|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
CLEVELAND (AP) – Two swings and a mist.
Juan Gonzalez and Jim Thome homered on consecutive pitches and
the Cleveland Indians rallied through the fog Friday night for a
4-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
|  | | O's pitcher Jose Mercedes tries to keep his focus as the fog rolls in during the fifth inning. |
A dense, fast-moving fog swirled in off Lake Erie in the fifth
inning and stopped play for eight minutes in the sixth before the
Indians stormed back from a 3-0 deficit.
Cleveland scored the go-ahead run in the seventh without getting
a hit as Gonzalez walked with the bases loaded.
"It was really weird," Thome said of the fog that shrouded
Jacobs Field for two innings. "I can't remember seeing it even that bad in the old stadium on the lake. That was as weird as it's ever been here. It's like somebody blew it in here and it just sat on us."
Ricardo Rincon (1-0) relieved starter Dave Burba and got the
win, striking out the only batter he faced. Paul Shuey worked the
eighth and Bob Wickman closed for his first save.
The Indians used four walks and a sacrifice to take a 4-3 lead
in the seventh.
Baltimore starter Jose Mercedes (0-1) walked Wil Cordero and Einar Diaz sacrificed pinch-runner Jolbert Cabrera over. B.J. Ryan
came on and walked pinch-hitter Marty Cordova, and one out later,
Roberto Alomar walked to load the bases.
Calvin Maduro didn't want to make a mistake with Gonzalez and wasn't close with any of his four pitches, forcing in Cabrera.
"I'll take a walk anytime," Gonzalez said. "That's a tough situation for a hitter and a pitcher, too."
At one point, the fog was so thick and blowing in so fast that
Orioles center fielder Melvin Mora was barely visible from the press box. Baltimore manager Mike Hargrove came out to complain and the umpires delayed the game for eight minutes in the sixth.
Unfortunately for Hargrove, he had a clear view of the shots hit by Gonzalez and Thome off Mercedes in the bottom of the inning.
"Jose pitched well except for the two pitches," Hargrove said.
"That was about the ballgame."
First, Gonzalez drove a 1-0 pitch over the wall in right-center
for his third homer this season. Gonzalez now has 15 homers and 39
RBI in 33 career games at Jacobs Field.
Thome didn't let the fans sit down, hitting the next pitch over
the wall in straightaway center for his first hit in 10 at-bats
this season.
"You're not going to get away with bad pitches to two hitters
like that," Hargrove said.
Mercedes shut out the Indians for seven innings in his only
appearance against them last year and blanked them for four innings
before Cordero's RBI double in the fifth brought Cleveland within
3-1.
Mercedes gave up three runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings.
Held to a combined four runs and 12 hits in their first three
games, the Orioles, who entered batting .136 as a team, had an
offensive explosion -- four runs and three hits -- in the third off
Burba.
Brady Anderson and Mike Bordick hit RBI singles off Burba and David Segui, who played 57 games for Cleveland last season but turned down a contract offer to re-sign with the Indians, had a sacrifice fly.
Game notes
Indians 3B Travis Fryman isn't ready to come off the DL.
Fryman, who has a torn elbow ligament, took himself out of a
Triple-A game in Buffalo on Friday and returned to Cleveland for
evaluation. "He's not quite ready to go," Manuel said. "He's
going to need another two or three days." Fryman told Manuel he
felt a slight strain in his elbow two nights ago. He'll take
grounders and batting practice on Saturday. ... Cleveland's bullpen
hasn't allowed a run in seven innings this season. ... With CF Kenny Lofton resting a strained calf, Jacob Cruz started for the Indians. It was his first regular-season game in center since he
suffered a major knee injury while trying to catch a ball near the
wall in an April 29 game last year. ... The Orioles are just 10-30
at Jacobs Field, including a 2-3 mark in the '96 and '97 playoffs.
... Hargrove will continue to carry 11 pitchers until RHP Alan
Mills is ready to come off the DL. Mills, who had shoulder surgery
in September and is at the team's training facility in Sarasota,
Fla., is only throwing 83-85 mph. "I don't think rushing Alan will
do him or us any good," Hargrove said.
 Send this story to a friend
| |
RECAPS
Boston 11
Tampa Bay 4
Minnesota 6
Kansas City 2
Detroit 10
Chi. White Sox 9
Cleveland 4
Baltimore 3
Toronto 13
NY Yankees 4
Seattle 9
Texas 7
Anaheim 5
Oakland 4
Chicago Cubs 3
Philadelphia 2
Atlanta 7
Florida 5
Montreal 10
NY Mets 6
Houston 4
Pittsburgh 1
Milwaukee 5
Cincinnati 4
San Diego 10
Colorado 6
St. Louis 12
Arizona 9
Los Angeles 10
San Francisco 1
|
