Published: Monday, September 25, 2006
Sizemore's homers, hustle help Tribe beat Rangers, 11-6
Cleveland's center fielder had his first inside-the-park home run.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Grady Sizemore wasn't thinking about another home run when he hit a flare down the left-field line. Then Cleveland's speedy leadoff hitter saw the ball rolling behind the outfielder and his coach waving him home.
Sizemore's first-ever inside-the-park homer, and major league-leading 90th extra-base hit, came an inning after he homered into the second deck of seats in right field. His first multi-homer game highlighted the Indians' 11-6 victory Sunday and spoiled the Texas Rangers' home finale.
Those first steps
"It's usually those first two or three steps out of the box that give you a chance to do it or not," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "He was getting after it like he always does. With the way the ball bounced, he was able to get it."
Sizemore said he had never had an inside-the-park homer at any level, not even Little League.
"It was definitely exciting," Sizemore said.
Carlos Lee made an unsuccessful sliding attempt to catch the looping fly ball in the sixth. The ball rolled past him into the corner, and Sizemore easily scored.
"A lot of guys would have been coasting to first base seeing if it was going to fall," Rangers manager Buck Showalter said.
"He is probably one of the few guys that would have been going that hard out of the box to score on it."
Sizemore's conventional homer in the fifth made it 6-2 and chased Kevin Millwood (16-11), who had won his last four home games.
Boone's singles
Aaron Boone had a pair of two-run singles in Cleveland's last road game.
The 90 extra-base hits by Sizemore are the most by a leadoff hitter since Alfonso Soriano had 89 leading off for the New York Yankees in 2002, which was then the most since 1957. Soriano also has 89 extra-base hits this season, the most in the NL for Washington. He has moved around the lineup some with the Nationals.
Sizemore leads the majors with 131 runs scored, to go along with his 52 doubles, 11 triples and 27 home runs.
"I don't know if I'm the typical leadoff hitter. I just try to make things happen," Sizemore said. "There's definitely some good things I've done this year. When people are talking about it, obviously you're doing something right. But I try not to focus too much on it. I just want to add on and finish strong."
Rewarded
The popular 24-year-old center fielder signed a $23.45 million, six-year contract last spring, the most guaranteed money for a player with less than two years of major league service. He is only a week shy of becoming the first Indian since Joe Carter in 1989 to play in all 162 games.
Jake Westbrook (14-10) pitched just long enough to get the victory, allowing five runs and nine hits over five innings.
Shin-Soo Choo put the Indians up with an RBI single in the first. An inning later, Boone had his first run-scoring single and then scored on a grounder for a 4-0 lead.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Cleveland's center fielder had his first inside-the-park home run.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Grady Sizemore wasn't thinking about another home run when he hit a flare down the left-field line. Then Cleveland's speedy leadoff hitter saw the ball rolling behind the outfielder and his coach waving him home.
Sizemore's first-ever inside-the-park homer, and major league-leading 90th extra-base hit, came an inning after he homered into the second deck of seats in right field. His first multi-homer game highlighted the Indians' 11-6 victory Sunday and spoiled the Texas Rangers' home finale.
Those first steps
"It's usually those first two or three steps out of the box that give you a chance to do it or not," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "He was getting after it like he always does. With the way the ball bounced, he was able to get it."
Sizemore said he had never had an inside-the-park homer at any level, not even Little League.
"It was definitely exciting," Sizemore said.
Carlos Lee made an unsuccessful sliding attempt to catch the looping fly ball in the sixth. The ball rolled past him into the corner, and Sizemore easily scored.
"A lot of guys would have been coasting to first base seeing if it was going to fall," Rangers manager Buck Showalter said.
"He is probably one of the few guys that would have been going that hard out of the box to score on it."
Sizemore's conventional homer in the fifth made it 6-2 and chased Kevin Millwood (16-11), who had won his last four home games.
Boone's singles
Aaron Boone had a pair of two-run singles in Cleveland's last road game.
The 90 extra-base hits by Sizemore are the most by a leadoff hitter since Alfonso Soriano had 89 leading off for the New York Yankees in 2002, which was then the most since 1957. Soriano also has 89 extra-base hits this season, the most in the NL for Washington. He has moved around the lineup some with the Nationals.
Sizemore leads the majors with 131 runs scored, to go along with his 52 doubles, 11 triples and 27 home runs.
"I don't know if I'm the typical leadoff hitter. I just try to make things happen," Sizemore said. "There's definitely some good things I've done this year. When people are talking about it, obviously you're doing something right. But I try not to focus too much on it. I just want to add on and finish strong."
Rewarded
The popular 24-year-old center fielder signed a $23.45 million, six-year contract last spring, the most guaranteed money for a player with less than two years of major league service. He is only a week shy of becoming the first Indian since Joe Carter in 1989 to play in all 162 games.
Jake Westbrook (14-10) pitched just long enough to get the victory, allowing five runs and nine hits over five innings.
Shin-Soo Choo put the Indians up with an RBI single in the first. An inning later, Boone had his first run-scoring single and then scored on a grounder for a 4-0 lead.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Grady Sizemore wasn't thinking about another home run when he hit a flare down the left-field line. Then Cleveland's...
More Stories from Thu, Sep 28, 2006
