Chris Perez Converts Save, Loses Lunch

Indians Vs. Cardinals Final Score: Jason Kipnis' Blast Powers Cleveland Over St. Louis, 4-1

On the strength of a Jason Kipnis ninth inning home run that broke a tie game wide open, the Cleveland Indians pulled off a thrilling series victory over St. Louis on Sunday with a crucial 4-1 win.

The 5-foot-11 Kipnis stepped to the plate against St. Louis closer Jason Motte with one out and belted a three-run shot to right field, marking his team-leading 10th homer of the year. Kipnis' 3-for-4 performance not only raised his season average to .286, but also could have gone a long way towards getting him voted into the 2012 MLB All-Star Game next month.

In arguably his most accurate start of the season, Cleveland pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez tossed a legitimate gem despite walking away with a no decision. Jimenez gave up just one run, a solo shot to Carlos Beltran in the very first inning, and proceeded to settle down and keep St. Louis hitters guessing over the next six frames. The right-hander's seven strikeouts represented a season-high.

Up next for the Indians is a trip to Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark for a three-game set beginning on Tuesday. From there Cleveland will return home for a very manageable series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

For more on the Indians, head over to Let's Go Tribe. For more St. Louis coverage, check out Viva El Birdos. And for the best MLB coverage on the web, make sure to visit Baseball Nation.

Indians Vs. Cardinals: Starting Lineups For Sunday's Game

The series will be up for grabs on Sunday as the Cleveland Indians aim to bounce back from yesterday's 2-0 shutout loss in the three-game finale.

Cleveland will send righty Ubaldo Jimenez to the mound to face off against St. Louis' Joe Kelly. Despite being 6-4 on the season, Jimenez currently owns a 5.31 ERA and has yet to strike out more than six batters in a single start this year.

Trailing by 1.5 games in the AL Central race to the White Sox, the Indians will hope to get into an early groove from the plate against the Cardinals' Kelly. Cleveland hitters could only muster three total hits in Saturday's defeat, and will need to work the count much better against Kelly in his first career MLB start.

Here are the starting lineups:

Indians

1. Shin-Soo Choo - RF

2. Asdrubal Cabrera - SS

3. Jason Kipnis - 2B

4. Carlos Santana - C

5. Michael Brantley - CF

6. Jose Lopez - 3B

7. Shelley Duncan - CF

8. Lou Marson - C

9. Ubaldo Jimenez - SP

Cardinals

1. Rafael Furcal - SS

2. Carlos Beltran - RF

3. Yadier Molina - C

4. Allen Craig - LF

5. Matt Adams - 1B

6. David Freese - 3B

7. Daniel Descalso - 2B

8. Adron Chambers - CF

9. Joe Kelly - SP

For more on the Indians, head over to Let's Go Tribe. For more on the Cardinals, be sure to check out Viva El Birdos. And for the best MLB coverage on the web, visit Baseball Nation.

Indians Vs. Cardinals: Cleveland Looks To Bounce Back, Take Weekend Series In St. Louis

The Cleveland Indians (31-27) and St. Louis Cardinals (31-29) will settle their three-game interleague series on Sunday afternoon after splitting the first two games of the series.

St. Louis pitcher Kyle Lohse overwhelmed the Cleveland offense on Saturday, so the Tribe will try to wake up their bats against rookie right-hander Joe Kelly, making his Major League debut on the mound for the Cardinals. Kelly earned the call up to the big club after a series of strong starts in Triple-A Memphis.

Kelly, who turns 24 on Saturday, earned the promotion over Brandon Dickson largely because of merit. Kelly has pitched at least seven innings in each of his last three starts for Triple-A Memphis, allowing 16 hits and just three earned runs over a 22-inning span. Dickson, on the other hand, endured a long period of minimal activity when called up to fill a spot in the Cardinals' bullpen last month.

Cleveland will counter with right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez to try to win the weekend series. Jimenez (6-4, 5.31 ERA) will look to build on a strong start in his last outing that saw him give up just one run in six and two-thirds innings to earn a win over the Detroit Tigers.

The game is scheduled to start at 2:15 p.m. ET and will be televised on SportsTime Ohio.

For more on the Cleveland Indians, check out Let's Go Tribe. More on the St. Louis Cardinals can be found at Viva El Birdos. More news and analysis on the world of baseball can be found at Baseball Nation.

Indians Vs. Cardinals Final Score: St. Louis Shuts Out Cleveland, 2-0

An epic pitchers' duel broke out at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Saturday but in the end the Cleveland Indians just couldn't break through and score any runs leading to a 2-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

St. Louis right-hander Kyle Lohse kept the Indians under wraps at the plate giving up just three hits and no runs in seven and two-thirds innnings on the mound. The Cardinal bullpen closed out the win with Jason Motte collecting his 11th save with a perfect ninth inning. The win moved Lohse to 6-1 on the season as the Cards evened up the three-game interleague series.

The impotent Cleveland offense spoiled a solid outing for Justin Masterson who gave the Tribe seven strong innings on the hill but was left with his third straight loss to move to 2-6 on the season. One of Masterson's few mistakes came to Carlos Beltran who belted a monster home run in the third inning which was all of the offense the Cardinals would end up needing

The two teams will complete their series on Sunday afternoon at 2:15 p.m. ET.

Stick with this storystream for previews, scores and more from the Indians versus Cardinals interleague series. Let's Go Tribe is your source for full time Indians news and analysis, and for more on the Cardinals check out Viva El Birdos. And don't miss SB Nation on YouTube:

Indians Vs. Cardinals: Masterson, Cleveland Look To Build On Game 1 Win

The Cleveland Indians picked up their fourth win in five games Friday night, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 6-2. It was their 13th victory out of 17 interleague games against the Cardinals, and they'll look to keep that success going on Saturday.

Justin Masterson (2-5, 5.09 ERA) will be pitching for Cleveland, facing off with Kyle Lohse (5-1, 3.21 ERA) for St. Louis. Masterson will be looking for more of the recent offensive support provided by players like Michael Brantley and Asdrubal Cabrera, both of whom went 2-5 in Friday's game and are on double diget hitting streaks. Manager Manny Acta expressed confidence in Brantley, telling the team website:

"He never changes his approach. At the beginning of the season, even when he wasn't hitting well batting average-wise, he was hitting a lot of balls hard. He's continued to do the same thing, and things are falling into place for him."

Game two of the three game series is Saturday in St. Louis, scheduled for 7:15pm EDT.

Stick with this storystream for previews, scores and more from the Indians versus Cardinals interleague series. Let's Go Tribe is your source for full time Indians news and analysis, and for more on the Cardinals check out Viva El Birdos. And don't miss SB Nation on YouTube:

Indians Vs. Cardinals: Cleveland Picks Up 6-2 Win Behind Josh Tomlin

The Cleveland Indians beat the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night, opening their interleague series against the Redbirds with a 6-2 win. It was the third win in four games for the Tribe.

Josh Tomlin earned his third win of the season, putting his record at 3-3. The 27-year-old right-hander took a shutout into the seventh inning, when he gave up a two-run single to Matt Adams.

Catcher Carlos Santana doubled to left in the to of the first inning, scoring Asdrubal Cabrera to put the Indians on the board. Johnny Damon belted a two-run homer in the seventh inning to pile on the Cardinals.

The two teams are back in action tomorrow night at 7:15 p.m. at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Cleveland has Justin Masterson on the mound against Kyle Loshe for the Cardinals.

For more on the Cleveland Indians, check out Let's Go Tribe. More on the St. Louis Cardinals can be found at Viva El Birdos. More news and analysis on the world of baseball can be found at Baseball Nation.

Indians Vs. Cardinals: Starting Lineups For Friday's Game

Looking to stay within striking distance in the AL Central, the Cleveland Indians enter the heart of their interleague schedule trailing by 1.5 games to the division-leading White Sox. Friday's series opener with the St. Louis Cardinals will open up a pivotal 15-game stretch for an Indians team in search of an identity as of late.

The Cardinals rank second in all of baseball in runs scored with 302, but have not been able to see the same type of success from their pitching staff. Cleveland hitters will have to deal with former Indian starting pitcher Jake Westbrook, who is 4-5 on the season and will be making his first start against his former club since being traded by Cleveland two years ago.

With only one hit in the Detroit series, Indians catcher Carlos Santana will hope to get things going with the bat during interleague play. Instead of being able to ease back into his day-to-day role by utilizing the DH spot, Santana will be forced to suit up behind the plate for Cleveland's next six games in National League parks. Friday will mark Santana's second start at catcher since returning from the disabled list.

Here are the starting lineups for Friday's series opener:

Indians

1. Shin-Soo Choo - RF

2. Asdrubal Cabrera - SS

3. Jason Kipnis - 2B

4. Carlos Santana - C

5. Michael Brantley - CF

6. Johnny Damon - LF

7. Casey Kotchman - 1B

8. Lonnie Chisenhall - 3B

9. Josh Tomlin - SP

Cardinals

1. Rafael Furcal - SS

2. Carlos Beltran - RF

3. Matt Holliday - LF

4. Allen Craig - 1B

5. David Freese - 3B

6. Yadier Molina - C

7. Daniel Descalso - 2B

8. Shane Robinson - CF

9. Jake Westbrook - SP

For more on the Indians, head over to Let's Go Tribe. For more MLB news and analysis, be sure to visit Baseball Nation.

Indians Vs. Cardinals: Cleveland Starts Interleague Series In St. Louis

The Cleveland Indians head to St. Louis for an interleague series against the Cardinals starting on Friday.