DETROIT — Call Fausto Carmona’s 2008 season uncertain.
A decent start to the year led to a hip strain that healed slower than expected. Since returning in mid July, Carmona’s offered a mixed bag of outings. Some good. Some not so good.
At least the Cleveland right-hander can count on a certainty against the Tigers and Justin Verlander.
Carmona stayed perfect against his hard-throwing counterpart this season, leading the Tribe to their 10th straight win — a 9-7 victory Wednesday night at Comerica Park.
Carmona’s weird season has paralleled his team’s in many ways. The Indians became the first team since the 2004 Rays to have winning and losing streaks of at least 10 games in the same season.
The Indians lost their 10th straight on July 9 in Comerica Park. A month and a half later, they leave the same ballpark after a three-game sweep of Detroit, a team they’ve passed for third place in the Central Division.
“The makeup of the guys in this clubhouse is one that can put a 10-game losing streak behind and move right on,” said Tribe catcher Kelly Shoppach, who had three hits and three RBI on Wednesday. “It’s the same attitude in the clubhouse every day. No one hangs on to the previous day. You just build on the things you’ve learned from the last game and move forward. I think that’s the character makeup of the ball club.
“And that’s not just in the clubhouse. That’s all the way to the top.”
The Indians, winners of 16 of their last 19 games, have climbed all the way from a 37-53 record on July 9 to be only two games from .500 heading into today’s off-day.
The Indians last had an even record on May 18, which was right around the time Carmona (7-5) went on the disabled list.
Three of Carmona’s seven wins have come at the expense of Verlander, who never enjoys pitching against the Tribe much. Verlander allowed five runs and seven hits in six innings, falling to 4-9 lifetime against the Tribe.
Carmona doesn’t take his 3-0 record against the Tigers for granted.
“I know they’re a good lineup and can put up a lot of runs in a hurry,” he said through interpreter Luis Rivera. “So it makes me concentrate a lot and make sure I keep the ball down.”
Detroit’s Curtis Granderson hit his 17th career leadoff home run to tie the game, 1-1, in the bottom of the first. The Tigers followed with three consecutive RBI singles in the second to take a 4-3 lead.
Carmona then settled in and shut out the Tigers over his final four innings. It was enough for him to win consecutive starts for the first time since April.
Shoppach believes less is more with Carmona.
“His stuff is way too good to try to do more with it,” Shoppach said. “I think he’s better when he throws about 85 percent. We just want to keep him calm and keep his mechanics together. When he does that he’s pretty good.”
The 24-year-old sinkerballer retired three batters by strikeout and two others by flyball. The rest went down via the groundball.
Even though they failed to finish off Verlander, leaving five runners on in the fifth and sixth innings, the Indians effectively countered the Tigers when needed.
Jhonny Peralta’s jam-job single drove home David Dellucci in the first. After Granderson’s homer tied it, Grady Sizemore’s two-out, two-run single put the Indians back on top, 3-1, in the second. Sizemore has a new single-season career high of 83 RBIs.
Shoppach’s two-run homer in the fourth turned a 4-3 Detroit lead into a 5-4 Cleveland advantage. Shoppach, who has 17 home runs in 281 at-bats, would be on pace for 30 home runs in a 500 at-bat season.
“It’s just important for him to be a hitter first,” manager Eric Wedge said. “If he’s a hitter first and his approach is consistent, then the power will come.”
The Tribe didn’t rest. Shin-Soo Choo provided the Indians cushion with a monstrous two-run home run in the seventh off reliever Gary Glover. Choo almost put Glover’s first pitch onto the concourse in right field, an estimated 426 feet away, for his seventh homer.
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FAUSTO CARMONA of the Indians fires a second-inning pitch during the Tribe’s 9-7 win at Detroit on Wednesday at Comerica Park. AP
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Discussion
Wahoos hang 10
Shoppach, Choo lead way as Indians finish sweep of the Tigers
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Scholastic Statistics:
WRESTLING
NON-CONFERENCE
Riverside 31, Edgewood 28
at Edgewood -
Scholastic Schedule:
FRIDAY, FEB. 10
Boys Basketball
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n PV at Bloomfield
n Grand Valley at Southington
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