Indians Game Information, July 6

CLEVELAND INDIANS (43-39, 2nd, -2.0 G) vs. TAMPA BAY RAYS (43-40)
RHP Justin Masterson (5-7, 3.92) vs. RHP Alex Cobb (3-5, 4.94)
First Pitch: 7:05 p.m. (ET) at Progressive Field
TV: STO  Radio: WTAM, Indians Radio Network
Series Notes:

THE STANDINGS: The Indians held on for a 3-1 win over Tampa Bay last night, but remained 2.0 games behind Chicago in the A.L. Central standings, as the White Sox edged Texas 2-1 in a Thursday matinee at U.S. Cellular Field…Cleveland has been in first place (sole possession or shared) for 40 of 92 days overall this season, including 35 consecutive days from April 24-May 28; club has been in 2nd place for 12 straight and 36 of those remaining 52 days…Cleveland held a season-high 4.0-game lead on May 17 and has trailed by as much as 3.5 games (twice, last June 29).

AROUND  THE  BLOCK:  Cleveland  holds  a  70-42  advantage  all-time against Tampa Bay (1998-2011), including a 41-16 mark here at Progressive Field…the Indians are batting .319 (114-357) over their last 10 games (6-4) with 6 double-digit hit totals in that span to raise the club’s season average from .248 to .257…TRAVIS HAFNER hit his 96th career HR at Progressive Field last night, 3rd-most all-time at this venue behind JIM THOME (188) and MANNY RAMIREZ (132)…the Indians have a 14-2 record when JOE SMITH, VINNIE PESTANO and CHRIS PEREZ all appear in the same game…while he does not qualify for league leader status, JOSE LOPEZ is batting .349 (15-43) w/ RISP this season, going 5-for-his-last-8 in those situations…CARLOS SANTANA has cut down 15 of 41 (36.6%) would-be base-stealers this season, which is the 2nd-highest qualifying figure among all major league catchers for 2012 behind Arizona’s MIGUEL MONTERO (38.1%, 16 of 42)…the Tribe’s defense has been charged with just 4 errors over  the  club’s  last  13  games,  playing  error-free  baseball  in  all  but  3  of those contests; Cleveland’s .986 team fielding % (45 E/3135 TC) is 5th in the A.L. and 7th in the majors.

UNIQUE WIN: Cleveland won last night’s game with the exclusive benefit of 3 solo home runs, signaling the first time for the club to do so since Aug. 30, 2006 vs. Toronto when the Indians got a pair of home runs from TRAVIS HAFNER  and  one  more  off  the  bat  of  JHONNY  PERALTA…in  fact,  last night marked just the 3rd such win for the Tribe over the past 42 seasons (1971-2012) after seeing 9 instances from 1948-1970.