Masterson finally gets a win

By Paul Hoynes

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Chicago

This has to be a sign. There must be a hidden meaning behind what happened Friday night at U.S. Cellular Field.

It’s not as if the Cubs won the World Series, but Justin Masterson winning a ballgame has to echo in some corner of eternity. After losing 11 straight decisions, a victory has to mean more than one little “W” next to his name in today’s boxscore.

If it does, we’ll let the baseball philosophers discover just exactly what it is so they can dissect and discuss it. For now, let’s keep things as simple as possible. Masterson pitched five messy innings to beat the White Sox, 10-1.

It was his first victory since Aug. 20 when he beat the Angels at Progressive Field. After that, he lost six straight decisions to close out 2009. He started this year by losing five straight decisions.

The losing streak covered 17 starts and a lot of second-guessing over whether Masterson really belonged in the rotation.

Masterson said the streak had a lot to do with luck and the geometry of the game. An inch here, an inch there and many a hit could have been an out.

Friday night, Masterson’s fortunes changed. He walked five and allowed 12 baserunners, but allowed only one run. The offense and bullpen showed up as well.

In Masterson’s 17 previous starts, the offense scored 39 runs.

The Tribe’s dormant hitters scored four runs in the sixth, two in the seventh and four more in the eighth.

Jhonny Peralta hit a two-run double in the sixth off John Danks (4-5) and hit another two-run double in the seventh off Sergio Santos. Peralta entered the game in an 0-for-8 slump, but he had four hits for a season high. The four RBIs were also his best of the year.

Austin Kearns, who came into the game in an 0-for-14 slump, had three hits including a two-run homer in the eighth. He scored three runs and reached base four times.

Trevor Crowe, who entered the game for defensive purposes in the seventh, hit a two-run triple in the eighth.

And Luis Valbuena had three straight hits. In the past two games, he had five hits.