5837
by joez
Gio looks to get groove back against red-hot Tribe
By Jesse Sanchez / MLB.com | 9/1/2011 1:05 AM ET
Oakland starter Gio Gonzalez had a memorable first half of the season, highlighted by an All-Star selection.
He'd probably rather forget what has taken place so far in the second half.
Gonzalez is 3-5 with a 5.44 ERA in eight starts since the All-Star break, after going 8-6 with a 2.47 ERA in 18 starts before the All-Star Game. The left-hander will look to improve that record when he takes the hill on Thursday against Fausto Carmona and the Indians.
Gonzalez is optimistic heading into Thursday's showdown, and here's why: He is 4-0 with a 0.89 ERA in five career starts against Cleveland. He also has momentum on his side. Gonzalez benefited from a healthy dose of offense in a 15-5 victory over the Red Sox on Friday, yielding four earned runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out five in 5 2/3 innings. He labored, tossing just 64 of his 105 pitches for strikes.
"[Boston] came in here hot," Gonzalez said. "They were swinging good, and the best I could do was hold them down a little bit. I give all the credit to the offense and the bullpen. I was just trying to minimize the damage as much as possible."
As for Carmona, he allowed six runs (five earned) in 6 1/3 innings, earning a no-decision in Saturday's 8-7 win against the Royals. He hadn't allowed five runs in a start since surrendering seven in a June 20 outing against the Rockies.
It's been quite a year for Cleveland and Carmona. Injuries have left Carmona and Justin Masterson as the only starters currently in the rotation who were in it at the start of the year.
Athletics: Sweeney fighting through adversity
Ryan Sweeney -- who had ten hits in 52 at-bats in August -- is expected to get a second straight start on Thursday, likely in a corner outfield spot.
An everyday player with the A's before this season, he's been relegated to a bench role in 2011. But manager Bob Melvin still believes that, given the right circumstances, Sweeney "does have the ability to be an everyday player."
"When you bring in Crisp, [Josh] Willingham, [Hideki] Matsui and [David] DeJesus, I think he knew going into the season that the role would be different for him this year," Melvin said. "The difficult part is you accept the fact that you're not an everyday player, and consider yourself a role player. But you still have aspirations to be an everyday player. That's difficult, so this has been a tough year for him."
Indians: Fukudome enjoying new surroundings
• Kosuke Fukudome has 13 RBIs in 33 games with the Indians this season. He had 13 RBIs in 87 games with the Cubs before he was traded to Cleveland.
• Jack Hannahan has hit safely in 12 of his last 14 games since Aug. 13. He's hitting .429 (21-for-49) during that span.
Worth noting
• The A's went 11-17 in August, their seventh consecutive month in which they didn't record a winning record.
• The Indians are one win shy of reaching last year's win total of 69.
• The game between the Indians and the Rangers on Sept. 14 will start at 7:05 p.m. ET and will be televised nationally on ESPN. The game will be blacked out in Cleveland, but can be seen locally on SportsTime Ohio.
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller