A Rare Offensive Explosion

...well, not really an explosion, but 8 runs in a game for this year's version of the Tribe is definitely a sight for sore eyes all over northeast Ohio. The offense actually made an appearance early last night, with Franklin Gutierrez's first inning grand slam off of Mark Buehrle. The Indians also pulled off the incredibly rare triple steal in the 6th inning last night. I didn't even realize it at the time because it was such a bizarre play, but trust me, it involved bad baserunning by the Tribe and even worse defense by the White Sox. At any rate, it was the first triple steal in the major leagues since 1987. So this month has featured and unassisted triple play and now a triple steal. Call me crazy, but I'd rather just see wins and good hitting. Aaron Laffey also pitched another solid game, giving up 2 runs over 6 innings. He is now 3-3 with a very nice 1.59 ERA. He will obviously be very important over the next month with Fausto's hip injury.

Gutierrez provided a much-needed offensive spark on Tuesday night

Today Jake Westbrook makes his return from the DL for the noon start against the White Sox. I hate these day "getaway" games but we do have a one-game win streak in them, so maybe our luck is changing. Also, it looks like Travis Hafner's bat might be missing from the lineup for a while. Wait, hasn't it been missing the entire season??? (insert Big Chuck and Lil' John laugh track here)