UPDATED: Masterson finally won a ballgame and the Indians put a beating on the Chicago White Sox. Masterson ended an 11-decision losing streak dating back to August of last season.
View full sizeTrevor Crowe hits a two-run triple in the eighth inning at Chicago.Updated at 12:41 a.m. with new story, photo gallery at end
CHICAGO -- This has to be a sign. There must be a hidden meaning behind what happened Friday night at U.S. Cellular Field.
It's not as if the Cubs won the World Series or hell froze over, but Justin Masterson winning a ballgame has to echo in some corner of eternity. After losing 11 straight decisions, a victory has to mean more than one little "W" next to his name in today's box score.
View full sizeJustin Masterson pitched only five innings on Friday, but it still was good enough to get him his first victory since last August.
If it does, we'll let the baseball philosophers dissect and discuss it. For now, let's keep things as simple as possible. Masterson pitched 5 messy innings to beat the White Sox, 10-1.
It was his first victory since Aug. 20 when he beat the Angels at Progressive Field. After that, he lost six straight decisions to close out 2009. He started this year by losing five straight decisions.
The losing streak covered 17 starts and a lot of second-guessing over whether Masterson (1-5, 5.46 ERA) really belonged in the rotation.
"I just tried to stay away from the media," said Masterson, when asked how much he thought about the streak. "They were the ones throwing it out there.
"You know there's something going on. You don't know the exact number. It's just nice to finally have this victory. It was a nice team game tonight."
If Masterson didn't know the exact number, manager Manny Acta did.
"I'm just glad it's over," he said.
Masterson said the streak had a lot to do with luck and the geometry of the game. An inch here, an inch there and many a hit could have been an out.
He kept saying that someday the streak would end when the breaks went his way. He just didn't say if it would be in this decade or the next.
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Friday night, Masterson's fortunes changed. He walked six and allowed 12 baserunners, but allowed only one run. The offense and bullpen showed up as well.
In Masterson's 17 previous starts, the offense scored 39 runs. That's an average of 2.3 runs per game. Colorado's Ubaldo Jimenez would have a trouble winning with that kind of support.
The Tribe's dormant hitters scored four runs in the sixth, two in the seventh and four more in the eighth to rout Chicago with 10 unanswered runs. Of course, Chicago is the only team the Indians can beat with any regularity this year. They're 7-3 against Ozzie Guillen's club.
"Ten runs!" said Masterson. "I'll take it."
Said left fielder Shelley Duncan, who bailed Masterson out with a running catch on the line in the second, and added a run-scoring double in the sixth: "I can't tell you how happy I am for Masterson. He's pitched his butt off and deserves to have more than one win."
Jhonny Peralta hit a two-run double in the sixth off John Danks (4-5, 3.60) and hit another two-run double in the seventh off Sergio Santos. Peralta entered the game in an 0-for-8 slump, but he had four hits for a season high. The four RBI also were his best game total of the year.
Austin Kearns, who came into the game in an 0-for-14 slump, had three hits, including a two-run homer in the eighth. He scored three runs and reached base four times.
Trevor Crowe, who entered the game for defensive purposes in the seventh, hit a two-run triple in the eighth.
Then there was Luis Valbuena, chased to the bench because of a batting average that has hovered around .140 for much of the season. Valbuena had three straight hits. In the past two games, he has five hits.
It was Valbuena's run-scoring single in the sixth that knocked Danks out of the game and gave the Indians a 4-1 lead. Danks entered the sixth with a 1-0 lead thanks to Alexei Ramirez's homer in the fourth.
Acta lifted Masterson in the sixth when he walked Ramirez with two out. When Acta went to his bullpen, he finally found relief instead of torment. On this trip, Tribe relievers have been battered by the Yankees and Tigers. Friday night, it was up to a Harvard man to show them the way.
Frank Herrmann, called up from Class AAA Columbus earlier in the day, relieved and ended the sixth with one pitch. He worked his way through a 1-2-3 seventh before Jensen Lewis pitched a 1-2-3 eighth. Rafael Perez worked a scoreless ninth to end it.
"I'm sure Herrmann was nervous," said Acta, "but he's got a degree from Harvard. I'm sure they covered that."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: phoynes@plaind.com, 216-999-5158