Hello everyone,

Indians (MLB) - defeated the Royals 6-0; RHP Fausto Carmona continues his impressive season with this line:

W (17-8) - 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 9 K; 7 G/8 F; 73 S/30 B (3.07 - currently, the lowest ERA in the AL; possibly the first time I can recall that Carmona had more FOs than GOs, but not much of a problem, considering that he also struck out 9 Royals, gave up 0 ERs, and just 1 XBH - a 2B by Jason Smith.)

RHP Zack Greinke had these thoughts about Carmona:

"He was amazing today.  Just watching him pitch, he would have shut anybody down. The stuff he had was really impressive. There's not much you can do about it."

LHP Rafael Perez finished up the strong pitching performance by having a perfect 9th against the Royals, striking out the side.

2B Asdrubal Cabrera has now hit in 12 of his last 13 games, as he delivered an RBI 2B to RF to bring in Sizemore, who got on via a throwing error by 1B Billy Butler.

DH Travis Hafner hit his 22nd HR, a solo shot, off Greinke in the 3rd.

1B Ryan Garko left the game in the bottom of the 8th inning as SS Jason Smith's errant throw hit Garko in the middle finger of his right hand.  Garko did say that his finger felt better after the game and he hopes to play Sunday.

The Indians remain 5.5 games up on the Tigers, who defeated the Twins 4-3, and reduce their Magic Number to clinching the AL Central down to 9.  The Indians remain tied with the Angels for the 2nd-best record in the AL after the Angels defeated the White Sox 2-1, but due to the tiebreaker (having a better intradivisional record,) the Indians currently hold the #2 seed, with the Angels currently holding the #3 seed.

RHP Billy Buckner vs. LHP Aaron Laffey at 1:05 P.M. EDT Sunday afternoon (ironically, both rookies come in with identical 5.29 ERAs.)

AA Akron - lost to Trenton 10-5, losing the best-of-5 Eastern League Championship Series 3-1, as Trenton (NYY) wins their first EL Championship in their 14-year history.  RF Matt Carson was named EL Championship Series MVP.  Congratulations to the Trenton Thunder and their fans:

CF Trevor Crowe - 3-5, 1 R, 1 SB (8-2B) (.355)
DH Jordan Brown - 0-5, 1 R, 1 K (.343 - made the final out of the game.)
1B Michael Aubrey - 2-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 K (.344)
RF Stephen Head - 1-4, 1 R, 1 GIDP (.367)
C Armando Camacaro - 1-4, 1 2B (.143 - got to play in this series because regular C Wyatt Toregas had a viral infection that hospitalized him for the past two days - he was reportedly feeling better, and was even listening to the games on the radio from his hospital room.)
2B Argenis Reyes - 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K (.379)

RHP Bobby Brownlie - L (1-1) - 3.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 4 K; 1 G/5 F (9.72 - very disappointing start for the former Cubs farmhand, and overall, did not pitch well in this postseason, even though he did have a win.)
LHP Ryan Edell - 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K; 3 G; 0/1 IR scored (10.80 - his first 2 AA appearances resulted in multiple runs being given up, but the 24-YO had very encouraging BB/IP and K/IP ratios - he's definitely one to watch in 2008, and will likely begin at AA Akron.)
LHP Reid Santos - 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HB; 2 F (2.08 - faltered a bit down the stretch, but the recently-turned 25-YO (8/24) is still one to keep an eye on in 2008 as well, as he should see AAA Buffalo, and maybe even Cleveland next season.)
RHP Michael Finocchi - 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB; 1 G/1 F (2.45 - the 22-YO is also one to keep an eye on
LHP Rich Rundles - 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 K, 1 HR (solo to Carson); 3 G (2.25 - is part of the Indians' AFL roster.)
RHP Jim Ed Warden - 1.0 IP, 1 K; 2 F (3.38 - the former Rule 5 pick of the Phillies finished up strong.)

Trenton:
CF Austin Jackson - 0-4, 1 BB, 1 K (.200)
RF Matt Carson - 4-5, 3 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 K (.344 - HR #1, RBIs #3-#5; won MVP honors.)

RHP Daniel McCutchen - W (2-0) - 5.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 WP; 5 G/7 F (4.09 - not his best performance, but enough to outduel Brownlie.)

I hope you enjoyed my Indians' Minor League reports throughout this Minor League season - I enjoyed bringing them to you!  :-)

Take care and have a great day!