Huff lifts Tribe over White Sox
4/1/2010GOODYEAR, Ariz. - David Huff pitched well for the Cleveland Indians yesterday. Good enough for a spot in the rotation? He'll have to wait to find out.
Huff gave up one run and five hits over seven innings in a 10-1 win over the Chicago White Sox yesterday. He's awaiting word from manager Manny Acta on whether it was good enough to claim the No. 5 spot in the Indians' rotation.
"He certainly didn't hurt himself with this outing," said Acta, who won't announce his decision until tomorrow.
Travis Hafner hit a two-run homer in an eight-run second inning in the final spring matchup of the two teams that will open the season Monday in Chicago.
Right-hander Freddy Garcia, the No. 5 starter in Chicago's rotation, gave up 12 hits and 10 runs over 32/3 innings.
Alex Rios hit his third homer in the second off Huff, who walked three and struck out four.
Huff is 2-1 with a 4.18 ERA in six games. He is competing with rookie right-hander Carlos Carrasco, who had a good camp until getting hit hard Sunday. Carrasco has a 4.60 ERA in four outings.
"I came to camp trying to put myself in a good spot," said Huff, whose 11 wins as a rookie last year led the Indians.
"You can always do better. I had a couple outings this spring I didn't like, but seven innings is good."
Acta said that with a big lead, he would have preferred to see Huff challenge hitters with his fastball a little more. Huff agreed.
"Throwing a changeup on a 3-2 count is not a good selection," he said. "That's [lack of] experience."
It would appear Huff has an advantage as potentially the only left-hander in the rotation, which includes Jake Westbrook, Fausto Carmona, Justin Masterson, and rookie Mitch Talbot. Acta said he'll select the pitcher he thinks will do best regardless of whether he is right-hander or lefty.
NOTES: RHP Jake Westbrook, the Indians' opening day starter, gave up five hits and four runs over six innings against Triple-A Nashville in his final spring tuneup. ... Cleveland sent LHP Jeremy Sowers outright to Columbus and optioned OF Trevor Crowe and C Wyatt Toregas to the Triple-A team.