CLEVELAND – Friday night wasn’t a total waste of time for the fans that came out to Progressive Field.
While the baseball game between Cleveland and Detroit was postponed – with the Tigers leading 7-6 after four innings – those in attendance got to watch most of the second half of the Cavaliers’ playoff victory over the Boston Celtics on the stadium’s Jumbotron.
The baseball game was not official and there was no announcement on when it would be rescheduled, although Indians manager Manny Acta said he believes it will be played in July.
“What are you guys doing in here?” Jake Westbrook said with a smile to the handful of media members as they walked into the clubhouse after the postponement. “There was no game. There’s nothing to write about.”
Things looked pretty miserable for the Indians in the game that didn’t count even before the torrential downpour.
Detroit jumped on Cleveland quickly in the first. Designated hitter Johnny Damon hit a one-out double before Miguel Cabrera made it 2-0 with his fifth home run of the season. Back-to-back doubles by Magglio Ordonez and Brandon Inge added a run to the Tigers’ lead.
Grady Sizemore got the Indians on the scoreboard with his first home run of the season in the bottom of the first, but another offensive barrage by Detroit in the third chased starting pitcher David Huff off the mound.
The 22/3 innings Huff pitched would have been the shortest outing by an Indians starter this season, and the shortest of Huff’s major league career.
“There’s still some things I need to work on,” Huff said. “When I went inside on them in the second inning, they weren’t very successful. I need to stick to my game plan. It’s just a matter of going out there and executing pitches.”
The runs that sent Huff packing all came with two outs in the inning. Damon walked before Ordonez singled to start the inning. Consecutive flyouts to Sizemore by Cabrera and Inge set up the clutch hitting by Ryan Raburn, who hit an RBI double, and Scott Sizemore, who hit a two-run double.
“These guys are the best in the league in hitting and (Huff) didn’t make his pitches,” Acta said. “They made him pay for it.”
Things looked bleak for the Indians, but they managed to explode for a big inning of their own.
Luis Valbuena led off the third with a groundout before the Indians reeled off six straight hits – a Mark Grudzielanek single, a Sizemore single, a Shin-Soo Choo single, an Austin Kearns single, a Travis Hafner three-run homer and a Jhonny Peralta double.
Russell Branyon walked to put men on first and second with one out, but Lou Marson – the ninth batter in the inning – hit into a double play to end the rally.
The Indians had another great opportunity to tie or take the lead in the fourth. Valbuena led off with a single and Sizemore and Choo walked after Grudzielanek’s long flyout to center field. That loaded the bases with just one out.
But the Indians fell short again when back-to-back strikeouts by Kearns and Hafner ended the inning.
Then the rain came and the game was held up for just over two hours before it was officially postponed.
Huff and Detroit starting pitcher Jeremy Bonderman, who was yanked after giving up six earned runs in 21/3 innings, are probably happy the weather wiped out the game.
Since the game didn’t get through the fifth inning, it will be replayed in its entirety and all the stats from the postponed game will be erased.
“That’s probably the only positive thing that happened,” Huff said with a smile.
While the two starters probably had their fingers crossed hoping for the postponement, several Indians hitters – such as Sizemore and Hafner – saw their breakout games disappear.
“I feel bad for those guys,” Acta said. “They lose their stats. It’s not about the stats of course, but that can build their confidence.”
Contact Shaun Bennett at 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com.
TODAY
• WHO: Cleveland vs. Detroit
• TIME: 1:05 p.m.
• WHERE: Progressive Field
• PITCHERS: Masterson (0-3, 5.40 ERA) vs. Verlander (2-2, 4.50)
• TV/RADIO: SportsTime Ohio; WEOL 930-AM, WTAM 1100-AM
