AccuScore
| Cleveland Rocks |
C.C. Sabathia has returned to form, and the Indians are suddenly impossible to score against. Cleveland's starters have had an amazing run accomplishing something that hasn't been done in over 30 years. John Lackey also made his return, and more antics in Milwaukee in this edition of the Fantasy Rundown.
 You will not score against the Indians. The starting pitching staff won't let you. After C.C. Sabathia pitched a five hit 11 strikeout shutout against Oakland, Cleveland's starters have now gone 43.1 consecutive innings without giving up a run. It is the longest streak in one season since Baltimore starters went 54 consecutive scoreless innings in 1974. Sabathia's shutout was Cleveland's league-leading seventh shutout, and fifth in the past eight games. The Indians are getting great pitching from Sabathia, Fausto Carmona, and Cliff Lee. Now Paul Byrd and Aaron Laffey are contributing significantly as well. Cleveland improved to 21-19, and claimed the lead in the AL Central. They look poised to finally take control of the division with the Tigers still floundering well below .500. The win was especially significant for Sabathia as he was previously just 2-7 with a 6.84 ERA and 1.73 WHIP in his career against the A's. Sabathia now has 43 strikeouts and 3 wins in his last 5 starts. His ERA has dipped to 5.47, down from a season-high of 13.50 on April 16. This will continue as he has rediscovered his Cy-Young caliber form. • Milwaukee should see if they can get some sort of sponsorship deal for the blown save. It doesn't really matter who is pitching the ninth for the Brewers; it is a good bet he'll blow it anyways. Today it was Guillermo Mota who entered the game with a 4-3 lead. He got one out and allowed two baserunners before giving up a two run double to Juan Pierre. That's right, a double to Juan Pierre. Pierre had been slugging just .319 entering Wednesday and had just 4 extra-base hits all year. Eric Gagne probably gets the next save chance, but no matter who is closing for Milwaukee this probably continues. Avoid this situation if at all possible. It will be a mess all season. • Tom Glavine didn't pitch well giving up four runs in 5.2 innings, but it was good enough to get his first win for the Braves since 2002. Kelly Johnson was dropped to seventh in the order earlier this week, and responded by going 2-3 with a home run. Chipper Jones went 2-4 to up his average to .418 with a home run as well. Brett Myers was once again inconsistent for the Phillies lasting just 4.1 innings after allowing 9 hits and 6 earned runs. • John Lackey was very good in his first start of the season pitching his way out of jams several times by inducing double plays. He went seven strong innings giving up one run while striking out three. His offense and bullpen failed him however as he left the game tied 1-1. Scott Shields gave up a grand slam to Carlos Quentin in the eighth, and the Angels lost 6-1. Lackey looks ready to be a fantasy ace going forward. • Jarrod Washburn got the save for Seattle, but he is not the closer. I covered the situation for the Mariners in this post . • I don't know what Baltimore has been feeding Daniel Cabrera this season, but they need to keep doing it. He was very good again Wednesday beating Boston to push his record to 4-1 on the season. He went seven innings and gave up three runs striking out three, but more importantly walked zero batters. Cabrera has just three walks in his last 23.1 innings. I haven't quite yet fully bought in, but his talent has been tantalizing fantasy owners for years. One more strong start with good control will have me convinced. George Sherrill picked up his 15th save of the year. Meanwhile San Diego and Colorado have just 15 total wins each. • Toronto's bullpen is the correct way to run a committee. Scott Downs got yet another save protecting the win for Roy Halladay, and now have five on the season. B.J. Ryan has been cleared to pitch in consecutive games, but he probably was unavailable after already throwing the previous two days. Ryan is still the primary closer, and his performance has been excellent. The only question is his health, and Downs is obviously next in line. Put the over-under on saves for Downs at nine for the year. • With all the struggling stars this season I'm instituting the Mendoza Watch until further notice: Andruw Jones, LAD: 2-for-5, 1 RBI, 1 K, Season average: .179 Ryan Howard, PHI: 1-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 R, Season average: .182 Robinson Cano, NYY: 4-for-4, 1 RBI, Season average: .205 Congratulations to Cano for finally escaping purgatory; he was batting just .183 entering play Wednesday. |
