Indians @ Rangers (September 1st-3rd)

[Molina00]

Projected Matchups
Game 1: Jake Westbrook (11-8, 4.27 ERA) vs. Vicente Padilla (13-8, 4.16 ERA)
7:35 PM Central on KDFI

Game 2: Cliff Lee (10-10, 4.72 ERA) vs. Edinson Volquez (1-3, 4.58 ERA)
7:05 PM Central on KDFI

Game 3: Paul Byrd (9-6, 4.74 ERA) vs. Kevin Millwood (13-9, 4.64 ERA)
1:05 PM Central on KDFW-4

Game 1 Matchup Notes
Westbrook: Despite a couple of bad starts Westbrook pitched fairly well in August. In 5 starts he went 4-1 with a 4.15 ERA, 2 complete games, and one shutout. In his only other start against Texas this year, on April 30th, he allowed 4 runs on 6 hits over 6 innings in a no decision and struck out 7.

Padilla: Vicente went 3-1 with a 3.34 ERA in 5 August starts and is 8-4 with a 3.40 ERA over his last 15. He has struggled against the Indians in his career though posting a 5.11 ERA despite winning both of his starts.

Game 2 Matchup Notes
Lee: He has struggled over the last 2 months compiling a 3-5 record with a 4.90 ERA. It could have been much worse though as 10 of his runs allowed in July were unearned. This is Lee's first start of the year against Texas.

Volquez: After shutting out the Mariners for 7 innings in his first career win 3 starts ago, Volquez has not pitched well. He has allowed 6 runs on 15 hits over 7.2 innings in his last 2 starts losing both of them. This is his first career start against the Indians.

Game 3 Matchup Notes
Byrd: After getting completely bombed in July, Byrd rebounded big time in August going 2-0 with a 3.68 ERA in 5 starts. This is his first start of the year against the Rangers.

Millwood: Kevin has been solid over his last 4 starts going 3-1 with a 4.14 ERA, including a 9 inning complete game win over the Orioles in his last start which lowered his home ERA to 5.79. He pitched very well in his only other start against Cleveland this year allowing just 2 runs and striking out 7 in 7 innings of work on April 29th.

[Molina00]

Game 1 Recap
The Rangers, naimly Padilla, dug themselves into and early hole and couldn't get out of it. The Ranger ace Vicente Padilla gave up 3 runs in the first and 1 more in the 2nd then settled down to throw 4 straight scoreless innings, until the 6th. He allowed 2 more runs in the 6th to put the Indians ahead 6-2, and was pulled after giving up 6 runs on 8 hits in 5.1 innings.

On offense Michael Young contributed 2 hits, as did Carlos Lee, and Ian Kinsler hit his 10th homerun of the season. Not nearly enough though as Indians starter Jake Westbrook was solid allowing 2 runs and striking out 6 in 7 innings of work. The Rangers took the loss 7-2 and fell to a season high 10 games out of first place.

[Molina00]

Game 2 Recap
Breaking News: The Rangers lose, again.

The Indians broke out early hitting Volquez hard for 5 runs in the first then a 6th run in the 2nd before Volquez was replaced. The Rangers trailed 6-0 at the time of Volquez's departure. The Ranger pen did a great job keeping Texas in the game though. Josh Rupe pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, Scott Feldman followed with 3 scoreless, and Rick Bauer pitched a scoreless 9th as the Ranger pen shutout the Indians 7.1 innings. It was not enough however as the Ranger only managed to score 4 runs off of Indians starts Cliff Lee, and then 1 more off closer Tom Mastny.

The offensive highlights were Matthews going 2 for 4 with 2 RBI, and Ian Kinsler who had 3 hits, a double, and drove in 2 runs.

The Indians won the game 6-5.

[Molina00]

Game 3 Recap
The Rangers managed to pull out a win in the series finale to avoid being swept. The Indians took a 1-0 lead in the 5th thanks to a Kevin Kouzmanoff homerun. Cleveland starter Paul Byrd held the Rangers in check until the 7th when they broke out for 5 runs against him, including a 3-run homerun from Mark Teixeira, his 25th homerun of the year. Kevin Millwood absolutely dominated the Tribe hitters allowed only 2 hits and 1 walk while striking out 10 over 8 innings. That is his 2nd straight great start at home. C.J. Wilson gave up a run in the 9th to make it a 5-2 game and a save situation for Aki. Otsuka got 1 out in the 9th for his 30th save of the year.

Other offensive highlights were Michael Young and Nelson Cruz each with 2 hits. Teixeira also hit his 39th double of the year.