A's Avoid Sweep With 7-0 Win Over Indians
CLEVELAND (CBS/AP) - Gio Gonzalez pitched seven shutout innings and baffled Cleveland again, and the Oakland Athletics avoided a four-game sweep with a 7-0 win Thursday over the Indians, who added another player to their overflowing disabled list.
Gonzalez (12-11) improved to 5-0 with a 0.72 ERA in six career starts against Cleveland. He hasn't given up a run to the Indians in 27 2-3 consecutive innings, and handed them a loss they can't afford. The left-hander allowed four singles and was never in trouble against a lineup missing several injured regulars.
Cliff Pennington had four hits and three RBIs as the A's did just enough against Fausto Carmona (6-13) and snapped a five-game losing streak.
The Indians began September trailing first-place Detroit by 5 ½ games in the AL Central. The teams will meet in a critical three-game series starting Monday at Progressive Field. At this point, the Indians may need to sweep the Tigers to keep their unexpected comeback season alive.
After winning a 16-inning marathon that ended at 12:07 a.m., the Indians took the field at 12:06 p.m. for the series finale.
Their bats never awakened against Gonzalez, who won his third start in a row after five consecutive losses. He worked out of three two-on jams, twice getting Asdrubal Cabrera to pop to right for the final out. In four starts in Cleveland, Gonzalez is 4-0 with a 0.67 ERA.
Only hours into the season's final month, the Indians had to make yet another roster move because of an injury.
Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo was placed on the 15-day disabled list, the latest tough break for the South Korean, whose 2011 season has been marred by injuries, an arrest on drunken-driving charges and sub-par stats. Choo strained a muscle in his side on a check-swing last week.
Choo joined the Indians' ample DL, which includes outfielders Michael Brantley and Grady Sizemore, DH Travis Hafner and starters Josh Tomlin and Carlos Carrasco. Manager Manny Acta has been forced to juggle his lineup for months, and Thursday he had to use two rookie relievers who made their major league debuts shortly after arriving from Triple-A Columbus.
Oakland strung together three straight two-out singles, and got aggressive on the basepaths to take a 2-0 lead in the fifth against Carmona.
With two outs, Eric Sogard reached on a fielder's choice and Jemile Weeks singled. Pennington followed with an RBI single and with Coco Crisp at the plate, Weeks and Pennington pulled off a double steal. Crisp's RBI single made it 2-0, and he promptly swiped second for his AL-leading 39th steal.
Carmona managed to keep the Indians within reach by striking out Hideki Matsui to end the A's threat.
However, the Indians never got anything going against Gonzalez, who did not let a runner get past second.
The A's tacked on two runs in the seventh, when they chased Carmona. He allowed three earned runs and eight hits in six innings.
Notes: The Indians said 18 dozen baseballs (216) were used in Wednesday's game, which featured 14 pitchers, 34 strikeouts and 509 pitches. ... A's RHP Jason Rice, acquired just before the midnight waiver deadline in a deal from Boston, arrived at the ballpark just before game time. ... The Indians are expected to recall RHP Josh Judy for their three-game series in Kansas City. ... Sizemore is scheduled to play six innings in the outfield Thursday night for Double-A Akron, the next step in his recovery from a bruised knee. He could be back with the Indians next week. ... Indians RHP Justin Masterson (10-8) will start the series opener against the Royals Bruce Chen (10-5). Masterson's 2.83 ERA is the AL's fourth lowest, and he's gone at least five innings in 27 of 28 starts.
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