Cleveland Indians: Youngsters Point Way in Rout of the Sox

5 - 25 - 10     vs. Chicago White Sox     W, 7 - 3     17 - 27

     Here in 2010, the Tribe is a team that has to get production from its young players.  And, against the White Sox, the Indians got just that from a pair of rookies in Mitch Talbot and Jason Donald.
     Cleveland broke through in the third inning by - way of the home run.  Jason Donald and Shin - Soo Choo each hit solo dingers, and before the frame was over, Russell Branyan had added a RBI single.  The homer was the first in the career of Donald.
     The Tribe blew it open in the sixth as they executed situational hitting to perfection.  Following an Austin Kearns' single and a Branyan walk, Jhonny Peralta smacked a two - run double to left field that scored one run and also put base runners at second and third with nobody out.  Then came a pair of sacrifice flies from Lou Marson and Luis Valbuena that stretched the lead to 6 - 0.
     Talbot was glad that he got that extra insurance because in the seventh, he allowed two runs to score as a result of three White Sox doubles.  The damage could have been worse if Mark Kotsay had not foolishly tried to stretch a two - bagger into a triple.
     The Indians got one of those tallies back in the eighth after the Sox had added another run.  Kearns and Peralta both hit singles, bringing up Valbuena with only one out and men on the corners.  What followed was one of the most beautiful plays in baseball, the suicide squeeze.  Kearns began running towards home plate as the ball was being pitched, making it imperative that Luis made contact.  And he did more than that as he laid down a perfect bunt out towards the mound.  Even though Valbuena was retired on the play, Kearns scored and the Indians were able to pad their advantage.
     Kerry Wood got the game's final three outs, and the Tribe was able to even up their series with Chicago.
     Talbot was nearly perfect prior to the seventh, and he still finished with a solid victory that was made even more impressive by the fact that he outdueled veteran pitcher Jake Peavy.