Cleveland Indians: Gomez Falls Victim to the Halos

9 - 15 - 10     vs. Los Angeles Angels     L, 7 - 0     59 - 86

     Rookie pitchers will have nights like the one Jeanmar Gomez had against the Los Angeles Angels.  He struggled to throw strikes, and when he did find the zone, the ball usually wound up on the warning track.  The end result was a short outing for Gomez and an ugly loss for the Indians.
     Gomez was one out away from escaping the 1st inning unharmed, but he failed to minimize the damage.  A walk to Hideki Matsui extended the frame, and then the hits started coming.  Juan Rivera deposited a soft liner into left - center field, scoring one, and two more free passes brought home another tally.  Hank Conger put the icing on the cake with his two - run single to left.  The hit was the first of the young catcher's career.
     Gomez returned to the game in the 2nd, but the time spent in the dugout apparently did not do him any good.  A Jayson Nix throwing error led to three runs, one of which was unearned.  Torii Hunter, Hideki Matsui, and Rivera each had a RBI in the inning.  Matsui's came on a triple, his first of the year.
     After three frames, Manny Acta pulled the plug on Gomez, and from there the bullpen did a masterful job.  Justin Germano, Frank Herrman, and Jensen Lewis combined to toss six perfect innings to close out the game.
     Unfortunately, the Tribe never could make any headway off of Jered Weaver. The Halos' starter tossed seven shutout frames, and he only allowed two base hits.
     Despite Cleveland's offensive woes, Michael Brantley was able to extend his hitting streak to 15 games.