When Fausto Carmona slipped and fell while sprinting to 1st base during a game against the Cincinnati Reds in early July, the Tribe's sinkerballer had hit rock bottom.
That baserunning mishap shelved Carmona, whose earned run average was approaching 6.00, for 2 weeks due to a strained quadriceps muscle.
But, since his return, Carmano has been a different pitcher. He has rediscovered his command, and his sinker has become unhittable.
On Wednesday night at U.S. Cellular Field, the big right-hander completed his remarkable turnaround. Carmona held the White Sox to 1 run over 8 1/3 superb frames. Carmona struck out 6, walked 3, and induced a key double play to work out of a 7th inning jam.
In the top of the 2nd, Jason Donald's double and Jack Hannahan's RBI single enbabled the Indians to claim an early, 1-0 advantage.
Alexi Ramirez launched a solo homer in the home half of the 2nd, but the Indians grabbed control of the game 4 innings later. Carlos Santana hit a 2-bagger, and Kosuke Fukudome smashed a RBI single into center field.
Then, in the 7th, the 1st 2 Tribe batters reached safely as Lou Marson walked and Michael Brantley produced a bunt single. The next batter was Shin-Soo Choo, and the native of South Korea drilled a single to right-center, plating Brantley. Asdrubal Cabrera's sacrifice fly provided the Indians with some insurance.
The 4 runs Mark Buehrle allowed snapped a streak of 18 consecutive starts in which he had not yielded more than 3 tallies.
Carmona issued a 1-out walk in the bottom of the 9th, prompting Manny Acta to summon Chris Perez from the bullpen. And Cleveland's closer recorded the game's final 2 outs to earn his 26th save.
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| Carmona overpowered the Pale Hose |
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