Tribe Takes Series, Can't Sweep Chicago

I've been away on holiday for the past few days so didn't have a chance to re-cap the Yankees series last week, although the less said about that the better. However I have been around to watch some of the White Sox series over the last few days and even got a chance to watch last night's 3-1 loss from start to finish. So with that, let's get to my views about the series victory over Chicago:

M&M&M Boys Pitch Well

After the disastrous pitching performances against the Yankees, feelings on the Cleveland starting rotation were at an all time low. Thankfully, after two days off due to rainouts, the Indians staff came back with a vengeance against the White Sox and pitched extremely well. It all started with Justin Masterson, who pitched a complete game shutout on Friday 12th and was rewarded for his effort with a Nick Swisher walk-off single in the bottom of the 9th to win it 1-0 for the Indians. Masterson was incredible, giving up 5 hits and only 1 walk whilst striking out 7 Chicago batters on his way to his third straight victory. The 6'6 right hander has gotten off to a dream start in 2013 and his ERA now sits at an amazing 0.41. Now obviously we're only half way through April and it's a small sample size but I am absolutely loving what I'm seeing from Masterson this year. Have we got the AL Cy Young 2013 winner in our midst? That's a massive, and frankly ridiculous claim to make at the moment but stranger things have happened. Who expected Cliff Lee of all guys to win the award in 2008? The Francona effect is working wonders for Masterson and I hope this hot streak can continue and he can truly grow into the ace of our staff.

Zach McCallister pitched Saturday night and managed to pick up his first win of the season in a 9-4 Tribe victory. The 25 year old pitched 6 1/3 innings, surrendering only 1 earned run and no walks whilst striking out 6 White Sox. It was a very successful outing for McCallister, who is showing some real promise and if he can build on this recent performance could legitimately become our number two starter in the rotation. The matchup against Chicago's Chris Sale didn't look good from the outset but McCallister settled down after the first inning and outperformed the White Sox southpaw on his way to the win. Young Zach finally got some support from the Tribe lineup, especially from Mark Reynolds who is hot to start the season, hitting a grand slam in the 5th inning and collecting 5 RBI's altogether Saturday night.

Finally, it was Brett Myers pitching last night as the Indians went for the sweep. This was my first time watching Myers pitch and he looked a lot better than his previous two performances in a Tribe uniform indicated. He has gotten off to a pretty rotten start in Cleveland so far (4 HRs in his first start in Toronto didn't look good) and I've seen a few grumbles on Twitter and other blogs saying we should get rid of him already. It's far too early for that and I'd hope that his performance last night might have changed some opinions. Myers pitched well through 6 innings, surrendering 6 hits, only walking 1 and striking out 4. Myers looked really good early on and was given a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Michael Bourn hit a first-pitch home run off Jake Peavy. As the game went on Myers looked okay, but he kept having trouble getting the first batter of the inning out, only to work through the pressure and get out of it. In the 6th inning, with two outs, it was Paul Konerko who finally got to Myers, smashing a 2 run homer to give the White Sox the lead and they never looked back from there. Myers couldn't get help from the Tribe lineup, as Jake Peavy settled in and dominated after his 1st inning mistake, going 7 innings and striking out 11. Chicago tacked on another run in the 8th, De Aza hitting a homer against Vinnie Pestano to make it 3-1 to the White Sox and give them the win. Despite Myers getting the loss I liked what I saw and if he can pitch like that each time out, I think the Indians are getting good value for money from him.

Bourn Injures His Right Index Finger

There was more bad news for Cleveland when, in the 8th inning, Michael Bourn slid into first after hustling down the line and got his fingers trodden on by pitcher Matt Thornton. It was a total accident but Bourn received five stitches after the game and will probably miss a few days whilst his fingers heal. "I'll probably be in a little bit of pain for the next day or two. Other than that, I should be fine," Bourn commented. The 30 year-old centre fielder has made a great start to his career in Cleveland and has arrived from Atlanta exactly as advertised so far. We really need him out there on the field; we haven't had a lead-off hitter like him since a healthy Grady Sizemore and Bourn has quickly established himself as a crucial cog in the Tribe lineup. So far he's hitting .333 with 2 home runs and a stolen base, and has been lightning quick defensively in centre field. I'd be surprised if he can make it back against the Red Sox this week to be honest. As much as I'd love to have him back when Boston comes to town tomorrow, I think it'd be better if he heals up properly so he's healthy long-term.

That'll be all for today. The Tribe have their first official day off today before the hot Red Sox arrive tomorrow. Until next time...

Thanks for reading.