Tampa Bay Rays (23-26) at Cleveland Indians (20-28), 12:05 p.m.
Probable Starting Pitchers: Tampa Bay - Jeff Niemann (4-3, 4.53) Cleveland - David Huff (0-1, 17.55)
The Cleveland Indians are in the midst of one of their most successful stretches of the season. Playing home games against the Tampa Bay Rays has likely helped that recent surge.
The Indians shoot for a 17th consecutive victory over the Rays at Progressive Field, as well as their first series sweep of 2009, when these teams conclude a four-game set this afternoon.
Cleveland's home dominance of Tampa Bay continued on Wednesday, with the Rays failing to hold on to a big lead for the second time in this series. Ben Francisco went 3-for-5 with four RBI and finished a triple short of hitting for the cycle to lead the Tribe to a 12-5 triumph.
Shin-Soo Choo belted a two-run homer and Victor Martinez knocked in a pair of runs with a double to help Cleveland overcome an early 5-0 deficit and win three straight games for the first time this season. The victory was also the sixth in the Indians' last eight contests.
"It's been a hump we've been trying to get over," Indians manager Eric Wedge said of the three-game win streak. "And I'm glad to see these guys be able to go out and do it. We've got to be able to sleep fast and go out (Thursday) and try to do it again."
Tampa Bay, on the other hand, has now lost a season-high four games in a row and has yet to recover from a devastating 11-10 defeat to the Indians on Monday. In that game, Cleveland scored seven times in the bottom of the ninth inning to pull off an improbable comeback.
In Wednesday's tilt, Greg Aquino (1-0) picked up his first win since 2006 with two scoreless innings in relief of Indians starter Zach Jackson, who was reached for seven runs (six earned) and eight hits over the first four frames.
The Cleveland bullpen, which has been one of the worst in baseball this season, has scored 13 scoreless innings in this series.
Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine (3-5) was battered for eight runs on nine hits before being lifted after just three innings.
Evan Longoria drove in two runs with a single and a solo homer for Tampa Bay, which last won at Progressive Field on September 28, 2005. Ben Zobrist finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored in the loss, while Gabe Kapler delivered a two-RBI single to cap a five-run first inning.
The Rays hope Jeff Niemann can help them end their frustration in Cleveland when he takes the mound for the visitors this afternoon. The rookie has been pitching well as of late, having compiled a 2-0 record with a 2.84 earned run average over his last three starts.
Niemann failed to win his third straight outing this past Saturday despite a strong effort against Florida. The 6-foot-9 right-hander limited the Marlins to one run and four hits over six innings in that game.
The former first-round pick is 3-1 with a 4.11 ERA in six road starts this season and will be facing the Indians for the first time.
David Huff makes his third major league start for Cleveland this afternoon and will surely be seeking an upgrade over his first two trips to the hill. The young lefty hasn't pitched more than 3 2/3 innings in either of those starts and has surrendered a total of 13 runs on 14 hits.
Huff was shelled for seven runs in 3 2/3 innings by the Rays in his big league debut back on May 17. The 24-year-old UCLA product wasn't any better in Saturday's start at Cincinnati, where he was roughed up for six runs on seven hits -- including three homers -- in just three innings of work.
A supplemental round selection by Cleveland in the 2006 draft, Huff had gone 5-1 with a 4.35 ERA at Triple-A Columbus prior to his promotion.
Tampa Bay won three of four clashes with the Indians in St. Petersburg from May 14-17 and had taken five of the past six meetings between the teams entering this series.
Probable Starting Pitchers: Tampa Bay - Jeff Niemann (4-3, 4.53) Cleveland - David Huff (0-1, 17.55)
The Cleveland Indians are in the midst of one of their most successful stretches of the season. Playing home games against the Tampa Bay Rays has likely helped that recent surge.
The Indians shoot for a 17th consecutive victory over the Rays at Progressive Field, as well as their first series sweep of 2009, when these teams conclude a four-game set this afternoon.
Cleveland's home dominance of Tampa Bay continued on Wednesday, with the Rays failing to hold on to a big lead for the second time in this series. Ben Francisco went 3-for-5 with four RBI and finished a triple short of hitting for the cycle to lead the Tribe to a 12-5 triumph.
Shin-Soo Choo belted a two-run homer and Victor Martinez knocked in a pair of runs with a double to help Cleveland overcome an early 5-0 deficit and win three straight games for the first time this season. The victory was also the sixth in the Indians' last eight contests.
"It's been a hump we've been trying to get over," Indians manager Eric Wedge said of the three-game win streak. "And I'm glad to see these guys be able to go out and do it. We've got to be able to sleep fast and go out (Thursday) and try to do it again."
Tampa Bay, on the other hand, has now lost a season-high four games in a row and has yet to recover from a devastating 11-10 defeat to the Indians on Monday. In that game, Cleveland scored seven times in the bottom of the ninth inning to pull off an improbable comeback.
In Wednesday's tilt, Greg Aquino (1-0) picked up his first win since 2006 with two scoreless innings in relief of Indians starter Zach Jackson, who was reached for seven runs (six earned) and eight hits over the first four frames.
The Cleveland bullpen, which has been one of the worst in baseball this season, has scored 13 scoreless innings in this series.
Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine (3-5) was battered for eight runs on nine hits before being lifted after just three innings.
Evan Longoria drove in two runs with a single and a solo homer for Tampa Bay, which last won at Progressive Field on September 28, 2005. Ben Zobrist finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored in the loss, while Gabe Kapler delivered a two-RBI single to cap a five-run first inning.
The Rays hope Jeff Niemann can help them end their frustration in Cleveland when he takes the mound for the visitors this afternoon. The rookie has been pitching well as of late, having compiled a 2-0 record with a 2.84 earned run average over his last three starts.
Niemann failed to win his third straight outing this past Saturday despite a strong effort against Florida. The 6-foot-9 right-hander limited the Marlins to one run and four hits over six innings in that game.
The former first-round pick is 3-1 with a 4.11 ERA in six road starts this season and will be facing the Indians for the first time.
David Huff makes his third major league start for Cleveland this afternoon and will surely be seeking an upgrade over his first two trips to the hill. The young lefty hasn't pitched more than 3 2/3 innings in either of those starts and has surrendered a total of 13 runs on 14 hits.
Huff was shelled for seven runs in 3 2/3 innings by the Rays in his big league debut back on May 17. The 24-year-old UCLA product wasn't any better in Saturday's start at Cincinnati, where he was roughed up for six runs on seven hits -- including three homers -- in just three innings of work.
A supplemental round selection by Cleveland in the 2006 draft, Huff had gone 5-1 with a 4.35 ERA at Triple-A Columbus prior to his promotion.
Tampa Bay won three of four clashes with the Indians in St. Petersburg from May 14-17 and had taken five of the past six meetings between the teams entering this series.
