#109---CLE @ LAA, 5/11/2005

My guess is that I started watching this game in-progress, and thus didn’t want to waste one of my regular scoresheets on it. It was also scored in pen, which as you can see is not something that I personally recommend.


Cleveland scored nine runs and hit three homers,  but all of them were solo shots, so there was plenty of other offense, particularly from Coco Crisp who was three for four with two doubles, a walk, and a steal (although he was also caught stealing). I do not remember Jake Woods, who finished the game for the Angels. He pitched 162 innings, mostly in relief, for LAA and SEA between 2005-2008.

#108---DET @ CLE, 4/19/2004

Jeff D’Amico did not have a good day.

First Omar Vizquel booted a Fernando Vina grounder to start the game. Then the next five Detroit batters reached through walks or hits, plating four runs and leaving runners at first and second with nobody out. D’Amico threw a strike to Craig Monroe, and there was a rain delay for 65 minutes. While D’Amico couldn’t have been long for the game sans precipitation, afterwards Jake Westbook came in and retired the side in order.

In the bottom of the first, Ronnie Belliard led off with a double. Then Omar Vizquel bunted him to third, down 4-0. Vizquel would often attempt to bunt for hits, which I can only hope is what was going on, but he was credited with a sacrifice.

Then Westbrook retired the side in order in the second. And the third. And the fourth. And the fifth. And the sixth. And the seventh. Sportswriters must have been scrambling to relate Jeff D’Amico to Babe Ruth and Jake Westbrook to Ernie Shore. Meanwhile, the Indians had managed to tie the game at four off Nate Robertson and Jamie Walker.


Alas, Westbrook’s perfect relief appearance was cut short at seven innings, as he was likely not stretched out enough. But Westbrook would pitch a complete game in his next outing and would never again work out of the bullpen for the Indians. Rafael Betancourt retired Vina to make it 22 in a row, but two singles and a Rondell White homer followed and he was knocked from the game. Scott Stewart, who is listed below in “Road Pitchers” in a terrible scorer’s error, came on and gave up three more runs of his own. David Lee (David Lee! Scott Stewart!) pitched the ninth, and despite Westbrook’s brilliance, the first and eighth innings gave Detroit a deceptively large margin at 10-4.

#107---KC @ CLE, 4/11/2003

Eleven years before they finally made the playoffs again, the Royals had a bit of an uprising in 2003 under Tony Pena. They would wind up 83-79, thanks largely to a 9-0 start. This was #8 as they edged the Indians 1-0.

Looking at the names in the Royals lineup, it does seem remarkable that they even managed a .500 campaign…Dee Brown, Desi Relaford, Angel Berroa (Rookie of the Year!), starting pitcher Runelvys Hernandez. In this game, they managed only four hits, scoring in the fifth with a walk, groundout, and single. Meanwhile, the Indians had eight hits, two of which were doubles, but failed to get a runner to third base the entire night. Leading off the ninth, Shane Spencer doubled and tried to become the first, but was cut down by Dee Brown at third. From there, Mike MacDougal needed just three pitches to retire Bill Selby and Travis Hafner to close it out.

Note the “N/A” for second base umpire; I’m not sure what the circumstances were, but the Baseball-Reference box score confirms that only three arbitrators worked this game.