|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
CLEVELAND (AP) – Ismael Valdes was in a groove Wednesday night, but might be on the sidelines the next time it is his turn to pitch.
| |  | |
| Valdes |
Valdes (1-2) pitched only five innings because of a blistered
middle finger, but got his first win since July as Benji Gil hit an
RBI triple in the Anaheim Angels' 3-1 victory over the Cleveland
Indians.
"Of course, I wanted to stay in, but it was the right decision," Valdes said. "I felt great, had good command of my pitches. I have to take care right now so I can make my next start."
Valdes, whose last win came July 23, 2000, with the Chicago Cubs, opened this season on the disabled list with a split nail on the same finger.
"It started bothering him in the third inning," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "It was really raw."
The right-hander, signed as a free agent in January, allowed one
run and four hits. Four other Angels finished with Troy Percival
getting three outs for his third save.
C.C. Sabathia (2-1), the Indians' much-heralded 20-year-old
rookie, gave up five hits, four walks and three runs over five
innings in his first career loss. Three other Indians pitched four
perfect innings.
"A bad first inning is the story of my life this year," Sabathia said. "I've never had trouble before. Maybe I'll change my warmup routine, throw more pitches."
Six of the 11 earned runs he has allowed have been in the first inning.
David Eckstein doubled down the third-base line to open the game
and Sabathia walked the next two hitters. Two outs later, it
appeared the left-hander would get out of the inning when Shawn
Wooten hit a one-hopper to the left of the mound. Sabathia
stretched his full 6-foot-7 frame at the ball, which skipped off
his glove for an RBI single.
"I realized as soon as I went after it I should have let it
go," Sabathia said.
Had Sabathia let the ball go through, Gold Glove shortstop Omar Vizquel was in position to make what seemed like an easy play.
The Angels made it 3-0 in the second. Bengie Molina walked and
scored on Gil's line triple to the wall in right-center. A throwing
error by Russell Branyan at third base later set up an unearned run driven in by Tim Salmon with a groundout.
Ellis Burks made it 3-1 with an RBI single in the fourth, scoring Juan Gonzalez, who had three of Cleveland's nine singles.
"We're getting hits, but credit their pitchers for making good
pitches when they are in a jam," Indians second baseman Roberto Alomar said.
Sabathia retired nine of the last 10 men he faced. The only hit
was a pop by Troy Glaus that fell in front of Gonzalez in the fifth. The right-fielder quickly recovered and threw out Glaus at second.
Game notes
Cleveland has stranded 19 runners in two losses to Anaheim,
totaling three runs on 20 hits in the series. ... Gil has 41 career
RBI against Cleveland. His next-most is 12 vs. the White Sox. ...
Sabathia made 67 pitches in the first two innings and 38 the next
three. ... Ex-Indians OF Tom McGraw was in the press box with a
stopwatch, timing all aspects of the game. McGraw is an assistant
to Frank Robinson, baseball's director of on-field operations, who
is trying to speed up the game. ... Cleveland averaged 2 hours, 55
minutes, for its first 16 nine-inning games, down from a
major-league high 3:10 a year ago. ... Anaheim's Garret Anderson
extended his hitting streak to 10 games. He has had at least one
10-game streak in each of his seven seasons.
 Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
| |
OTHER GAMES
Baseball Scoreboard
Anaheim Clubhouse
Cleveland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Minnesota 6
Boston 4
Anaheim 3
Cleveland 1
Baltimore 6
Detroit 4
Seattle 7
NY Yankees 5
Toronto 8
Texas 5
Tampa Bay 5
Kansas City 3
Chi. White Sox 2
Oakland 1
Atlanta 11
Houston 3
Milwaukee 7
NY Mets 2
St. Louis 5
Montreal 2
Colorado 6
Chicago Cubs 5
Arizona 10
Florida 7
Philadelphia 5
San Diego 3
Cincinnati 7
San Francisco 5
Los Angeles 6
Pittsburgh 5
|
