Starting Five: Cleveland Rocks Boston

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That the Indians offense apparently busts out every 10 days, just like clockwork.

Cleveland scored 22 runs at Yankee Stadium on April 18 – and then scored 23 total in the next eight games.

The offense reversed course again Tuesday as the Tribe rallied from deficits of 5-1 and 7-3 to win 9-8 on a run in the bottom of the ninth inning and end Boston's 11-game winning streak.

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It wasn't all Indians bats though; in fact, they went 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position. The Sox made three errors and allowed four unearned runs – the last when Javier Lopez dropped a toss from first baseman Kevin Youkilis that would have sent the game to extra innings.

The four-hour, 19-minute game included 410 pitches.

From the Trainer's Room ...
Which is a busy place for the Athletics. Before Tuesday night's game, third baseman Eric Chavez declared he would either play Wednesday at Texas or return to Oakland for tests on his sore right elbow. Then the A's used three other third basemen in the first three innings of the game!

Starter Nomar Garciaparra left with a strained right calf in the middle of the second inning, and replacement Bobby Crosby had to move from third base to second in the middle of the third when second baseman Mark Ellis came out with a strained left calf.

But wait, there's more: starting pitcher Brett Anderson had to depart after five innings with a blister on his index finger, and reliever Santiago Casilla came out of the game with a strained – guess what? – calf.

Ellis and Garciaparra are DL-bound.

Numbers Game ...
Houston has won 11 straight games in Cincinnati, including last night's 8-3 victory. In those 11 games, the Astros have averaged seven runs, hit .311 and hit 17 homers. The record for consecutive road wins against the same opponent is 19 – by the 1947-49 Dodgers, also against the Reds. Meanwhile, the Brewers have beaten the Pirates 14 straight times overall and 17 consecutive times in Milwaukee.

In Their Own Words ...
"That was a horse[manure] call. I don't know if the guy has a problem with me or what, but it was a [expletive] call...I don't know if he had money betting on the game, but that was a [expletive] call." – Orioles reliever Jamie Walker, who was called for a balk by umpire Angel Hernandez, a play that led to the ejection of Baltimore manager Dave Trembley.

Advance Scouting ...
The matinee at Citi Field (1:10 PM, ET) features a rematch of one of the best pitching duels so far this season: Marlins ace Josh Johnson vs. Mets lefty Johan Santana. Florida won the April 12 meeting in Miami, 2-1 on two unearned runs. Santana struck out 13 and allowed three hits in seven innings in taking the loss; Johnson struck out seven in a five-hit complete game.