It was not to be last night in Cleveland for the Indians. Too much Josh Beckett. Beckett dominated the Tribe hitters for eight innings, allowing just one run in a 7-1 Red Sox victory. So, the series goes back to Fenway Park for Game 6 Saturday night, with the Indians still needing one victory to advance to the World Series.
The Tribe did not play well, and Eric Wedge did not manage well, so it was one of those games you just file and forget. The best chance Cleveland had was in the first inning, and they didn’t take advantage of it. Despite having runners on first and third with nobody out, they got only one run. When you face a great pitcher, which Beckett is, you have to get him early, and you have to get him when you have the opportunity. The Indians did neither and therefore couldn’t clinch the pennant at Jacobs Field.
Many have been critical of C.C. Sabathia’s performance last night, but he gave his team a chance to win. He would have had to throw a shutout to get the victory, which is a little tough to do. He allowed just two runs through six innings, and should have been pulled after that frame since he threw over 100 pitches. In one of his few poor post-season decisions, Eric Wedge did allow the lefty to go out for the seventh, and the game got away from the Tribe. After the game, Wedge said he didn’t want to use Rafael Betancourt for two innings, but he could have used Betancourt in the 7th, and Rafael Perez in the eighth, and if they were still trailing, use a mixture of Tom Mastny and Aaron Fultz in the ninth.
Speaking of Perez, we were concerned about the lefty set up man before the playoffs started since he did not pitch well the last couple of weeks in the regular season. He did pitch exceptionally against the Yankees, throwing two innings in each of the three victories. However, he has struggled against Boston. Perhaps it is that the Red Sox are a predominantly right handed hitting team, and New York is the opposite, or maybe he is starting to show some of the wear and tear of a long season. The Tribe needs him to pitch better to keep playing this season.
It would also be nice if Travis Hafner started to hit. Hafner looks as if he’s trying to pull everything, instead of taking the fastball on the outside corner to left field. Pronk has good power the opposite way, and he’s a much better hitter when he goes that way. He needs to get back to that approach. The middle of the Red Sox order has produced the entire season, whereas for the most part, the bottom of the Tribe order has carried them. The Indians need some production from Hafner, Martinez, and Garko in the games at Fenway Park.
So, it’s on to Game 6, where a little bit of history is on the Indians’ side. In 1948 and 1997, the Tribe lost game one, won the next three, lost the fifth game, and won the series in six. So, we have that going for us, which is nice. However, Cleveland has to beat one of the great clutch post-season pitchers in recent memory, Curt Schilling, to wrap it up tomorrow night. Maybe we just have to go back to Pedro mode, when he was with the Sox. You just have to win the games Beckett doesn’t pitch, and you will win the series.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 