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Indians Vs. Twins: Tribe Sweep Two-Game Set With Commanding 5-0 Win

2012-05-15T19:54:06Z

On Tuesday afternoon, the Cleveland Indians completed a two-game set against the Minnesota Twins in commanding fashion. After narrowly escaping Monday night's Game 1 on the back of a Shin-Soo Choo RBI single in the ninth, the Indians dominated both offensively and defensively in a 5-0 rout of the Central Division's worst team on Tuesday.

Cleveland's standout star was by-and-far starting pitcher Derek Lowe who pitched a complete game shutout allowing only six hits and four walks. He is now 6-1 on the season and is tied for the Major League lead in wins on the season.

Choo once again stepped up offensively hitting a solo homerun in the fifth inning, which was one of three hit in the fifth frame including back-to-back homers from Asdrubal Cabrera and Carlos Santana.

The Tribe now improves their record to 20-16 and have a 2.5 games lead in the Central Division.

Cleveland will open a two-game set against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday.

For more on the Cleveland Indians, check out Let's Go Tribe. You can also head over to SB Nation's main MLB hub at Baseball Nation.

Indians Vs. Twins: Starting Lineups For Tuesday Afternoon

2012-05-15T16:51:42Z

On Tuesday afternoon, the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins will finish out a quick two-game set as the two teams meet for the second time in as many days at Target Field. Coming off of a 5-4 win on Monday, the Tribe will look to finish out the sweep.

Here are the projected starting lineups:

Cleveland

1. Shin-Soo Choo, Right Field

2. Jason Kipnis, Second Base

3. Asdrubal Cabrera, Short Stop

4. Carlos Santana, Designated Hitter

5. Michael Brantley, Center Field

6. Jose Lopez, Third Base

7. Johnny Damon, Left Field

8. Casey Kotchman, First Base

9. Lou Marson, Catcher

Starting Pitcher: Derek Lowe; 5-1, 2.47 ERA

Minnesota

1. Darin Mastroianni, Center Field

2. Joe Mauer, Catcher

3. Josh Willingham, Left Field

4. Ryan Doumit, Designated Hitter

5. Brian Dozier, Short Stop

6. Chris Parmelee, First Base

7. Erik Komatsu, Right Field

8. Alexei Casilla, Second Base

9. Jamey Carroll, Third Base

Starting Pitcher: Jason Marquis; 2-2, 6.26 ERA

For more on the Cleveland Indians, check out Let's Go Tribe. You can also head over to SB Nation's main MLB hub at Baseball Nation.

Kyrie Irving Wins Rookie Of The Year Award In Landslide

2012-05-15T14:28:02Z

Media outlets confirmed Sunday what common sense confirmed months ago: Kyrie Irving is the 2011-12 NBA Rookie of the Year.

What was still unanswered, though, was the margin of victory for the Cleveland Cavaliers point guard.

More: Kyrie Irving 'Ready To Build Something Special'

Turns out it wasn't all that close.

According to the NBA Guru Twitter account, the voting broke down thus:

Rookie of the Year Voting: 1) Kyrie (592 pts); 2) Rubio (170); 3) Faried (129); 4) Kawhi Leonard (47); 5) Shumpert (33)
— NBA Guru (@NBAGuru) May 15, 2012

Irving reportedly received 117 of 120 first place votes, narrowly missing out on becoming the fourth-ever player to win the award unanimously. Blake Griffin won unanimously last season, but before that it had been since David Robinson in 1990 that a player garnered each first-place vote.

Rubio did not receive a single first-place vote, while Kenneth Faried, Kawhi Leonard and Iman Shumpert each received one.

After winning the award, Irving told reporters:

"This is not only for me, this is for the city of Cleveland. So this award is for you guys."

Irving led all rookies (and Cavs) with 18.5 points per game and was second in assists with 5.4 per game.

For more on the Cleveland Cavaliers, go to Fear The Sword. You can also check out professional basketball news from around the league over at SB Nation's NBA page, or check out SB Nation's YouTube channel:

Indians Vs. Twins: Derek Lowe Could Tie For MLB Lead With Sixth Win

2012-05-15T14:13:03Z

Coming off a dramatic, top-of-the-ninth win Monday, the Cleveland Indians look to make it back-to-back W's over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday afternoon.

And the Indians have the right guy pitching to make it happen.

Derek Lowe will take the hill for the Tribe. The 38-year-old righty enters the game with a 2.47 ERA and a 5-1 record. A win Tuesday would tie him with Tampa Bay's James Shields and St. Louis' Lance Lynn for the most wins in the majors. Neither Shields nor Lynn pitches Tuesday.

Lowe does have some odd peripheral stats for someone who hasn't lost since April 18. He has a 1.51 WHIP -- the same as last season, when he had a 5.05 ERA -- and has struck out just 13 batters in 43.2 innings, the same number that he's walked. Oh, and opponents are hitting .303 against him

Nonetheless, he has given up just five earned runs in his last four starts.

The Twins will counter with Jason Marquis, who is 2-2 with a 6.26 ERA. Bad as that is, four Twins regulars have higher ERAs.

Cleveland is still two games up on the second-place Detroit Tigers in the AL Central.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 Eastern.

For more on the Cleveland Indians, check out Let's Go Tribe. You can also head over to SB Nation's main MLB hub at Baseball Nation.

Indians Vs. Twins Final Score: Shin-Soo Choo's RBI In Ninth Helps End Cleveland's Losing Streak

2012-05-15T03:03:57Z

The Cleveland Indians ended their three-game losing streak on Monday night against the Minnesota Twins, 5-4.

The Tribe got a great start from Jeanmar Gomez, who left with a 4-1 lead and did not give up an earned run in seven innings. But the bullpen gave away his win in the bottom of the eighth inning when Josh Willingham doubled in a run off Vinnie Pestano and Ryan Doumit hit a two-run shot off Nick Hagadone to tie things up.

In the ninth inning off Twins reliever Matt Capps, Casey Kotchman, who homered earlier in the game to give the Indians a 4-1 lead, singled with one out. After getting to second on a wild pitch, Shin-Soo Choo took a 3-2 pitch to right field to plate pinch runner Lou Marson and give the Indians the difference maker.

Chris Perez picked up his 12th save of the season with a clean ninth.

The Indians and White Sox close out their quick, two-game series on Tuesday at 1:10 p.m. CT.

For more on the Cleveland Indians, head over to Let's Go Tribe. For more on theMinnesota Twins, check out Twinkie Town. For more news and analysis on Major League Baseball, head over to Baseball Nation.

Indians Vs. Twins: Starting Lineups For Monday Night

2012-05-14T22:16:44Z

On Monday night, the Cleveland Indians (18-16) will look to get back to their winning ways as they travel to Target Field to take on their Central Division rivals, the Minnesota Twins (10-24). The game will be an instance of first versus worst as the division leading Indians take on the cellar dwelling Twins.

Despite being in first place, Cleveland has struggling of late and will be entering the game on the back of a series sweep at the hand's of the Boston Red Sox. The Indians are 1-5 in their last six games.

Here are the projected starting lineups for Monday:

Cleveland

1. Shin-Soo Choo, Right Field

2. Jason Kipnis, Second Base

3. Asdrubal Cabrera, Short Stop

4. Travis Hafner, Designated Hitter

5. Carlos Santana, Catcher

6. Michael Brantley, Center Field

7. Jose Lopez, Third Base

8. Casey Kotchman, First Base

9. Shelley Duncan, Left Field

Starting Pitcher: Jeanmar Gomez; 2-2, 4.66 ERA

Minnesota

1. Denard Span, Center Field

2. Brian Dozier, Short Stop

3. Joe Mauer, First Base

4. Josh Willingham, Left Field

5. Ryan Doumit, Designated Hitter

6. Trevor Plouffe, Third Base

7. Darin Mastroianni, Right Field

8. Drew Butera, Catcher

9. Jamey Carroll, Second Base

Starting Pitcher: Carl Pavano; 2-3, 5.02 ERA

Kyrie Irving Expected To Officially Be Named NBA Rookie Of The Year In 'Major Announcement'

2012-05-14T21:29:38Z

Late Monday afternoon, the Cleveland Cavaliers announced that they were going to make a "major announcement" on Tuesday morning at the team's practice facility at Cleveland Clinic Courts. Of course, it is assumed that the team is planning to announce that standout star Kyrie Irving will officially be named as the NBA's Rookie of the Year.

The announcement is currently scheduled for 10 am and there is yet to be confirmation as to whether ESPN will be providing an hour long special.

#Cavs just sent out notice of their "major announcement" at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Cleveland Clinic Courts. Wonder what it is?
— Bob Finnan (@BobCavsinsider) May 14, 2012

Irving is the second Cavalier to come away with the honor, joining LeBron James as the only other member of the franchise to be named as the league's top rookie (James won the award in the 2003-04 season). Irving averaged 18.5 points and 30 minutes per game this season, shooting 46.9 percent from the field and nearly 40 percent from three-point range.

For more on Kyrie Irving and the Cavaliers, visit Fear the Sword. For all your NBA awards and offseason news, check out SB Nation's NBA news hub.

Browns Cut RB Armond Smith, Sign RB Adonis Thomas And LB JoJo Dickson

2012-05-14T20:44:21Z

On Monday afternoon, the Cleveland Browns decided to part ways with running back Armond Smith who made the team in the 2011-12 season as an undrafted free agent out of Union College. The five-foot-nine, 194 pound back played in three games last season, rushing for two yards on three carries and making one catch for no gain. He spent the final 11 games of the season on the practice squad.

In his place the team decided to sign another undrafted free agent, Toledo running back Adonis Thomas. Thomas came to rookie camp on a tryout basis and has seemingly impressed the coaching staff enough to bring him into training camp. He rushed for 1,071 yards last season at Toledo.

In addition, the team also signed six-foot-one, 245 pound inside linebacker JoJo Dickson. Dickson was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2011 by the Jacksonville Jaguars. After being waived, then resigned, then waived again by the Jaguars, Dickson will try and earn a more permanent role in Cleveland.

For more on rookie minicamp and all news related to the Cleveland Browns, head over to Dawgs By Nature. More news and analysis on the NFL in general as rookie minicamps start to heat up can be found at SB Nation's dedicated NFL hub.