NOTEBOOK | Indians vs. Devil Rays

Scoreboard watching: Indians manager Eric Wedge has avoided talk of the playoff race the past month, preferring to focus on the game at hand. He admitted to knowing the White Sox lost on Monday -- the Indians announced it during the game -- but insists he doesn't pay much attention to other teams. "You guys put way too much stock in that," Wedge told reporters. "If we watched as much as you want us to watch, we wouldn't have time to play the game."
No pressure: Indians second baseman Ronnie Belliard has never been in a pennant race in his eight-year career, but said he hasn't felt much pressure. "I'm not even thinking about it," he said. "I'm just trying to stay loose and have fun." Belliard played in the Caribbean World Series five years ago and said he felt more pressure then than he does now. "This is nothing compared to that," he said. "This is more exciting [than stressful]. You've got a stadium full of people cheering for you and a chance to go to the playoffs." In addition to keeping himself loose, he also tries to make sure the other players and coaches are loose before (and sometimes during) games. When asked what he does to the coaches, he laughed and said, "You don't want to know. I do a lot of things."
Streaks: Monday's loss to the Devil Rays snapped a five-game home winning streak for the Indians. The Tribe has won 14 of their last 17 games at Jacobs Field. They are also 3-5 against the Devil Rays this year and have lost four straight against them. Cleveland failed to homer for the first time in 13 games.
Milestones: Tampa Bay ace Scott Kazmir set the Devil Rays' single-season strikeout record with 174, breaking the old mark of 172 set by Tony Saunders in 1998. He is 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA in September. Closer Danys Baez recorded his 40th save and is within three of the club mark set by Roberto Hernandez in 1999. The former Tribe reliever has 27 saves since the All-Star break -- most in the majors.
Up next: Indians pitcher Cliff Lee (18-4, 3.90 ERA) will face Tampa's Seth McClung (6-11, 7.11) today and C.C. Sabathia (14-10, 4.20) goes against Casey Fossum (8-11, 4.65) on Thursday. Lee's winning percentage of .818 would be second all-time in Indians history behind Johnny Allen, who went 15-1 (.938) in 1937. Bob Feller is second-best (for now). He went 13-3 (.813) in 1954.
Joe Scalzo