which has won nine of the last 10 in the series. | Forum
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Feb 4 '20
CLEVELAND -- Cy Young himself wouldnt want to mess with the Indians right now. Carolina Hurricanes Shirts . Justin Masterson struck out a season-high 11 in seven shutout innings and Michael Brantley hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs off Felix Hernandez as Cleveland toppled yet another former Cy Young Award winner on Sunday with a 6-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Brantley connected in the second inning off Hernandez (5-3), who failed to go at least six innings for the first time this season. The Indians, who improved to 17-4 since April 28, are 7-1 this season against Cy Young recipients. Theyve knocked off Hernandez, R.A. Dickey, David Price, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Bartolo Colon and Justin Verlander. The Indians are taking pride in knocking off trophy-winning pitchers. "We just take it as a challenge," Indians first baseman Nick Swisher said. "Weve got that scrappy-type and gritty-type of team. It may not always be pretty, man, but somehow were going to find a way to get it done. We just love coming to the ballpark right now. "Things are rocking," Swisher said. Before the game, Brantley said the Indians talked about taking down another trophy-winning pitcher. "Were loose and were not holding nothing back," Brantley said. "Everybody has smiles on their faces. We just want to make sure we enjoy this. Were playing great baseball right now and we just want to keep it up." Staked to an early lead, Masterson (7-2) was dominant for the second straight start. He allowed three singles, easily outdueled Hernandez and ran his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 19. He shut out the New York Yankees 1-0 on four hits in his previous outing. "From the very first pitch of the game he came out firing," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "He was not only firing, but he was pitching. He was using both sides of the plate. He was using a two-seamer, four-seamer, throwing breaking balls to both sides of the plate. He kept going up, down, in, out. He worked ahead." The AL Central-leading Indians are a baseball-best 20-7 since April 20. "Weve got a good thing going in here," Swisher said. "Weve got a lot of confident, excited guys and were going out and proving that." Following walkoff wins in the first two games of the series, Cleveland took the drama out of this one early, building a 5-0 lead after two innings against Hernandez. The 2010 Cy Young winner, who left his previous start after six innings with back stiffness, came in with the leagues lowest ERA (1.53) but it rose to 2.07 after he gave up six runs and eight hits in five innings. Hernandez struck out eight, including the final three batters, but he was wasnt on his game -- and neither were the Mariners. Seattle was only charged with one error, but the Mariners made several mental mistakes that helped the Indians. "Youre going to have games like that when a couple of things happen and you make a couple of mistakes," Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. "Thats what happened to us. It was one of those days for Felix and one of those days for us." Its not like Masterson needed much help. The big right-hander overpowered the Mariners, who couldnt catch up to his 97 mph fastball and only had two runners reach second base against him. The Indians were hoping Masterson could develop into their ace, and so far this season hes been the dependable front-of-the-rotation starter they desperately needed. "His stuff is dominant," Francona said. "Hes been consistent, but consistent at a level with his velocity, breaking ball, ability to hold runners. Hes just done everything." Pitching with a six-run lead, he got stronger as the game progressed. He struck out five of the last six batters he faced and fanned seven in the last three innings. Last season was a struggle for Masterson, who went 11-15 with a 4.93 ERA. So whats he doing better? "Everything," he said, laughing. Brantleys three-run homer with two outs in the second gave the Indians a 5-0 lead over Hernandez. The right-hander, who needed 35 pitches to get through the first, retired the first two hitters on groundouts before Michael Bourn singled and went to third on Jason Kipnis base hit to centre. Brantley then drove an 0-1 pitch into the Indians bullpen in centre for just his second homer. It was a stunning development against Hernandez, who came in having allowed just four earned runs in 44 innings over his past six starts. In the eight starts against the Indians, the former Cy Young winners have a collective 8.21 ERA. A fundamental gaffe by Hernandez allowed the Indians to add a run in the fourth. With Mike Aviles at second after a double, Drew Stubbs topped a ball into the dirt that catcher Jesus Montero fielded in front of the plate and threw to first for the out. Aviles never slowed coming around third and scored easily because Montero got caught up the line and Hernandez failed to cover home. "Thats just beautiful right there," Masterson said. "Those are the type of things you want to see, and thats what defines this team and makes it so special." NOTES: Clevelands starters are 13-4 in the past 21 games. ... The Indians are 6-0-4 in their last 10 series. ... White Sox RHP Jake Peavy is the only former Cy Young winner to beat the Indians this season. ... Masterson is the fifth starter to record double-digit strikeouts against the Mariners in 2013. ... The Indians will try to complete the four-game sweep on Monday as the teams conclude their wrap-around series with a matinee. ... The Indians are 9-1 against the AL West. ... Cleveland has seven shutouts, its most through 42 games since 2008. Stitched Hurricanes Jerseys . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. Hurricanes Jerseys 2021 . -- Arizona raced out to a big lead and did not back off, hitting the accelerator instead. https://www.cheaphurricanes.com/ . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. CINCINNATI -- Redshirt freshman quarterback Ross Trail headed for the cooler in the corner of the room and asked his teammates if they needed a drink. Given how theyd helped him through his first collegiate start, it was a fitting gesture.Tion Green ran for 83 yards and a late touchdown on Saturday, rallying Cincinnati to a 27-20 victory over Miami (Ohio), its 11th in a row over the regional rival.The Bearcats (3-1) pulled it out with a field goal and Greens 2-yard run with 5:09 to go, overcoming the loss of starting quarterback Hayden Moore. Moore suffered a sprained ankle during a 40-16 loss to Houston in the last game. Trail got into that game late and threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown.Cincinnati didnt reveal the quarterback change until right before kickoff. In his first start, Trail was 25 of 38 for 276 yards with two interceptions and an 11-yard touchdown run. He also fumbled on a sack.It was nerve-racking at first, Trail said. But overall, I thought I played well, not just me but the whole offense.Cincinnati rushed for 185 yards, taking the pressure off the passing game. Also, the defense clamped down in the fourth quarter.Ross made some mistakes, coach Tommy Tuberville said. We knew he was going to make some mistakes, but our defense showed up and made some plays.Miami (0-4) hasnt won at Nippert Stadium since 2002, losing six in a row in Cincinnati. The Bearcats got to keep the Victtory Bell trophy for another year. Custom Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys. I felt we could play toe-to-toe with Cincinnati, coach Chuck Martin said. We were going to grind and come close in the fourth quarter. They made some plays in that last drive so hats off to them.Cincinnati also had a new kicker -- Andrew Gantz is recovering from a leg injury. Josh Pasley was good from 28 and 23 yards, but missed badly on a 42-yard try in the closing seconds of the first half, which ended 10-10.THE TAKEAWAYMiami: RedHawks failed again for a signature win during their rebuilding. Theyre 5-35 over the last four seasons.Cincinnati: Tuberville said theres a chance that Moore could be back for the game next Saturday against South Florida. If not, Trail will start. Gunner Kiel, who was the starter the last two seasons, is third in line and didnt get into the game on Saturday.Hes ahead of Gunner in terms of knowing the offense, and Ross has a good arm, Tuberville said.UP NEXTMiami: Hosts Mid-American Conference rival Ohio, which has won nine of the last 10 in the series. The Bobcats won 34-3 in Athens last season.Cincinnati: Hosts the Bulls on Saturday night. The Bearcats lost at South Florida 65-27 last season. The Bulls (3-1) lost to No. 13 Florida State 55-35 on Saturday.---AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '
