Manager Manny Acta says Asdrubal Cabrera could return sometime after the All-Star break.
CINCINNATI, Ohio. -- This is a daily briefing of the Indians 2010 regular season. The Indians play the Reds tonight in the first game of a three-game interleague series at Great American Ballpark.
Great American Ballpark's dimension: left field line 328 feet, left field power alley 379, center field 404, right field power alley 370 and right field line 325.
Pre-game notes:
Game 72: Manager Manny Acta, with his defense springing leaks hither and yon, said shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is making strides in his recovery from a broken left forearm.
"He's running and throwing," said Acta. "There's a very good chance he can start taking ground balls when we get home off this trip. Things are moving a long pretty good for him."
Cabrera, whose injury along with the loss of Gold Glove defender Grady Sizemore put the Tribe's in a downward spiral, broken his left forearm on May 17. He underwent surgery and is now in a eight to 10-week recovery period.
"By the end of this month, or perhaps the first week of so of July, he could start swinging the bat a little bit," said Acta. "We're probably shooting for the All-Star break.
"It all depends on how much rehab time he needs. We're not going to rush him back. He's going to need a fair amount of at-bats."
Riders on the storm: Sometimes baseball players just sit and watch. Or run for cover.
Such was the case in the eighth inning Thursday when a thunderstorm hit Citizens Bank Park, halting the game between the Indians and Phillies. For several minutes it looked like the end of the world. The tarp blew off the field, threatening to take several members of the grounds crew with it. The rain was so heavy, that the field wasn't visible from the pressbox.
"That's the best one I've seen in a while," said outfielder Austin Kearns. "When they said tornado, I took it inside."
Jake Westbrook wanted to watch the storm from the dugout, but said, "The wind was blowing dirt in my face so I went inside."
Joe Smith, Kerry Wood and other relievers were trapped in the bullpen shelter.
"We had about 20 seconds to make a decision," said Wood. "We just stayed in the pen. You couldn't even see the field from the bullpen. It was the best one I've seen in a while."
Lineups:
Indians (26-45): CF Trevor Crowe (S), RF Shin-Soo Choo (L), C Carlos Santana (S), LF Austin Kearns (R), 1B Russell Branyan (L), 3B Jhonny Peralta (R), 2B Anderson Hernandez (S), SS Jason Donald (R) and LHP Aaron Laffey (0-1, 5.61).
Reds (40-33): 2B Brandon Phillips (R), SS Orlando Cabrera (R),1B Joey Votto (L), 3B Scott Rolen (R), Jonny Gomes (R), RF Jay Bruce (L), CF Drew Stubbs (R), C Ramon Hernandez (R) and RHP Aaron Harang (5-7, 5.17).
Umpires: H Brian Gorman, 1B Paul Nauert, 2B Ted Barrett, 3B Tony Randazzo. Gorman, crew chief.
Quote of the day: "If my uniform doesn't get dirty, I haven't done anything in the baseball game," Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, the greatest basestealer of all time.
Next: RHP Justin Masterson (2-6, 4.87) vs. RHP Sam LeCure (1-4, 4.50) Saturday at 7:05 p.m.