.231) had two of the Captains' six hits. Starter Reid Santos (4.94 ERA) gave up only one hit over six innings, but it was a three-run homer in the first inning after he walked the leadoff batter and hit the next guy with a pitch. Julio Pinto (3.86 ERA) worked a scoreless seventh and eighth, but yielded the winning run in the ninth before Adrian Schau (5.15 ERA) threw a double-play ball to get out of a bases-loaded jam.
CLASS A MAHONING VALLEY (32-39) gave up one run in the bottom of the ninth and lost at Auburn, 5-4. Evandy DeLeon (.264) had three of the Scrappers' seven hits and Derrick Peterson (.210) went 2-for-3. Kyle Denney, sidelined since June after being hit in the head with a line drive while pitching at Class AAA Buffalo, started and gave up two runs in one inning. Scott Lewis (4.72 ERA) then worked two scoreless innings and Matt Haynes (5.06 ERA) allowed one run over two innings. Albert Vargas (1-2, 3.93 ERA) gave up two runs over 3 1/3 innings.
ROOKIE LEAGUE BURLINGTON (25-43) was not scheduled as it concluded the season on Tuesday. First baseman P.J. Hiser, who was promoted to Mahoning Valley in early August, was named to the Appalachian League All-Star team. He was batting .326 with 11 home runs and 36 RBIs before being called up and was Burlington's only selection to the team.
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