SB Nation Cleveland - Indians Vs. Rays: Cleveland Splits 4-Game Series With Tampa Bay

Nick Hagadone Placed On Minor League Disqualified List After Self-Inflicted Injury

2012-07-09T23:23:59Z

This past weekend was a collection of unfortunate events for Cleveland Indians left-handed pitcher Nick Hagadone. Shortly after a poor outing on Friday night, Hagadone punched an object with his pitching hand, resulting in a severe injury.

The next day, he was demoted to the minors and the day after that he found out that he may be done for the season, which forced the Indians to place him on the minor league disqualified list.

Worst of all, he won't be paid while he is on the disqualified list.

Via The Chronicle Telegram:

"We're certainly disappointed with the reaction to it," Indians general manager Chris Antonetti said. "He was certainly very frustrated coming out of the game. We certainly wish he would have handled it a little differently."

Hagadone was 0-1 with a 6.39 ERA in 27 games with the Indians this season.

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Indians Vs. Rays Final Score: Cleveland Loses After Chris Perez's Blown Save, 7-6

2012-07-08T20:25:18Z

With their chance to wrap up a series victory just two outs away, the Cleveland Indians couldn't hold on against the Rays on Sunday in an extremely disheartening 7-6 loss at Progressive Field.

The Indians were bestowed with a nice gift of five consecutive scoreless innings from starter Zach McAllister to open the day, but after surrendering a pair of two-run doubles to Luke Scott and Desmond Jennings in the sixth the 24-year-old hurler was quickly pulled from the game. Even though he was roughed up a bit before exiting, McAllister showed plenty of promise with a career-high eight strikeouts despite throwing just 89 pitches.

Try to protect a two-run lead and lock down his 25th save of the year, Cleveland closer Chris Perez did not look like his usual All-Star self, and quickly served up a solo home run to Tampa's Will Rhymes in the ninth inning that cut the deficit in half. Still needing only a double play to end the game and send his team to the All-Star break on a high note, Perez instead was beaten on an RBI triple from Carlos Pena that tied the game. Unable to stop the bleeding further, a Ben Zobrist single plated Pena immediately after to put the Rays ahead on the scoreboard and eventually saddled Perez with the loss.

Aside from this being his first blown save since Opening Day against Toronto, the 27-year-old Perez has been absolutely dominant this season at the back end of the Cleveland bullpen. Only Baltimore's Jim Johnson has recorded more saves (26), and there's no question that Perez's body of work is more than deserving of belonging in Kansas City at this year's midseason event.

Now 44-41 on the year and in a complete dogfight in the AL Central, the Indians will open a three-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Center on July 13 to kick off the second half of the season.

For more on the Indians, visit Let's Go Tribe. For more on the Rays, head over to DRays Bay. And for more MLB news, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.

Indians Vs. Rays: Cleveland Goes For Series Win

2012-07-08T13:17:44Z

At 44-40, the Cleveland Indians are in solid position to make a playoff run in the second half of the season. A win over the Tampa Bay Rays Sunday afternoon would go a long way in helping the Tribe carry momentum into the All-Star Break and keep pace with the first-place White Sox.

Zach McAllister will take the ball for Cleveland, and he's been solid since his return from Triple-A Columbus. He allowed three earned runs (five total) over six innings in his last start.

For the season, McAllister is 3-1 in six starts with a 3.93 ERA.

Tampa Bay sends righty James Shields to the mound, who's allowed 25 total baserunners over his past two starts (8 runs). He'll have to avoid the fate of Matt Moore, who allowed five early runs to the Indians Saturday. Shields has a 3.93 career ERA against Cleveland in nine starts.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 pm ET from Progressive Field.

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Indians Vs. Rays Final Score: Cleveland Takes 3rd Game Of Series, 7-3

2012-07-08T01:43:46Z

Powered by five runs in the first three innings, the Cleveland Indians took command of their four-game set with Tampa Bay on Saturday night in a key 7-3 victory

Starter Ubaldo Jimenez picked up the win for the Indians to move to 8-7 on the year, posting six strong innings of two-run ball with eight strikeouts. Jimenez's offense staked him to a convenient five-run advantage early on, led entirely by a series of doubles and RBI groundouts in the second and third innings.

While a Luke Scott two-run bomb would eventually spoil Jimenez's shutout, designated hitter Shelley Duncan chipped in his eighth home run of the season in the eighth frame to plate catcher Carlos Santana and effectively put the game out of reach. Saturday's appearance represented Duncan's second since July 3 against the Angels, in a game where he also added a key home run.

Indians manager Manny Acta will give the ball to Zach McAllister on Sunday for the fourth and final game of the series.

For more on the Indians, head over to Let's Go Tribe. For more on the Rays, check out DRays Bay. And for more MLB news and analysis, visit Baseball Nation.

Indians Vs. Rays: Starting Lineups For Saturday's Game

2012-07-07T20:04:45Z

After giving up 10 runs on Friday to the Tampa Bay Rays, the Cleveland Indians will look to get back on the right track in the third game of the four-game series.

They'll need a strong effort from starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez, who comes into Saturday's game with a 7-7 record and a 4.59 ERA. He'll be facing a Rays lineup that's in the middle of the pack in runs (16th) and has struggled at the plate, posting a .233 batting average as a team.

Here are Saturday's lineups for both teams:

Indians
1. Shin-Soo Choo - RF
2. Asdrubal Cabrera - SS
3. Jose Lopez - 2B
4. Michael Brantley - CF
5. Carlos Santana - 1B
6. Shelley Duncan - DH
7. Lou Marson - C
8. Jack Hannahan - 3B
9. Aaron Cunningham - LF
Ubaldo Jimenez - SP

Rays
1. Desmond Jennings - LF
2. Carlos Pena - 1B
3. Ben Zobrist - RF
4. B.J. Upton - CF
5. Jeff Keppinger - 3B
6. Luke Scott - DH
7. Jose Molina - C
8. Brooks Conrad - 2B
9. Sean Rodriguez - SS
Matt Moore - SP

For more on the Cleveland Indians, check out Let's Go Tribe. For more on the Tampa Bay Rays, visit DRays Bay. And for more MLB news and analysis, be sure to head over to Baseball Nation.

Indians Vs Rays: Cleveland Looks To Bounce Back From Disappointing Loss

2012-07-07T16:01:26Z

After winning three straight games, the Indians dropped game two of their four-game home series against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 10-3, on Friday. On Saturday at 6:05 pm EST, the Indians will try to regain their previous momentum and attempt to head into the All-Star break with a couple more wins under their belts.

The Indians will put the ball in the right hand of Ubaldo Jimenez, a talented but up-and-down pitcher who has dropped three of his last four decisions and is 7-7 with a 4.59 ERA this season.

Jimenez is 2-3 in his last six starts with a 2.93 ERA in 40 innings as he's been instrumental in the building of the team's confidence.

"He's pitching like a No. 2 or No. 1 guy right now," Indians manager Manny Acta told MLB.com.

Jimenez will face Matt Moore who has also pitched well recently. In his last 10 starts, Moore is 4-3 with a 3.28 ERA with 65 strikeouts.

For more on the Cleveland Indians, check out Let's Go Tribe. For more on the Tampa Bay Rays, visit DRays Bay. And for more MLB news and analysis, be sure to head over to Baseball Nation.

Indians Vs. Rays Final Score: Cleveland Loses 10-3 In Rough Start From Justin Masterson

2012-07-07T02:26:32Z

Things got away from the Cleveland Indians on Friday night. After notching the score at 2 runs apiece, the Tampa Bay Rays exploded for eight more by the end of the fifth inning for a 10-3 win in front of a dwindling crowd at Progressive Field.

Justin Masterson struggled in his 18th start of the season. Struggling with his control, Masterson gave up four runs through three innings before the wheels came off entirely in the fifth. B.J. Upton singled to start the inning, and Luke Scott put a ball over the center field fence to give the Rays six runs. Masterson was pulled after issuing his fourth walk, but Nick Hagadone gave up a double that scored a pair of inherited runners, giving Masterson eight earned runs on the night.

Travis Hafner grounded into a double play that gave Cleveland their first run of the game in the bottom of the first. Hafner hit a home run in Thursday's win over the Rays.

The loss is only the second one in six games since the start of the month for Cleveland, who are still in second place in the AL Central. The Indians and Rays do it again on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. Eastern.

For more on the Cleveland Indians, check out Let's Go Tribe. For more on the Tampa Bay Rays, visit DRays Bay. And for more MLB news and analysis, be sure to head over to Baseball Nation.

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

2012-07-06T20:46:07Z

Winners of three straight games, the Cleveland Indians will try to keep the momentum going on Friday evening at Progressive Field with the Tampa Bay Rays in town for the second game of the series.

Cleveland used a gem from right-hander Josh Tomlin to take Thursday's series opener by a narrow 3-1 score, and will hope that Friday's hurler Justin Masterson can continue his run of impressive performances. The 6-foot-6, Jamaican-born Masterson has yielded one run or less in four of his last five outings, and aside from a minor blowup at New York's softball-sized park, looks to be rounding out nicely into the top-of-the-rotation ace everyone expected him to be.

Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo will assume his usual spot atop Manny Acta's batting order, and is already off to a hot start in July (.350 average) after capping off the month of June with a .333 average from the plate. The often-undervalued Choo, who also smacked out his ninth home run of the season in Thursday's win, is well on his way towards producing the third 20-homer, 20-steal campaign of his career.

Here are Friday's lineups:

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

Rays
1. Desmond Jennings - LF
2. Carlos Pena - 1B
3. Ben Zobrist - RF
4. B.J. Upton - CF
5. Luke Scott - DH
6. Brooks Conrad - 3B
7. Jose Lobaton - C
8. Will Rhymes - 2B
9. Elliot Johnson - SS
Alex Cobb - SP

For more on the Indians, check out Let's Go Tribe. For more on the Rays, visit DRays Bay. And for more MLB news and analysis, be sure to head over to Baseball Nation.