In a season of disappointment, Cliff Lee’s seventeenth was a great day in the grand scheme of everything Indians.  After the Tribe lost two straight to Baltimore with a non-existent offense, Lee showed why he’s deserving of the Cy Young award against the best team in baseball, posting a 3-2 win in the friendly confines of Progressive Field.

Lee and company pulled off a remarkable four double plays in victory, all four in the late innings of the game (5,6,7,8); then, not having to rely on the bullpen for victory, Lee finished off a 1,2,3 ninth.

One hundred and seventeen pitches, eighty of them strikes.  Nine innings, six strikeouts, two walks.  Even more impressive, he lowered his ERA in the process - incredible.

While Lee’s victory will probably take a back-seat to Michael Phelp’s tying of Mark Spitz’s seven Olympic golds, Lee may have cemented his place in Indians folklore by securing Cleveland’s second Cy Young in as many years.

The Angels jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first, but the average fan watching, including myself was thinking.  BIG DEAL!!  That is all you guys are getting.  The run came via a single, a sacrifice and a single – an impressive first inning for the Angels.

Jered Weaver held the Indians at bay until they tied it up in the fourth.  Ben Francisco led the inning off in the fourth with a double.  Jhonny Peralta doubled him home, but was out trying to stretch the hit into a triple for the first out of the inning. 

Juan Rivera put the Angels back on top with a home-run to left ,and yes, the sweat broke out just a little.

The Indians took the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth, setting the table for the remarkable display of three additional double plays. 

Shin-Soo Choo kicked off the two inning scorefest with a double after Peralta had flied out.  He advanced to third on a wild pitch.  Ryan Garko singled Choo home and moved Shoppach over to second, and Indians manager Eric Wedge went for the jugular by sending in David Dellucci as a pinch hitter for wet-blanket Andy Marte. 

Dellucci drew a walk, loading the bases for Asdrubal Cabrera.  Angels reliever Jose Arredondo shot himself in the foot, issuing a free pass and walking in the winning run. 

In the process he earned himself a loss.  Kudos to Weaver, who went toe-to-toe with the best, and came out with a draw through five and a third.

With the win, Lee has roughly eight starts to win three and reach the magic mark of twenty wins.

These two go at it again on Saturday at 3:55 PM.  John Lackey (9-2, 315 ERA) takes on Fausto Carmona (5-4, 4.91 ERA). 

This will be a real test of Carmona’s mettle as he continues his return from the DL. 

Personally I smell victory.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 16th, 2008 at 12:59 am and is filed under Game Recaps. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.