Cleveland Indians
April 16, 2000
Cleveland Indians 2, Texas Rangers 1
CLEVELAND (AP) - Jim Thome's one-out homer into the Indians' bullpen followed Manny Ramirez's shot to deep center in the ninth inning off John Wetteland (0-1) on Sunday as Cleveland rallied to beat the Texas Rangers 2-1. The two drives -- the 201st career homers for both players -- helped Chuck Finley win his home debut for the Indians, who were held to two hits through eight innings. Despite striking out 13 and pitching a five-hitter, Finley (1-0) looked like he was going to be a hard-luck loser. But Ramirez and Thome gave Finley his first win with Cleveland and Indians rookie manager Charlie Manuel his first home win. Texas starter Esteban Loaiza pitched 7 1/3 shutout innings and struck out a career-high 10 for the Rangers.
Finley strikes out four in an inning for third time
CLEVELAND (AP) - Just in case, Chuck Finley may have made his
major league record untouchable. Finley, who was already the only
pitcher in baseball history to twice strike out four batters in
an inning, did it for the third time Sunday in his first home
start for the Cleveland Indians. "Yeah, I guess I got that one,"
Finley said. "But it's not something you really want to
practice." After giving up a leadoff single to Texas' Luis
Alicea, Finley struck out Tom Evans for the first out of the
third inning. The left-hander then struck out Royce Clayton and
fanned Chad Curtis, who took first on a passed ball by catcher
Einar Diaz. "We got our signals crossed up," Finley said.
Following a single by Ivan Rodriguez, Finley made history by
striking out Rafael Palmeiro. Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome hit
back-to-back, one-out homers in the ninth as Cleveland rallied to
beat the Rangers 2-1, making a winner of Finley.
Indians' Colon expected to go on DL
CLEVELAND (AP) - Bartolo Colon, the Indians' No. 1 starter, is
expected to be placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday after
pulling an oblique muscle in a start against the Texas Rangers.
Colon lasted just 3 1/3 innings on Saturday in a 6-4 loss to the
Rangers. The right-hander seemed to be off his game from the
outset, circling around the mound between batters. His fastball
wasn't as overpowering as usual and he was relying on changeups
more than normal. As it turns out, Colon pulled a muscle in the
first inning but didn't say anything about it until Sunday. "I
noticed he was bending over, but he didn't tell me was hurt. He
didn't say anything to me," Indians manager Charlie Manuel said
after Cleveland rallied to beat the Rangers 2-1 Sunday. Colon had
an MRI on Sunday and a team spokesman said results would not be
available until Monday, an off day for the Indians.
April 15, 2000
Texas Rangers 6, Cleveland Indians 4
CLEVELAND (AP) - Texas scored five runs off Bartolo Colon in the first inning, then survived a Cleveland rally highlighted by Jim Thome's 200th career home run as the Rangers beat the Indians 6-4 Saturday. Ivan Rodriguez went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs to lead the Rangers. Colon (2-1) lasted just 3 1/3 innings, giving up six runs and nine hits. Rodriguez sparked the big first when he doubled off the right-field wall to score Chad Curtis, then scored on David Segui's single. Gabe Kapler singled home two runs and Luis Alicea tripled. Mark Clark (2-0) didn't allow a Cleveland batter to reach base until the fourth inning. Clark held the Indians to just one hit through 5 1/3 innings but then gave up four quick runs -- capped by Thome's three-run homer.
April 14, 2000
Texas Rangers 7, Cleveland Indians 2
CLEVELAND (AP) - Rick Helling allowed four hits in eight innings Friday and David Segui, Rafael Palmeiro and Ivan Rodriguez all homered as the Texas Rangers soured opening day at Jacobs Field with a 7-2 win over the Cleveland Indians. Helling (2-0) gave up two runs and two hits in the first inning, but settled down and retired 14-of-15 before giving up a leadoff single to Sandy Alomar in the eighth. The Indians, who opened their 100th season by going 7-2 on a nine-game road trip, had their winning streak snapped at six. Omar Vizquel hit a two-run homer for the Indians. Indians starter Dave Burba (1-1) fell behind 3-0 in the first inning when Segui connected for a two-run homer and was gone in the fifth after Palmeiro homered and Segui doubled off the top of the wall. Burba gave up six runs and nine hits in four-plus innings.
April 12, 2000
Cleveland Indians 5, Oakland Athletics 0
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Jaret Wright pitched a five-hitter for the second complete game of his career, and the Cleveland Indians beat the Oakland Athletics 5-0 Wednesday for a three-game sweep. Jim Thome hit a two-run double and Manny Ramirez added two hits, including a double, as the Indians swept the A's for the first time since July 21-23, 1995. Cleveland has won 15 of its last 17 games against Oakland. Wright (2-0) struck out six and walked one. His other complete game was a three-hit, 2-0 win over Detroit on June 1, 1998. He did not allow a runner past first and faced just 31 batters, four over the minimum. Thome fouled off six two-strike pitches in the seventh before his broken-bat double off Gil Heredia (0-1). Richie Sexson chased Heredia with an RBI single.
Indians sign Ogea to minor league contract
CLEVELAND (AP) - Chad Ogea, who won two World Series games for
the Indians in 1997, agreed Wednesday to a minor league contract
with Cleveland. Ogea, 29, was released by Tampa Bay during spring
training after going 1-1 with a 6.91 ERA in six appearances for
the Devil Rays. In '97, Ogea started and won Games 2 and 6 of the
Series against the Florida Marlins. The right-hander pitched five
innings in Game 6 and also went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs off
Kevin Brown in Cleveland's 4-1 victory. Ogea, drafted by the
Indians in 1991, went 31-23 in 93 games in parts of five seasons
with Cleveland before being traded to Philadelphia after the '98
season for right-hander Jerry Spradlin. Ogea was released by the
Phillies after he went 6-12 with a 5.63 ERA last season.
April 11, 2000
Cleveland Indians 5, Oakland Athletics 1
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Charles Nagy allowed four hits in eight innings and David Justice homered as the Cleveland Indians defeated the Oakland Athletics 5-1 on Tuesday night for their fifth straight victory. Nagy (1-1) struck out eight and did not allow an Oakland baserunner past second with the exception of Jason Giambi's fourth homer. Nagy improved to 12-5 lifetime against the A's, who lost for the fourth time in five games. Justice hit his third home run of the season against Omar Olivares (1-1) on the first pitch of the third inning to give the Indians a 1-0 lead. Roberto Alomar singled to lead off the fourth, and eventually scored on a double play. He added a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
April 10, 2000
Cleveland Indians 9, Oakland Athletics 4
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Travis Fryman had four hits and four RBIs and Chuck Finley and three relievers combined to strike out 16 Oakland batters as the Cleveland Indians beat the Athletics 9-4 Monday night. Finley, who signed with Cleveland as a free agent after spending the first 14 years of his big league career with Anaheim, struck out 10 for the 28th time in his career. However, he couldn't hold a 4-2 lead in the sixth and left with his second straight no-decision. Jacob Cruz broke a 4-4 tie by doubling home two runs in the seventh inning. Scott Kamieniecki (1-1) got the win with 1 1/3 innings of hitless relief. Fryman had two-run singles in the first and ninth and Manny Ramirez tripled and singled to drive in a pair for the Indians. Jeff Tam (0-1) took the loss and Eric Chavez homered for Oakland.
Indians say home season is sold out - again
CLEVELAND (AP) - The Cleveland Indians declared the 2000 season
at Jacobs Field sold out Monday night, four days before the
team's home opener against Texas. The Indians have sold out 373
straight home games, the longest streak in the majors. The season
attendance last year was 3,468,456, a franchise record. Season
tickets are capped at about 25,000. The Indians placed 800,000
individual game tickets on sale Dec. 3 and ran that sale until
Dec. 24. A secondary sale began Feb. 26 for tickets not sold in
December plus about 175,000 tickets for auxiliary bleachers and
standing room. The Cleveland streak dates to June 12, 1995.
Jacobs Field opened in 1994. Its capacity is 43,368.
April 9, 2000
Cleveland Indians 17, Tampa Bay Devil Rays 4
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Kenny Lofton and Omar Vizquel drove in nine runs as the Indians beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 17-4 on Sunday night to complete a three-game sweep. Vizquel, who had a grand slam Friday night, knocked in five runs. Roberto Alomar, David Justice and Manny Ramierz added two-run homers for the Indians, who improved to 4-2 during a season-opening nine-game road trip. Ramirez's 421-foot homer to center off Dave Eiland in the seventh inning was the 200th of his career. Indians starter Bartolo Colon (2-0) allowed one run and five hits in six innings. He struck out nine and walked five. The Devil Rays, who were outscored 37-13 in the series, have dropped five of their past six games. The Indians jumped on Tampa Bay starter Ryan Rupe (0-1) for five runs in the second inning.
April 8, 2000
Cleveland Indians 6, Tampa Bay Devil Rays 4
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Cleveland Indians right-hander Dave Burba beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 6-4 Saturday, despite giving up a pair of homers to Greg Vaughn -- one of them the third-longest in the brief history of Tropicana Field. Burba (1-0) was helped by Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome, who smacked the 199th home runs of their careers five pitches apart. The sluggers remained tied for sixth on Cleveland's career list, connecting off right-hander Steve Trachsel (1-1) with two outs in the fifth inning to give the Indians a 6-1 lead. Travis Fryman also had a two-run double off Trachsel, giving him five RBIs in the series. Vaughn homered twice and drove in four runs, including a 462-foot solo blast to deep left center. Steve Karsay got the save.
April 7, 2000
Cleveland Indians 14, Tampa Bay Devil Rays 5
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Omar Vizquel hit his fourth career grand slam, and Jim Thome and David Justice also homered during Cleveland's nine-run second inning as the Indians routed Tampa Bay 14-5 Friday night. Travis Fryman added a three-run double for the Indians, 3-for-4 with 10 RBIs when batting with the bases loaded. Six of those runs came off Juan Guzman (0-1) in the second when Cleveland sent 12 batters to the plate. Jaret Wright (1-0) limited the Devil Rays to three doubles, including a pair by Jose Canseco, and two runs in five innings. He struck out four and walked six before being replaced by Bobby Witt, who allowed Bubba Trammell's pinch homer in the sixth. Wright allowed Canseco's RBI double in the first inning, then didn't give up another hit until the fifth when Canseco doubled.
April 6, 2000
Baltimore Orioles 6, Cleveland Indians 2
BALTIMORE (AP) - Charles Johnson hit his third homer in two days, a three-run shot in the sixth inning that snapped a tie and lifted the Baltimore Orioles past the Cleveland Indians, 6-2, Thursday night. Mike Bordick also homered for the Orioles, who took 2-of-3 from the defending AL Central champions. Baltimore went 1-9 last year against the Indians. With the score 2-2, Johnson connected off Charles Nagy (0-1) after Cal Ripken and Will Clark hit one-out singles. Bordick followed with his first home run of the season to chase Nagy, who allowed nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. Pat Rapp (1-0) won his debut with Baltimore, allowing two runs and five hits in six innings. Buddy Groom, another newcomer to the O's, earned his first save since 1997.
April 5, 2000
Baltimore Orioles 11, Cleveland Indians 7
BALTIMORE (AP) - Charles Johnson homered twice and drove in five runs Wednesday night as Baltimore beat the Cleveland Indians 11-7, giving Mike Hargrove his first victory as manager of the Orioles. Johnson's second homer, a two-run shot in the eighth inning off former Oriole Scott Kamieniecki (0-1), snapped a 7-7 tie. He also hit a three-run homer to give Baltimore a 7-6 lead in the sixth. Albert Belle hit a three-run homer for the Orioles, who rebounded from an opening day loss to Hargrove's former team. Cal Ripken went 0-for-4 and remained eight hits short of 3,000. Charlie Manuel, Hargrove's replacement in Cleveland, was ejected in his second game as a major league manager. Jim Thome homered and Omar Vizquel had three hits for the Indians. B.J. Ryan (1-0) got the last out in the eighth to earn his second major league win.
April 3, 2000
Cleveland Indians 4, Baltimore Orioles 1
BALTIMORE (AP) - Baltimore ace Mike Mussina retired 23 of the first 25 batters he faced, but Travis Fryman and Kenny Lofton hit solo homers to lead the Cleveland Indians to a 4-1 victory Monday. Lofton's homer in the sixth snapped a 1-1 tie, and the Indians pulled away in the eighth by scoring two runs on four straight two-out singles. Cal Ripken, who entered the game needing nine hits to reach 3,000 for his career, hit a bloop double in the second inning and went 1-for-4. Mussina allowed only two hits through the first seven innings -- both homers -- before tiring in the eighth. Bartolo Colon (1-0) yielded one run on three hits in five innings. Steve Karsay worked the ninth for his second major league save.
April 1, 2000
Indians' Lofton makes first spring start in outfield
(AP) - Kenny Lofton returned to the field Saturday less than four
months after undergoing surgery on his left shoulder, starting in
center field in Cleveland's final exhibition game. The Indians
said it was likely that Lofton would be activated and start in
Monday's opener at Baltimore, but a final decision would not be
made until Sunday. "I thought he did good," Indians manager
Charlie Manuel said. "He got the feel of being in the game. ...
If he feels like this tomorrow, we'll open the season with him."
Lofton had appeared in three exhibition games, all as a
designated hitter, before Saturday, when he went 1-for-3 with his
first two steals of the spring. He is 6-for-12 with a home run
and two stolen bases overall. "I feel OK," Lofton said. "I didn't
get any balls. It depends on how I feel tomorrow. If it feels as
good as it did today, I can go ahead and play."