Indians Game Information for Tuesday, July 17

CLEVELAND INDIANS (46-43, 3rd, -3.0 G) vs. TAMPA BAY RAYS (46-44)
RHP Josh Tomlin (5-5, 5.45) vs. LHP Matt Moore (5-6, 4.42)
First Pitch: 7:10 p.m. (ET) at Tropicana Field
TV: STO  Radio: WTAM, Indians Radio Network
Series Notes:

CLEVELAND CLIFF-HANGERS: Cleveland edged out yet another one-run victory in last night’s series opener, improving to a major league-best 14-5 (.737) in one-run games in 2012…this season has continued a recent trend for the Indians, who own the majors’ 4th-best record in one-run games over the past 4 seasons (2009-12) at 86-73 (.541), 2nd-best in the A.L.

BEST ONE-RUN RECORDS IN THE MAJORS, 2009-12
San Francisco .557 (102-81)
Philadelphia .552 (91-74)
Baltimore .542 (84-71)
Cleveland .541 (86-73)
Los Angeles .536 (96-83)

ONE-TWO PUNCH: The Indians improved to 27-3 in games in which both VINNIE PESTANO and CHRIS PEREZ appear for the club, as the duo combined to record the final 7 outs of last night’s win…collectively this season, Pestano and Perez have posted a 2.35 ERA (19 ER/72.2 IP) and .197 (53-269) opponents’ avg. with 86 strikeouts against just 22 walks…Pestano leads the majors with 25 holds, while Perez is tied with Baltimore’s JIM JOHNSON for the A.L. lead with 26 saves, one shy of CRAIG KIMBREL’s major league leading 27 saves for Atlanta.

LEFT TURN: While Cleveland owns a 10-17 record in games started by opposing left-handed pitchers, the Indians have won 5 of the last 6 games in which they faced a southpaw heading into tonight’s game against Tampa LHP MATT MOORE, who was charged with one of those 5 losses (July 7)…after batting .215 (173-805) with a .623 OPS (.298 OBP/.325 SLG) against left-handed pitching from Opening Day – June 26, Cleveland’s offense has rebounded to hit .260 (51-196) with an .842 OPS (.357 OBP/.485 SLG) over the last 14 games against lefties (starters or relievers).

DOUBLE DARE: Cleveland tallied 5 doubles in last night’s win, one shy of a season-high, including a trio of two-baggers in a key 3rd-inning rally…marked the 5th time this season for the Indians to collect 5+ doubles in the same game (5-0 record) with 4 of those contests coming this month, as Cleveland leads the majors with 32 doubles in July…the club’s 164 doubles overall in 2012 are 4th-most in the A.L. and 8th-most in majors…SHIN-SOO CHOO (T1st, 29) and MICHAEL BRANTLEY (T3rd, 27) both rank among the A.L.’s top 5 in the category.

AROUND THE BLOCK: The Indians improved to 72-44 all-time against Tampa Bay with last night’s win, including 30-26 at Tropicana Field…the Indians and Rays have alternated wins and losses over each of the last 7 games dating back to last season…Cleveland is 2-2 on artificial turf this season, needing to win 2 of the final 3 games of this series at “The Trop” to secure the club’s first winning season on turf since 2007 (12-6)…Cleveland’s offense ranks among major league leaders in walks (1st, 332), on base pct. (4th, .335) and pitches-per-PA (9th, 3.88).