Tribe Quick Hits for 6/3/2008
Posted by Fred on June 3, 2008
Still basking in the glow from Casey Blake’s 2 HR, 7 RBI explosion against the Rangers last night, some quick hits in a moment of quiet optimism:
- Since 1956, a Cleveland hitter has had 7 or more RBI nine times. Casey Blake now has two of them, the first being July 5, 2003 against Minnesota.
- This is the fifth game in 2008 in which the Tribe scored 10 runs or more. They are 5-0 in such games. They’re 4-0 in the game following a 10-run game.
- This is the eighth game in which the team collected 12 or more hits. They are 6-2 in those games, and 6-1 in the game following a 12-hit game. Both of these stats are a bit surprising, as anecdotally it seemed as if offensive explosions were followed by ineptitude.
- Over the last six games, the Tribe is hitting .267 which, while nothing to crow about, is a far bit better than their season average of .234. Sizemore is hitting .250, but has an OPS of 1.067. Casey Blake is hitting .375 with 3 HR and 9 RBI. Over his last six games (excluding games in which he was only a defensive replacement), Franklin Gutierrez is hitting .368 with an 1.139 OPS. Jhonny Peralta is hitting .400 with a 1.124 OPS. Even Asdrubal Cabrera is hitting .333 over the past six games in which he had an AB.
- To win tonight, Cleveland’s going to have to do it again, as Jake Westbrook heads back to the DL. Usual spot starter Jeremy Sowers is unavailable, having just thrown seven innings in Buffalo. The start will go to reliever Tom Mastny, who has allowed just one earned run in his last nine innings in Buffalo. Mastny, however, has never pitched more than three innings with the big club, so he’ll be followed by a series of relievers, including Jensen Lewis, just recalled from Buffalo, where he have up two runs in four innings. On the plus side, the Rangers starter is also a spot starter - A.J. Murray last started on May 3 against Oakland, yielding 3 runs in 5⅓ innings.
The offense won’t be really turned around without a healthy Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez, but things are looking a little better. Couldn’t be much worse.
