CLEVELAND — They call themselves the “Bullpen Mafia,” and they whacked another victim Wednesday night at Progressive Field.
The Indians’ relief corps, which has been at the root of Cleveland’s success this season, rode to the rescue yet again, leaving the Colorado Rockies sleeping with the fishes in a 4-3 victory that avoided the series sweep.
Starting with setup men Vinnie Pestano and Tony Sipp, and ending with closer Chris Perez, the trio of pen pals combined to strike out six of the eight batters it faced en route to preserving a one-run lead and securing a win that kept the Indians atop the Central Division standings with a one-game lead over Detroit.
“Our bullpen was fantastic one more time,” said Indians manager Manny Acta, who watched Pestano fan all three of the batters he faced in the seventh and eighth innings, Sipp strike out one in the eighth and Perez two in the ninth.
Perez finished it off by striking out the first two batters he faced — Jason Giambi and Troy Tulowitzki — before allowing a double to Seth Smith and retiring Ty Wigginton for the final out.
“One-run games are exciting,” said Perez, who converted his 18th save in 19 opportunities. “Luckily, I got the first two guys out.”
Perez bounced back from a bad night Tuesday when he allowed the game-winning home run to Smith in the ninth inning of a 4-3 loss.
“That’s a save right there,” Acta said. “When you save a one-run game and have to face Giambi, Tulowitzki and Smith, that’s a save.”
Cleveland’s bullpen, which ranked second in the American League through Tuesday, has allowed just one earned run in its last 31 1/3 innings (10 games).
The assistance was welcome for Indians starter Josh Tomlin, who won his ninth game, allowing three runs on five hits over 6 1/3 innings. The right-hander has pitched at least five innings in each of his first 27 career starts, the only pitcher in Indians history to accomplish as much.
“It’s huge confidence for us,” said Tomlin of the bullpen’s season-long sparkling performance. “We know if we get into the sixth or seventh inning with the lead, we have a pretty good chance to win the game.”
Tomlin accomplished as much in his usual fashion, mixing in all four of his pitches to keep Colorado hitters off balance for much of his 15th start.
“Tomlin was very good again,” Acta said. “He had that good cutter and the good breaking ball.
“I was able to locate both sides of the plate tonight, which is huge for me,” Tomlin said.
Tomlin allowed just a run over the first six innings before Ty Wigginton’s second homer of the game off him drew the Rockies to within one in the seventh.
He had some breathing room thanks to a two-run homer from Travis Hafner that put Cleveland in front 4-1 in the sixth.
Hafner, who has driven in at least one run in seven of his last eight games (15 RBIs), has hit safely in nine straight games, batting .344 (11-for-32) over the span.
“He’s at his peak right now,” Acta said. “He’s so intimidating now and just so locked in. It’s just a such a shame that we’re going to have to be without him.”
Hafner, the designated hitter, will be on the bench for the majority of Cleveland’s upcoming nine interleague games on the road.
But the Indians leave on a good note, winning the final game of the homestand to finish 4-2 against National League opponents Pittsburgh and Colorado.
“We wanted to come in and play well (on the homestand),” Acta said. “Did we want to win six? Yes, but we’ll take 4-2. I think we’re moving in the right direction.”
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Fan him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.
