Indians Fall to Sox Again

In news that should surprise no Indians fan, Cleveland was shut down by Chicago 5-1. The loss is Cleveland’s 17th over their last 22 games. Chicago, in the meantime, is now 44-40, a mere two games behind Detroit for the division lead. Contrary to Cleveland’s downfall, the White Sox have won 16 of their last 22 games.

A resurgent Jose Contreras dominated the Indians for six and one-third inning. He allowed six hits and one run, while striking out nine and walking only one. Cleveland hitters fanned 12 times overall on the night.

The only bright spot for the Indians was a solo home run off the bat of Jhonny Peralta, his sixth of the season. For Peralta, the home run offers little solace in what has been an otherwise forgettable year.

The return of Grady Sizemore had sparked the Cleveland offense slightly, but the star mustered only one hit tonight, equalling the team high (yes, six batters recorded a single hit).

After yesterday’s blowup on the mound, Chris Perez pitched a scoreless inning while strikeout out two, dropping his ERA to a microscopic 16.20. This is an improvement after Perez’s blown save yesterday, in which he allowed two runs on three hits, the devastating blow being a home run.

Aaron Laffey (3-2) earned the loss while giving up four runs on seven hits in six innings. The effort was enough to drop Cleveland to just 19 games back of .500.

One has to wonder what is keeping Mark Shapiro from making some serious changes.