CLEVELAND – With only three home runs through Thursday, Travis Hafner hasn’t showed much power this season, but his bat has been alive and well as of late.
Entering Thursday, the designated hitter was batting .415 (17-for-41) with a home run and five RBIs to raise his season average from a paltry .208 to a respectable .270. Since May 4, Hafner had reached base in 30 of his last 54 plate appearances for an on-base-percentage of .556 (17 hits, nine walks and four hit by pitch).
“He’s been able to be more selective over the last month or so,” said Indians manager Manny Acta. “That was hurting him, chasing too many pitches out of the strike zone. He’s just been having better at-bats, and we need him big, especially with the injuries (to Asdrubal Cabrera and Grady Sizemore).”
The Indians, who rank at the bottom of the majors in homers, need Hafner to find his power stroke as well.
The club’s all-time leader in homers by a designated hitter averaged 34.3 homers per season from 2004-06, but has gone deep just 48 times since. He has hit just one homer in May and two over his last 23 games.
Big league Choo
Shin-Soo Choo has cooled off substantially, hitting .250 (13-for-52) with five RBIs over his last 13 games through Wednesday, and with just two hits in his last 15 at-bats (four games).
Choo has been a much better hitter at Progressive Field, batting .365 (19-for-52) with three homers and 15 RBIs at home through Wednesday, compared to a .239 (22-for-92) average with one homer and six RBIs on the road.
Iron Mike
When Mike Redmond appeared and completed a 6-2 loss to Tampa Bay without an error Tuesday, the veteran broke the major league record for consecutive games (252) without an error by a catcher.
The 39-year-old 12-year veteran also owns the American League record in the department (232 games).
Next up
The Indians begin interleague play with a three-game series against intrastate rival Cincinnati that opens tonight (7:05) at Progressive Field.
Jake Westbrook (2-2, 4.27 ERA) pitches the series opener for the Indians, opposing RHP Bronson Arroyo (3-2, 4.78), while Fausto Carmona (4-1, 3.33) and RHP Johnny Cueto (3-1, 3.67) square off Saturday (7:05 p.m.).
David Huff (1-6, 5.36) goes for Cleveland in the series finale Sunday (1:05 p.m.), while the Reds counter with RHP Homer Bailey (1-2, 5.21).
The Indians own an all-time 113-116 (.493) record since interleague play began in 1997, and have gone 11-25 (.306) the past two seasons.
Minor details
Outfielder Chris Gimenez is on a tear for Triple-A Columbus, batting .371 (23-for-62) with 12 RBIs and 17 runs over his last 17 games through Wednesday, to raise his season average from .231 to .317. … Right-hander Joe Gardner is on a roll since being promoted to advanced Class A Kinston, going 2-0 without allowing an earned run in three starts, while striking out 17 batters over 16 2/3 innings. Gardner, a third-round draft pick last year, went 1-0 with a 3.24 ERA in six starts for Single-A Lake County.
Roundin’ third
The Indians had turned 51 double plays through Wednesday, which ranked at the top of the majors. They had the fourth-fewest errors (24) in the American League. … Entering Thursday, the Indians had scored 64 of their 145 runs (44 percent) with two outs. … Tonight, 7:05, STO/WTAM 1100-AM/WEOL 930-AM.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.
