Now even Cliff Lee can’t stop the madness.  The Indians ace went toe-to-toe with John Danks, both pitching through eight innings and giving up a run apiece in no-decisions, then Joe Borowski blew it in the bottom of the tenth for a 3-2 loss after the Indians scored the go-ahead run in the top of the inning.

Season over and its not even the All Star break.

This was one the Tribe had to win.  Had to.  No if, ands or but’s about it.  Crunch time, ace on the hill, already down 1-0 in a three game series with the division leading Chicago White Sox - and they lost.

Now down 11 ½ games in the division, only a miracle turnaround will get the Indians back into the thick of things in the AL Central. 

It wasn’t like they didn’t try to win it.  The passion that has been lacking most of the season appeared to be there.  They just didn’t get it done.

Cliff Lee gave up one run on six hits, striking out eight in another great performance.  John Danks was better.  He gave up one run on four hits, striking out eight.  It was an exciting pitchers match-up.  No doubt about it.

The White Sox got on the board first, scoring one in the bottom of the second.  Jim Thome, Indians slayer extraordinaire, singled to right with one out.  Joe Crede moved Thome to second with a single of his own.  Nick Swisher walked, loading the bases, and a sac-fly by Ramirez scored Thome from third.  Cliff Lee registered a strike-out, bailing himself out of a huge jam, but the Indians were down 1-0.

It took a lot of zeros on the board and until the top of the sixth for the Indians to tie up the ball game on a Kelly Shoppach home run, and the zeroes just kept coming.

At the end of eight, both starting pitchers were over the 100 pitch count, and the relief came on, probably bad news for the Indians.

Then again, maybe not.  In the top of the tenth inning, Casey Blake pounded his eighth home run of the year, raising his batting average to .287 and giving the Indians the 2-1 lead.

Enter Joe Borowski.  One out away from the save, Alexei Ramirez, the same guy who’d scored Jim Thome from third, hit a long fly ball.  It was either the end of the game, or a home run.  It cleared the left field wall, tying the game.

Now enter Dewayne Wise.  He pinch hit, singled to right, and stole second just in time for Orlando Cabrera to deliver the game winning RBI single.  Game over.  

The White Sox are riding a six game winning streak.  The Indians are in the midst of a four game dry spell.  

The curtain call on the three game set is Wednesday evening.  Jose Contreras brings his 7-6 record and 3.99 ERA up against 6-8 3.78 lefty C.C. Sabathia.  Gametime is 8:11 EST.

By Dave Wiley

The Indians and Tom Petty have something in common.  They are both free falling.  Losing their third in a row, and first in the three game set in Chicago, Cleveland is in real trouble.  9-7 was the final score, and as usual the Tribe played just well enough to lose. 

Jeremy Sowers was roughed up yet again, making Fausto Carmona’s possible return after the all-star break the MOST important Indians event of the year.  Between Sowers and Byrd, the Tribe has almost been guaranteed a hole the non-existent offense needs to dig themselves out of.

Cliff Lee will go on Tuesday in pretty much a must win situation.  The Indians have to take two of three from the White Sox.  You must win series within your division.

The tribe got off to a good start.  Ben Francisco drew a two out walk, and Jhonny-on-the-spot Peralta delivered a double, scoring Francisco and starting his huge offensive night at the plate.  He ended the evening 5-for-5, over a third of the Indians hits, with three doubles and a home-run. 

Jim Thome got the run back in the bottom of the first, and then some.  After an Orlando Cabrera single, and a free pass issued to Brian Anderson, Thome hit his sixteenth homer of the year.  Just from watching the games, I’m assuming roughly fourteen of those are against the Tribe.  The actual number is five, but it certainly seems like more  Two came in the first meeting of the teams.  The White Sox as a team have three players with multi-homerun games against the Tribe : Thome, Dye, and now Swisher.

In the third, the Sox added five, giving them an 8-1 lead and sending Sowers to the showers, accountable for all eight runs in three innings of work.  Nick Swisher capped off the outburst with a three run homerun.  He’d add the final White Sox run in the bottom of the sixth, homering again and recording one from each side of the plate.

The Indians chipped away at the lead in the top of the fourth when Peralta registered his solo home-run, making it 8-2 in favor of the Sox. 

In the sixth, the Tribe put up another pair, this time Peralta was on the front end of the scoring.  He led off the inning with a double.  Shin-Soo Choo singled him in, and stole second after a Casey Blake strikeout.  On a throwing error, he moved over to third and scored on a David Dellucci infield single.  Garko struck out, ending the threat.

Peralta and the Indians would make some noise again in the ninth, scoring two but coming up short on the rally in the 9-7 loss.

All told, the Indians did have fourteen hits to the White Sox nine, but they could not overcome the huge early margin hole.

Cliff Lee hopes to snap the three game skid Tuesday night.  He pits his 11-1 mark and 2.34 ERA up against Lefty John Danks.  Danks is 5-4 on the season with a 2.62 ERA. 

Gametime is 8:11. 

These two teams have met ten times so far this season, and the White Sox have won seven of the ten.  The Tribe won the first two meetings and have gone 1-7 since.