Byrd At His Best; Indians Blank Reds

Paul Byrd can finally take a deep breath. Putting pressure on himself all season to succeed after signing a big-money free agent contract with the Indians, the right-hander pitched eight shutout innings in a 4-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Todd Hollandsworth and Grady Sizemore hit homers for Cleveland. Down on the farm, Buffalo and Akron both rallied to late-inning victories.

"Lately I've been the Paul Byrd they signed," he said. "Early on I wasn't. That was frustrating."

Byrd (6-5, 4.37 ERA) allowed five hits and struck out four without issuing a walk.

He stepped up big," said manager Eric Wedge. "He's an intense competitor and I can't say enough about the way he's pitching right now."

Byrd has pitched at least six innings in each of his last 10 starts.

Hollandsworth (.198) hit a two-run homer, his second, to put Cleveland ahead in the second inning, 2-0.

Jhonny Peralta (.254) singled, advanced on a double by Travis Hafner (.306) and scored when Victor Martinez (.296) grounded out in the fourth to make it 3-0 and Sizemore (.298) hit his 14th homer in the ninth.

Bob Wickman (3.32 ERA) struck out one in a perfect ninth.

Ben Broussard was back in the lineup at first base after being benched for one day -- and it was obvious that he didn't agree with that decision.

"Wouldn't you?" Broussard told a reporter who asked if the first baseman if he was mad at not playing Friday night.

"All I can do is play hard and if they don't want me in the lineup, it's his (Wedge) call," said Broussard. "I want to play every game and I'll prepare myself to play and be ready for whatever they tell me to do. That's all I can do."

Before the game, outfielder Jason Michaels was put on the disabled list, retroactive to June 16, with a sprained right ankle. The move cleared the way for left-hander Jeremy Sowers to be added to the roster. The rookie is scheduled to make his big-league debut Sunday as the starting pitcher against Cincinnati.

Class AAA Buffalo (38-39) totaled only three hits, but scored three runs in the eighth inning to rally past visiting Scranton Wilkes-Barre, 3-1. Jason Cooper and Jon Van Every drew walks to open the eighth and both advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Einar Diaz. Then former Bisons catcher, playing first base, fielded a grounder by Jake Gautreau and threw wildly, allowing both to score. Ben Francisco then beat out a bunt for a single, with Gautreau going to third on a throwing error. Jason Alfaro followed with a sacrifice fly for the third run. Andrew Brown (3-3, 2.53 ERA) gave up only one walk over three hitless innings and got the win with Jason Davis working a perfect ninth for his first save. Davis has given up only one hit and one walk while striking out six over 6 2/3 innings and four appearances since being sent to Buffalo by the Indians.

Class AA Akron (48-25) edged visiting Altoona 1-0, in 10 innings. Ryan Mulhern (.271) singled with one out in the bottom of the 10th and scored on a two-out double by Jared Sandberg (.286). Recently promoted centerfielder Juan Valdes had two of the Aeros' eight hits. Juan Lara (4-2, 2.68 ERA) pitched two hitless innings for the win, walking one and striking out three. Starter Aaron Laffey (1.83 ERA) allowed five hits, walked two and struck out two over eight scoreless innings.

Class A Kinston (3-2) lost at home to Salem, 4-1. Brian Barton (.289) and Jose Constanza (.297) each had one stolen base and two of Kinston's nine hits. Jensen Lewis (6-4, 3.94 ERA) allowed four runs over 4 2/3 innings, striking out eight. Ryan Knippschild (4.14 ERA) then allowed only one hit over the final 4 1/3 innings, walking two and striking out three.

Class A Lake County (2-1) split a pair of seven-inning games at home against Delmarva, winning the opener 9-3 before losing 9-2. The Captains scored seven runs in the fifth inning of the first game. Mike Conroy (.241) went 3-for-4 with one run and two RBI, while Niuman Romero (.265) and Fernando Pacheco (.218) each had one hit and two RBI. Mark Jecman (3-2, 5.09 ERA) gave up one run over 1 1/3 innings and got the win. He didn't allow a hit, but walked three. Starter Frank Herrmann (4.67 ERA) allowed two runs over 4 2/3 innings, striking out seven. In the second game, Jeff Stevens (0-1, 10.80 ERA), Julio Pinto and Matt Loberg were all hit hard. John Drennen (.315) hit his sixth homer.

Class A Mahoning Valley (2-3) lost at home to Williamsport, 6-1. Kelly Edmundson (.375) and Andy Lytle (.318) each had two of the Scrappers six hits and Josh Roberts (.143) singled in Mahoning Valley's run. William Delage pitched three scoreless innings, but Derrick Loop (0-1, 1.93 ERA) allowed four runs, though only one was earned, over 2 2/3 innings. Mike Eisenberg (1.69 ERA) then gave up one unearned run over 2 1/3 innings before Neil Wagner (4.50 ERA) allowed one run in the ninth.

Rookie League Burlington (3-1) beat Bristol, 5-2, as five pitchers totaled 18 strikeouts. Wilander Cruz (1-0) struck out five over three hitless innings of relief for the win. He walked three after replacing Rick Fairchild, who fanned six and allowed only one hit over three innings in his pro debut. Kyle Collina then struck out five over two scoreless innings before Brett Andrade and Nate Bunton fanned one apiece in the ninth. Andrade gave up two runs over two-thirds of an inning. Jansy Infante, Jerad Head and Corteze Armstrong all had two hits apiece for Burlington.

GCL Indians (2-2) lost at home to the GCL Braves, 3-0. Cristo Arnal (.273) had two of the Indians' three hits. Kelvin Diaz (0-1, 4.15 ERA) allowed three runs (two earned) over 4 1/3 innings. Felix Heredia fanned three and gave up only one hit over 2 2/3 innings and Luis Perdomo struck out four over two perfect innings.

TODAY'S FARM SYSTEM THREE STARS (HITTING)

PLAYER	TEAM	AB	H	HR	R	RBI	SB	BB	SO
1. J. Drennen	Lake County	6	3	1	2	2	0	1	2
2. M. Fornasiere	Lake County	2	1	0	2	0	1	4	0
3. J. Constanza	Kinston	3	2	0	0	0	1	1	0

TODAY'S FARM SYSTEM THREE STARS (PITCHING)

PLAYER	Team	W	L	SV	IP	ER	H	BB	SO
1. A. Laffey	Akron	0	0	0	8.0	0	5	2	2
2. R. Fairchild	Burlington	0	0	0	3.0	0	1	0	6
3. A. Brown	Buffalo	1	0	0	3.0	0	0	1	0

Three-star points through June 24
HITTER			1ST	2ND	3RD	TOTAL
Kevin Kouzmanoff		10	1	2	55
Joe Inglett		5	4		37
Trevor Crowe		4	5		35
Ryan Garko		5	2	2	33
Ben Francisco		4	3	2	31
Ryan Mulhern		4	2	1	27
Jon Van Every		4	2	1	27
Brian Barton		3	2	3	24
Franklin Gutierrez		3	2	2	23
Jordan Brown		4		1	21
Andy Marte		1	4	3	20
Brad Snyder		1	3	6	20
Wyatt Toregas		1	5		20
Ryan Goleski		1	3	4	18
Lou Merloni		2	2	1	17
Eider Torres		1	3	3	17
Jose Constanza		1	3	2	16
Josh Noviskey		3		1	16
John Drennen		2	1	2	15
Argenis Reyes		2		4	14
Dave Wallace		2	1	1	14
Jason Dubois		1	1	4	12
Jason Cooper		2		1	11
Matt Fornasiere			3	2	11
Juan Valdes		1	2		11
Mike Conroy		1	1	1	9
Brian Finegan			1	6	9
P.J. Hiser		1	1	1	9
Fernando Pacheco		1	1	1	9
Rodney Choy Foo		1	1		8
Chris Gimenez		1	1		8
Kelly Shoppach		1	1		8
Matt Whitney			2	2	8
Einar Diaz		1		2	7
Jake Gautreau			2	1	7
Pat Osborn			2	1	7
Nick Petrucci		1		2	7
Shaun Larkin			2		6
Chris De La Cruz		1			5
Stephen Head			1	2	5
Michael Aubrey			1	1	4
Ivan Ochoa			1	1	4
Micah Schilling			1	1	4
Marshall Szabo			1	1	4
Ramon Vazquez			1	1	4
Jason Alfaro			1		3
Jose Flores			1		3
Brandon Pinckney			1		3
Argenis Tavarez			1		3
Omar Casillas				2	2
Niuman Romero				2	2
Javier Herrera				1	1
Roman Pena				1	1
Luis Rincon				1	1

PITCHER			1ST	2ND	3RD	TOTAL
Sean Smith		8	2		46
Scott Lewis		6	4	1	43
Jeremy Sowers		6	2	1	37
Chuck Lofgren		5	3		34
Adam Miller		6	1		33
Jeremy Guthrie		4	2		26
Edward Mujica		2	4	3	25
Aaron Laffey		4	1	1	24
Tom Mastny		2	3	4	23
Reid Santos		3	2	1	22
Matt Davis		1	4	3	20
Kevin Dixon		2	2	3	19
Joe Ness			1	4	2	19
Rafael Perez		3	1	1	19
Hyang-Nam Choi		2	4		18
Jensen Lewis		3	1		18
Carlton Smith		1	3		14
Scott Roehl			4	1	13
Ben Howard		1	2	1	12
Mark Jecmen			3	2	11
Nick Pesco		2		1	11
Bear Bay			1	1	2	10
Julio Pinto		2			10
Bubbie Buzachero		1	1	1	9
Tony Sipp			1	1	1	9
Brian Slocum		1	1	1	9
Frank Herrmann		1	1		8
Tom Cowley			2	1	7
Dan Denham		1		2	7
Travis Foley			2	1	7
Chris Niesel			2	1	7
Jorge Riera		1		2	7
Jason Stanford			2	1	7
Andrew Brown				6	6
Fernando Cabrera		1		1	6
Jim Deters			1	3	6
Doodle Hicks		1		1	6
Matt Loberg			2		6
Cody Bunkelman			1	2	5
Jake Dittler		1			5
Michael Finocchi			1	2	5
Osiris Perez		1			5
Josh Tomlin		1			5
Jim Ed Warden			1	2	5
T.J. Burton			1	1	4
Mariano Gomez			1	1	4
Albert Vargas			1	1	4
Ryan Knippschild				4	4
Angel Claudio			1		3
Chris Cooper			1		3
Vic Darensbourg			1		3
Rick Fairchild			1		3
Jesus Soto			1		3
Rob Bell					2	2
Danny Graves				2	2
Juan Lara					2	2
Dustin Roddy				2	2
Wyatt Allen				1	1
Fausto Carmona				1	1
Ryan Edell				1	1
Dan Eisentrager				1	1
Steve Karsay				1	1
Tim Laker					1	1