Cleveland Indians: Tribe Gives Their All - Star Plenty of Support

7 - 9 - 10     at Tampa Bay     W, 9 - 3     34 - 52

     In order to have a winning record at the season's midpoint, Fausto Carmona was going to need a little bit of help in Tampa, and, he got it.  The Indians backed their only All - Star with an offensive barrage that took the tension, and the Rays, out of  this game.
     The Tribe grabbed an early lead in the 2nd inning as they took advantage of some mistakes by James Shields.  Following a RBI single by Matt LaPorta, the Tampa Bay pitcher balked once and also threw a wild pitch, and those helped put the visitors up by two.
     After seeing their advantage cut in half on a Carlos Pena RBI single, Cleveland got a big blow from Jayson Nix, who launched a solo homer to left field in the 5th.
     The Indians got another big solo bomb, this one from Shelley Duncan, in the 7th, and it appeared as if the Tribe was in the driver's seat, but things were about to change drastically.
     Four consecutive two - out walks were issued by Cleveland's pitching staff in the bottom of the 7th, which forced in a run and gave the Rays a golden opportunity to tie or take the lead.  However, Chris Perez recorded a huge strikeout of John Jaso to end the threat.
     With the momentum back on their side, the Indians blew it wide open in the 8th.  Jhonny Peralta had the biggest blow, a three - run homer, and Jason Donald later added a RBI double.
     The Tribe cruised from there, giving Carmona a win that put his record at 8 - 7.  Carmona went gone 6 2/3 frames of two - run pitching in the contest.