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Indians squeeze by Boston; Bucs lose home opener
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo
Cleveland Indians' Asdrubal Cabrera (13) is congratulated in the dugout in the eighth inning in a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Thursday, April 7, 2011, in Cleveland. Cabrera's suicide-squeeze bunt put the Indians ahead in their fourth straight victory, scoring Adam Everett. The Indians swept the series and won 1-0. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
Associated Press
CLEVELAND
While the Boston Red Sox got all the attention, the Cleveland Indians quietly went about their business at Progressive Field.
Winning business, in fact.
The Indians finished off a three-game sweep Thursday with a 1-0 victory, thanks to a suicide-squeeze bunt in the eighth inning and a heads-up defensive play in the ninth to end the game.
Cleveland outplayed the team favored by many to win the World Series throughout the series and extended its winning streak to four. While the Red Sox slipped to 0-6, the Indians have bounced back from two lopsided losses to begin the season as they start a West Coast trip Friday night in Seattle.
The Indians are in a three-way tie for first place in the AL Central with Kansas City and Chicago — it’s early, of course, but it’s also the first time Cleveland has been in first place since May 17, 2008. The Indians are two games over .500 and hadn’t done that since Sept. 22, 2008.
“We did beat a very good ballclub — regardless if they’re struggling or not,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “We won and it was a very well-played series. It wasn’t like they were sloppy and we got lucky. We played good baseball.”
Asdrubal Cabrera’s squeeze bunt produced the Indians’ only run on a day when four pitchers held the Red Sox to four hits.
Fausto Carmona, bouncing back from a rocky start on Opening Day, held the Red Sox to two hits in seven innings. Rafael Perez (2-0) retired both batters he faced while Chris Perez recorded his second save of the series.
Carmona, who allowed 10 runs on 11 hits in three innings against Chicago last week, looked like a different pitcher Thursday. The right-hander struck out four and walked two.
ROCKIES 7, PIRATES 1
PITTSBURGH, PA.
Neil Walker grew up rooting for the Pirates, so he can remember more than a few home openers he’d rather forget.
Like this year’s.
Walker’s throwing error in the first inning helped Colorado score two runs, and the Rockies got a dominant pitching performance from Esmil Rogers in a 7-1 rout of Pittsburgh, wrecking the Pirates’ sun-splashed first home game under new manager Clint Hurdle.
“I just blew it,” Walker said.
Everything was in place for a memorable day at PNC Park, and Walker threw it away.
With one out and a runner at first, the second baseman cleanly fielded Carlos Gonzalez’s tailor-made double play grounder but threw wide of second, the ball skipping past shortstop Ronny Cedeno and into foul territory. By the time the Pirates corralled it, Dexter Fowler had scored and Gonzalez was at third.
Troy Tulowitzki, who pounds Pittsburgh’s pitching every chance he gets, followed with a sacrifice fly off Paul Maholm (0-1) to make it 2-0.
“I felt like I let the air out of the entire building,” Walker said. “I made Paul’s job a whole lot harder for him. I just blew it. A terrible play.”
Rogers (1-0), who won the final spot in Colorado’s rotation with a strong finish in spring training, looked more like the staff’s ace. He mixed a devastating 95 mph fastball with several breaking pitches to overwhelm the Pirates over 71/3 dominant innings.
After giving up singles to the first two batters, the right-hander retired 22 of 23, including 18 straight.
“Rogers was special,” Tulowitzki said.