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Indians Scalp Giants
By Daniel Dullum June 10, 2005 |
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SAN FRANCISCO -- Cleveland pitcher C.C. Sabathia put on two different baseball clinics on June 10 at SBC Park -- one on how not to run the bases, but more importantly for the Indians, another on how to pitch. Sabathia (5-3) scattered five hits in eight stellar innings as the Tribe used a big ninth-inning rally to subdue the San Francisco Giants 10-2. While San Francisco has lost 12 of its last 14 games, the red-hot Indians have won 12 of their last 19. Sabathia also cracked a two-run double in the seventh inning that concluded with an ill-advised attempt to take third base. When the relay throw got away, the 290-pound lefthander broke for third, where he was tagged out by Giants pitcher Brett Tomko (5-8) as his body took two bad hops before reaching the bag on an ugly head-first slide. "I told [Sabathia] never to slide head-first again," said Indians manager Eric Wedge. "It looked worse than it was, but it was bad -- a minor earthquake." Stanford product Jody Gerut, who just missed hitting for the cycle, said Sabathia -- who never runs the bases in the American League because of the designated hitter rule -- needs to "get back to basics. It's time to get the slip-and-slide out and teach him how to slide feet first." Sabathia, who made a Gold Glove-caliber play to retire Moises Alou on a slow roller in the second inning, explained, "I didn't realize the situation until I got on deck. I didn't think I'd be hitting. I wasn't prepared, but luckily I got a pitch I could hit." Other than his base-running exploits, all went well for Sabathia, a Vallejo native. He struck out six, walked two, and received plenty of support to offset an RBI double by Lance Niekro in the fourth inning and a solo home run by Moises Alou in the sixth. Sabathia held the Giants hitless until Moises Alou singled in the fourth inning. "[Sabathia] is a great competitor," Giants manager Felipe Alou said. "The ball game was not Sabathia's hitting, it was his pitching and some of the pitches we made after that." Alou's home run was his 11th of the season, and eighth at SBC Park. He finished 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs. "C.C. threw the ball well," Wedge said. "He threw some outstanding changeups. He threw some good breaking balls and had a good fastball. The only way those secondary pitches work is if the fastball is working." While Sabathia's double gave him a 5-2 cushion going into the eighth, a five-run uprising in the top of the ninth put the game out of reach. The Indians sent 10 batters to the plate, and scored five runs after the second out. Run-scoring hits by Aaron Boone, Travis Hafner, Grady Sizemore, Alex Cora and Coco Crisp did the damage against Giants relievers Al Levine and Scott Eyre. Cleveland stranded only three baserunners in the interleague contest. "Too bad the game got so ugly after the sixth inning," Manager Alou said. "The game is nine innings and you have to look good for all nine innings." Gerut and Boone hit back-to-back triples in the second inning, the first triple of the season for both players. Gerut finished 3-for-4 with a single, double, triple and a run batted in. GIANTS-INDIANS NOTES: Cleveland was the last American League team the Giants had yet to face in interleague play prior to Friday night. The last time the two clubs met in a non-exhibition game was the 1954 World Series, when the New York Giants swept the Tribe in four games -- the franchise's last title ... Gerut's triple was his first extra-base hit since he homered against Minnesota on May 24 ... Former Giant Robby Thompson joined Cleveland prior to the game to become the team's interim bench coach ... Sabathia is 2-for-6 on the season with a double, a home run and four RBI ... Former Indian Omar Vizquel visited with his ex-teammates before the game. Vizquel spent 11 seasons in Cleveland before joining the Giants |
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