Indians Vs. Marlins: Cleveland Drops Rubber Game Of Series

In a rematch of the 1997 World Series, the Miami Marlins once again bested the Cleveland Indians, this time taking two of three games in an interleague series at Cleveland. The Indians shut the Marlins out on Saturday, but Josh Johnson went seven innings and gave up just a single earned run in a 5-3 victory on Sunday.

Miami got three runs in the top of the eighth to take a 5-1 lead before Cleveland added a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth. Logan Morrison had an RBI double in the inning and scored on fielder's choice later in the inning.

Jose Lopez had an RBI double in the ninth, but Heath Bell earned his fifth save of the season by getting the final two outs with the tying run at the plate.

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Indians Trade Rumors: Cleveland Interested In Red Sox Slugger Kevin Youkilis?

The first-place Cleveland Indians are making the rounds in search of a right-handed bat, and are monitoring the minor league progress of Red Sox infielder Kevin Youkilis according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick.

Even though the two sides have not spoken, it's interesting to note the type of high-profile player that the Indians are targeting here. Youkilis is not just some run-of-the-mill middle-tier hitter, and he will certainly come at a steep price if Cleveland is indeed interested in acquiring his services. Stay tuned with SB Nation Cleveland for more Indians trade rumors.

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Cleveland Indians Closer Chris Perez Expands On Comments About Fans

Cleveland Indians closer Chris Perez put a damper on another nice win for the Tribe when he went off on the local support for the team in the locker room following Cleveland's win over Miami on Saturday.

Perez was impressive with three strikeouts to log his 13th save but he then threw some heat at the fans, saying the lack of support hurts the team and their chances to land free agents. According to Nick Camino's Twitter feed this morning, Perez is dealing with the aftermath of his comments, meeting with Mark Shapiro but not really backing down from his comments in a radio interview.

#Indians closer Chris Perez was called in to meet with Mark Shapiro and Chris Antonetti this morning. Said he was not forced to talk though.

— Nick Camino (@CaminoTribe) May 20, 2012

#Indians closer Chris Perez said he has talked with former players and other players with other teams who have spoken negative about CLE.

— Nick Camino (@CaminoTribe) May 20, 2012

Chris Perez: "I'm here to win. I want to win here. I care. ... We want to win. But right now, we're winning for ourselves, basically."

— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) May 20, 2012

It should be interesting to see what kind of reaction Perez receives at Progressive Field the next time he takes the mound.

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Indians Vs. Marlins: Cleveland Looks To Take Series From Miami

The Cleveland Indians (23-17) finish their tightly contested weekend series with Miami Marlins (21-19) on Sunday afternoon after shutting out the Marlins 2-0 in a classic pitcher's duel on Saturday to even up the interleague series after the first two games.

Closer Chris Perez completed a strong effort from the Cleveland bullpen to notch his 13th save and then took the local fans to task for missing out on the good season the Indians have going so far. The Tribe will try to keep the good times rolling on Sunday with veteran right-hander Derek Lowe starting on the mound. Lowe is 6-1 with a 2.05 ERA in his eight starts this season and coming off of a complete game shutout of the Minnesota Twins in his last outing.

Miami will counter with right-hander Josh Johnson on the mound. Johnson is just 1-3 with a 5.36 ERA in his eight starts so far this season, but he is also coming off of an impressive performance in his last outing when he gave up two runs in seven innings to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The game at Progressive Field will start at 1:05 p.m. ET and will be televised SportsTime Ohio.

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Cleveland Indians Closer Chris Perez Rips Fans For Lack Of Support

Despite winning five of their last six games and sporting a record that currently places them in a rather comfortable first-place in the AL Central, Cleveland Indians closer Chris Perez apparently felt the need to criticize his own fans after Saturday's win.

Perez, who struck out the side to record his 13th save of the season in the ninth, was not too pleased with hearing boos from his own fans over the last few days according to The Chronicle-Telegram's Chris Assenheimer. Perez let loose in the clubhouse after the game to air his grievances.

There might be a logical time to stir the pot as a professional athlete, but doing it because of a few isolated boos and predictably-low attendance, after 40 games no less, seems like a terrible decision. Everything is clicking right now for the Indians on the field, so there's no need for Perez to cause a distraction off it by throwing his fan base under the bus.

The timing of this outburst literally makes no sense, especially because Perez himself has been 13-for-13 on save chances since blowing his first attempt on opening day. That's not to say some of his concerns don't have at least the slight bit of merit, but there's no logical reason to spout off about this when your team is playing some of the best ball in the league. And yet, Perez did it anyway. Be sure to keep an eye on how Cleveland fans respond to Perez next time he takes the hill.

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Indians Vs. Marlins: Cleveland Evens Up Series With 2-0 Shutout

The Cleveland Indians took a gritty game from the Miami Marlins on Saturday, winning by a narrow margin of 2-0 to tie the three-game set at one game apiece. Cleveland lost the first game of the series on Friday 3-2, but got six-plus solid innings out of starting pitcher Jeanmar Gomez en route to the 2-0 shutout. Gomez finished with three hits, two walks and four strikeouts with no runs allowed.

It was Asdrubal Cabrera who put the Indians up with a homerun off of Anibal Sanchez in the fourth inning. Jason Kipnis added an insurance run in the fifth inning with a sacrifice fly that scored Shelley Duncan. The Marlins then walked Cabrera intentionally to prevent further damage and Travis Hafner flew out to left.

All-in-all, the Indians had seven hits on the game. Sanchez didn't pitch poorly, but he falls to 2-2 with the loss after going seven innings, giving up seven hits, two earned runs and walking two while striking out four. Chris Perez got the save for the Indians with three strikeouts to put the Marlins away in the ninth.

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Indians Vs. Marlins: Lineups For Saturday's Game

The Cleveland Indians (22-17) will continue their three-game interleague series with the Miami Marlins (21-18) on Saturday afternoon. The Marlins snapped the Indians' four-game winning streak on Friday, beating the Tribe 3-2.

Jeanmar Gomez (2-2, 3.75 ERA) will toe the rubber against Anibal Sanchez (2-1, 2.28 ERA) during Saturday's match up.

Here is the starting lineup for the Cleveland Indians:

May 19 #Indians lineup: Choo RF Kipnis 2B Cabrera SS Hafner DH Santana CA Brantley CF Lopez 3B Kotchman 1B Duncan LF Gomez P

— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) May 19, 2012

The starting lineup for the Miami Marlins is as follows:

May 19 #Marlins lineup: Reyes SS Infante 2B Ramirez 3B Dobbs RF Stanton DH Morrison LF G Sanchez 1B Petersen CF Buck CA A Sanchez P

— Cleveland Indians(@tribeinsider) May 19, 2012

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Indians Vs. Marlins: Cleveland Tries To Start Another Winning Streak

The Cleveland Indians (22-17) opened up interleague play on Friday with a 3-2 loss to the Miami Marlins (21-18) which snapped a 4-game winning streak for the Tribe. The two teams will meet again in the second game of their weekend series as the Indians try to start another winning streak.

Cleveland remain in first place in the American League Central Division, three games ahead of the Detroit Tigers and will send right-hander Jeanmar Gomez to the hill to slow down the visiting Marlins. Gomez is 2-2 with a 3.75 ERA after seven appearances and six starts so far this season.

Miami will pitch right-hander Anibal Sanchez who enters the game with a 2-1 record and 2.28 ERA. Sanchez has 51 strikeouts in 47 innings pitched so far this season which currently ranks him seventh in strikeouts among National League pitchers.

The game at Progressive Field will start at 4:05 p.m. ET and will be televised SportsTime Ohio.

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Indians Vs. Marlins Final Score: Small Ball Spells Trouble In 3-2 Cleveland Loss

An eighth inning sacrifice fly by Hanley Ramirez proved to be the difference as the Cleveland Indians lost 3-2 to the Miami Marlins on Friday night. This marked the first of a three-game series kicking off interleague play for the 2012 season.

Cleveland got to Marlins starter Carlos Zambrano in the second inning. A Casey Kotchman double scored Johnny Damon, and Shin-Soo Coo sent Kotchman home to give the Indians a 2-0 lead. Cleveland failed to take advantage of five walks issued by the Marlins' starter.

The Marlins used the small ball to chip away at the Indians' lead, including two sacrifice hits to score runners. All three Marlins runs were scored by hitters who got on base via a walk.

Justin Masterson worked seven innings for the Tribe, allowing two runs on six hits with five strike outs and two walks. Reliever Tony Sipp earned his second loss of the season.

The series continues on Saturday at 4:05 p.m. Eastern.

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Indians Vs. Marlins Starting Lineups: Cleveland Looking For 5th Straight Win

Winners of four straight with a six-game homestand standing in their way, the Cleveland Indians will hope to keep things rolling on Friday against inconsistent Miami Marlins pitcher Carlos Zambrano.

Opposing Zambrano on the mound for the Indians is 6-foot-6 strikeout artist Justin Masterson, who has struggled to the tune of a 5.40 ERA and 1-3 record through eight starts this year. After whiffing ten batters in his season debut with just two hits allowed over eight innings, Masterson has routinely finished games with more walks than strikeouts as of late.

Masterson will face off against a speed-heavy Miami lineup that also features one of the most dangerous deep threats in baseball in outfielder Giancarlo Stanton. Knowing Masterson's lack of control lately, however, it's imperative that he doesn't give Marlins base stealers too many free passes.

Here are the full lineups for Friday's game:

Indians
1. Shin-Soo Choo - RF
2. Jason Kipnis - 2B
3. Asdrubal Cabrera - SS
4. Travis Hafner - DH
5. Carlos Santana - C
6. Michael Brantley - CF
7. Johnny Damon - LF
8. Casey Kotchman - 1B
9. Jose Lopez - 3B
Justin Masterson - SP

Marlins
1. Jose Reyes - SS
2. Omar Infante - 2B
3. Hanley Ramirez - 3B
4. Greg Dobbs - 1B
5. Giancarlo Stanton - RF
6. Logan Morrison - DH
7. Emilio Bonifacio - CF
8. John Buck - C
9. Bryan Petersen - LF
Carlos Zambrano - SP

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Indians Vs. Marlins: Cleveland Faces Miami In Interleague Series

The Cleveland Indians will start an interleague series against the Miami Marlins on Friday at Progressive Field.