Justin Masterson isn't discouraged after going winless in his last nine starts. He believes the Indians will turn it around.
Justin Masterson is pitching well, but hasn't won a game in his last nine starts.DETROIT, Mich. -- The Justin Masterson who took the mound in his first five starts of the season looks a lot like the Justin Masterson who has taken the mound in his last nine starts. The only difference is his record.
Masterson was 5-0 with a 2.18 ERA five starts into the season. In his next nine starts, he's gone 0-5 with a 3.69 ERA.
"The longer you're in this game, the more you realize that the starting pitcher will wear the Ws and Ls, but it's a team game when it comes down to it," said Masterson after losing to Detroit and Justin Verlander, 4-0, Tuesday night. "I wear both of them with pride, but that's why we win and lose as a team."
In his last nine starts, the Indians have averaged 1.9 runs per game. In his first five, they averaged 6.6. Asked if he was getting worn down by the lack of support, Masterson said, "Not yet. Not winning as a team is disappointing. It makes me feel like I'm not keeping it where it needs to be.
"I've been decently satisfied with the way I've been going out there. The game is crazy. Good things will happen, bad things will happen. That's why it's so fun to play this game."
Masterson is no stranger to bad streaks. He went 17 straight starts without a victory, losing 11 straight games, from Aug. 25, 2009 through May 24, 2010. The Indians scored 39 runs in those 17 starts. He ended the streak on June 4, 2010 with a victory over the White Sox.
"I feel like I'm pitching tremendously better right now than I was in that stretch," said Masterson. "I'm still catching some of the tough luck I was catching within that span.
"All I can do is go out there. I felt like I had a great effort level (against the Tigers), made pitches when I had to. It's really all I can control."
The loss to Detroit on Tuesday knocked the Indians out of first place in the AL Central for the first time since April 7. Masterson believes the Indians will be back.
"I think any team is going to go through streaks," he said. "Just as you saw Boston and how it started the season. Now look where they're at.
"Look at us. We started hot, and have hit a little lull. There's no doubt we have a great chance of getting hot again. I think you'll see a nice battle throughout the Central. ... It will even out and we'll all be close and we'll see who gets it at the end."
Tonight's lineups:
Indians (35-30): CF Grady Sizemore (L), 1B Carlos Santana (S), LF Michael Brantley (L), SS Asdrubal Cabrera (S), RF Shin-Soo Choo (L), DH Matt LaPorta (R), 2B Orlando Cabrera (R), 3B Jack Hannahan (L), C Lou Marson (R) and RHP Fausto Carmona (3-8, 5.71).
Tigers (37-30): CF Austin Jackson (R), 3B Don Kelly (L), LF Brennan Boesch (L), 1B Miguel Cabrera (R), DH Victor Martinez (S), RF Magglio Ordonez (R), C Alex Avila (L), SS Jhonny Peralta (R), 2B Ramon Santiago (S), RHP Brad Penny (5-5, 4.69).
Him vs. me: Miguel Cabrera is hitting .321 (9-for-28) with three homers, six RBI, two walks and six strikeouts against Carmona. Orlando Cabrera is hitting .175 (11-for-63) with three doubles, one homer, six RBI and four walks against Penny. Penny is making his second big-league start against the Tribe.
Left-right: Righties are hitting .276 (40-for-145) with seven homers and lefties are hitting .255 (49-for-192) with six homers against Carmona this year. The Tigers have four righties in the lineup.
Righties are hitting .299 (47-for-157) with five homers and lefties are hitting .239 (37-for-155) with four homers against Penny this year. The Indians have three righties in the lineup.
Umpires: H Brian Runge, 1B D.J. Reyburn, 2B Ted Barrett, 3B Tim McClelland.
Quote of the day: "I cannot get rid of the hurt from losing, but after the last out of every loss, I must accept that there will be a tomorrow. In fact, it's more than there'll be a tomorrow, it's that I want there to be a tomorrow. That's the big difference, I want tomorrow to come," Hall of Famer Sparky Anderson, the late great manager of the Tigers.
Next: RHP Mitch Talbot (2-3, 4.01) will face Detroit RHP Max Scherzer (8-2, 4.39) in the conclusion of this three-game series Thursday at 1:05 p.m. at Comerica Park. WTAM AM/1100 will carry the game. There will be no TV.
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2011/06/justin_masterson_coping_with_c.html
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