With the Indians securely in last place in the AL Central, the front office could be preparing for its third consecutive year of midseason trades.
Jhonny Peralta understands that he might be trade fodder for the Indians as the team continues to struggle.PITTSBURGH, Ohio -- This is a daily briefing of the Indians' 2010 regular season. The Indians play the Pirates tonight in the second of a three-game interleague series at PNC Park.
In game notes:
Score: Pirates 3, Indians 1 after four innings.
Take the lead: The Pirates took a 3-1 lead on Lastings Milledge's two-run triple to right in the third. Shin-Soo Choo could have played it on the bounce and held Milledge to a single and perhaps prevented the second run from scoring, but he dove for the ball and it bounced past him.
David Huff stranded Milledge at third, but he was not pitching well. Neil Walker started the third with a single to left center that fell between Trevor Crowe and Austin Kearns. It probably should have been caught. Andrew McCutchen singled Walker to third, but he was caught in a rundown between third and home when Garret Jones grounded to first to bring Milledge to the plate.
Early lead: The Indians took a 1-0 lead in the first when Crowe opened with a single and sprinted to third on Choo's double off the wall in left against Jeff Karstens. Kearns scored Crowe with a grounder to short as Choo took third. Russell Branyan sent a grounder to first with Choo going on contact. Jones threw Choo out on a close play at home.
Tie up: The Pirates, working on a 12-game losing streak, tied it with two-out in the first. Huff retired the first two batters, but walked the next two, McCutchen and Jones. Milledge chopped a single over the mound to short. He beat Jason Donald's throw with a head first slide as McCutchen slid home just ahead of Branyan's throw and Mike Redmond's tag.
Pre-game notes:
Game 67: The July 31st trade deadline without waivers is getting closer and the Indians are still in last place in the AL Central. It means that the third straight mid-season flurry of trades for the Tribe's front office could be approaching.
Jhonny Peralta and Kerry Wood are two of the players who could be dealt. Peralta went into Saturday's game hitting .259 (60-for-232) with 19 doubles, two triples, four homers and 33 RBI.
"There's a good chance something could happen," said Peralta. "I don't know what they're thinking right now, but it could happen to me and a couple of other guys."
After a bad April and a so-so May, Peralta is hitting .306 (19-for-62) in June with 11 RBI.
"I know there's nothing I can do about it," said Peralta. "I'm just going to play baseball and do the best I can and see what happens."
Peralta can be a free agent at the end of the season if the Indians don't pick up his $7 million club option for 2011.
Wood earned his fifth save in seven chances Friday night in a 4-3 victory overs Pittsburgh. Like Peralta, he's eligible for free agency as well at the end of the year.
"It's part of the game," said Wood. "I'm sure it's not unrealistic. But at this point, you just try to go up and put zeroes up."
Wood, who opened the year on the disabled list, is 1-2 with a 7.43 ERA in 15 games. He's struck out 11, walked seven and allowed 16 hits in 13 1/3 innings.
Remember when: The 1960 Pirates, who beat the Yankees to win the World Series that year, were scheduled to be honored before Saturday's game. GM Joe Brown along with players Dick Groat, Bob Oldis, Vernon Law, Bob Skinner, Dick Schofield, ElRoy Face, Bill Mazeroski and Joe Christopher were scheduled to attend.
Skinner is the father of Indians Class AA manager Joel Skinner.
Lineups:
Indians (26-40): CF Trevor Crowe (S), RF Shin-Soo Choo (L), LF Austin Kearns (R), 1B Russell Branyan (L), 3B Jhonny Peralta (R), 2B Luis Valbuena (L), C Mike Redmond (R) and SS Jason Donald (R) and LHP David Huff (2-8, 5.82).
Pirates (23-44): LF Jose Tabata (R), 2B Neil Walker (S), CF Andrew McCutchen (R), 1B Garret Jones (L), RF Lastings Milledge (R), 3B Pedro Alvarez (L), C Ryan Doumit (S), SS Bobby Crosby (R) and RHP Jeff Karstens (1-2, 4.50).
Lineup notes: Catcher Carlos Santana received his first night off since being called up from Class AAA Columbus on June 11.
Umpires: H Bruce Dreckman, 1B Paul Emmel, 2B Bill Hohn, 3B Gary Darling.
Quote of the day: "One of the beautiful things about baseball is that every once in a while you come into a situation where you want to, and where you have to, reach down and prove something." -- Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.
Next: RHP Justin Masterson (2-6, 5.02) vs. RHP Brad Lincoln (0-1, 7.50) Sunday at 1:35 p.m.