Texas @ Cleveland preview
Progressive Field
Last Meeting ( Apr 14, 2010 ) Texas 6, Cleveland 2
The Cleveland Indians' five-game losing streak has been enough to make their fans nauseous, and now opposing teams feel the same way.
Three Texas Rangers players and two coaches received food poisoning from a meal they ate in the visitors clubhouse at Progressive Field.
Among those affected was C.J. Wilson, who was too sick to start Wednesday night and will be skipped until the weekend series against the New York Yankees. An off day on Tuesday allowed everyone to move up a day, including Colby Lewis to Wednesday and left-hander Matt Harrison, who will start Thursday afternoon’s finale as the Rangers vie for a three-game sweep.
Harrison allowed one run in six innings in his first start of the season against the Seattle Mariners, but was left with a no-decision. He will pitch in a stadium likely to be three-quarters empty in front of fans tired of all the losing.
The Indians knew they would have a tough sell this season by launching another rebuilding project. The fan base is angry after Cleveland traded consecutive Cy Young Award winners in consecutive seasons, while LeBron James and the NBA's Cavaliers attempting to win an NBA championship in the arena right across the street.
Never was the anger more apparent than Wednesday night, when a paltry 10,071 showed up to watch the Indians' fifth straight loss. It was the smallest crowd since Progressive Field opened as Jacobs Field in 1994 and served as another painful reminder at the franchise’s fall from grace.
From June 12, 1995 until April 4, 2001, the Indians sold out every home game – a remarkable string of 455 consecutive contests. The mark was later broken by the Boston Red Sox, but Cleveland left its imprint as one of baseball’s hotbeds.
Not anymore.
Cleveland committed two errors, stranded 12 runners and struck out 12 times on Wednesday. A loss to the Rangers on Thursday would mark the second straight series in which the Indians were swept.
The hitters are struggling, the bullpen is springing holes and the defense is shaky.
The exact opposite is true in Texas, which has won three straight and four of five. Now if the Rangers could get All-Star second baseman Ian Kinsler back, they’d feel even better. Kinsler’s sprained ankle hasn’t even healed enough to where he can begin a rehab assignment.
The day game after a night game will likely give David Murphy a rare start, although Rangers manager Ron Washington still hadn’t decided Tuesday night who Murphy would replace. One option is center fielder Julio Borbon, who has struggled against lefties at times. Cleveland will start left-hander David Huff.