Allgemeines » : Maeda has lasted seven innings just once, on April

CLEVELAND -- When the epic, drama-drenched Game 7 was briefly delayed by rain, Indians players returned to their clubhouse, where chairs had been removed and plastic sheets hung in anticipation for a party waiting to pop since 1948.Later, unopened bottles of Dom Perignon were wheeled out of a luxury suite. An ice sculpture of the World Series trophy was cloaked by a black cloth, soon to melt away.It wasnt meant to be.An amazing, unforeseen season had a familiar ending.Unable to stop Chicagos curse-slaying run, the Indians, a team that perhaps embodied Clevelands blue-collar, get-off-the-mat ethos more than any other, finally succumbed in the 10th inning, losing 8-7 early Thursday before a downpour soaked thousands of Cubs fans who stood in the rain savoring the end of their 108-year championship wait.Heartbreak still resides in Cleveland.Only this time, the hurt isnt as deep.The Indians werent expected to be playing in October, never mind November, and they took some solace in pushing the Cubs to the limit.We shocked the world, said shortstop Francisco Lindor, the 22-year-old who blossomed on baseballs biggest stage. No one had us here. Of course, we didnt finish the way we wanted to finish. We were going to do whatever it took to win, grind at-bats, pitch after pitch, work hard. Thats our mojo. We battled day in and day out.The Indians had hoped to duplicate what the Cavs, their neighbors on the other side of Gateway Plaza, had done in June by winning a championship and ending the citys 52-year title drought. They managed to sidestep adversity for months, but couldnt overcome losing two starting pitchers and simply didnt have enough to put away the Cubs and became the first team since the 1979 Baltimore Orioles to squander a 3-1 lead in the Series by losing Games 6 and 7 at home.They went down -- swinging.Nobody gave up, said reliever Andrew Miller, who was virtually unhittable during the postseason before the Cubs figured him out in Game 7. It was fighting like hell. It was unfortunate that we didnt quite get there.The fact that they got so close is worth a trophy presentation and parade.The Indians were short-handed from almost the first day of spring training in Arizona.All-Star left fielder Michael Brantley, their No. 3 hitter and probably the best all-around player on the roster, was unable to get fully healthy and played only 11 games. Without Brantley, manager Terry Francona had to be creative to find production and fortunately the Indians got huge contributions from sluggers Carlos Santana (34 homers) and Mike Napoli (101 RBI).Jose Ramirez played four positions, started in all nine spots in the batting order and didnt miss a beat, batting .312 and was perhaps the teams MVP.The Indians survived despite losing starting catcher Yan Gomes for long stretches -- the club tried to trade for All-Star Jonathan Lucroy in July -- and the outfield was an almost daily patchwork effort because of Brantley and two PED suspensions.If all that wasnt enough to stop them, the Indians closed out their division and beat Boston and Toronto in the postseason despite not having injured starters Carlos Carrasco or Danny Salazar or losing starter Trevor Bauer after he sliced his pinkie playing with a drone -- an odd accident that somehow seemed fitting for this resilient group.The Indians were stitched together from the start.Francona conjured magic from his bullpen as Miller, Bryan Shaw and closer Cody Allen combined to protect leads and stifle rallies all the way to the Series.But in the end, the injuries caught them.A handcuffed Francona was forced to ride ace Corey Kluber for three starts in nine days against the heavily favored Cubs; Josh Tomlin, who had dealt with his fathers illness during a dreary August, just didnt have it in Game 6; and Miller, acquired from the New York Yankees in July for these kind of moments, didnt have the usual bite on his nasty slider in a finale that rates with any Game 7 in history.In the quiet of Clevelands clubhouse afterward, second baseman Jason Kipnis, a Chicago kid who has grown into Clevelands leader, put a season hell never forget in perspective. Kipnis was hurting, but knew he -- and the Indians -- will soon heal.We will be back, he said. Were pretty confident in this group we got here. There are a lot of people who probably dont even know who Carlos Carrasco is or Michael Brantley. Those guys have huge roles for us. We kind of followed Kansas Citys lead a little bit to get here. They lost before they won, so I wouldnt mind if we follow their lead the whole way through. That would be nice. Tytus Howard Youth Jersey . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. J.J. Watt Womens Jersey . 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LOS ANGELES -- Six years after representing the Colorado Rockies in the All-Star Futures game, left-hander Christian Friedrich continues his campaign to rebuild his career when his San Diego Padres face the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.Friedrichs opponent, right-hander Kenta Maeda, seeks to resurrect his own season after a brilliant April following a stellar career in Japan.Friedrich -- who turned 29 on Friday -- threw only three pitches and retired the only batter he faced for the United States in a 9-1 victory over the World at Angel Stadium. Merely making that team, however, reflected Friedrichs potential as a major leaguer.However, he never gained a foothold with the Rockies. In 2012, Friedrich went 5-8 as a rookie starter before a stress fracture in his lower back ended his season and limited him to just four appearances in 2013. The Rockies tried making Friedrich a reliever but he went 0-8 the past two years.The Los Angeles Angels claimed Friedrich on waivers in February but sent him back to the Rockies, who released him. The Padres signed the left-hander as a free agent in March. Since entering the rotation May 13, Friedrich started 3-1 but has lost three of his past four decisions.Nevertheless, Friedrich showed flashes of his potential June 23, when he used his slider to retire the first nine batters in a start against the Baltimore Orioles before suffering a 12-6 loss.I think its always been one of my better pitches, especially as an out pitch, Friedrich told MLB.com. But when were mixing and matching all of the other pitches, it definitely makes it a little bit better.Maeda, meanwhile, seeks just his fifth victory since beginning his major league career with four quality starts in his first four appearances. During that stretch, Maeda compiled a 3-0 record while allowing just one earned run in 25 1/3 innings.Since then, however, Maeda lost his next three decisions before winning three of his ensuing four. In his last start Tuesday night against the Baltimore Orioles, the 28-year-old rookie allowed four runs, seven hits and three walks in ffour innings to take his second defeat in his previous three decisions.ddddddddddddWhen he has had good outings and gone deeper, obviously, the mix is good, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the Los Angeles Daily News after that 4-1 loss. But youve got to make major league hitters respect your fastball, and that you can locate it. For a major league starter to get three times through an order, you have to make batters respect different pitches. If they can lock in on a certain pitch, it just makes it that much tougher.Hitters have been able to decipher Maeda once they survive the early innings. Entering Sundays game, opponents were batting .191 before Maeda reaches 75 pitches but .351 afterward.I think simply put its a control issue, he told the Daily News through an interpreter. For me, I think its more of an execution issue, more about command and control which I definitely didnt have today.Another disturbing trend: Maeda has lasted seven innings just once, on April 17 in a 3-1 win over the San Francisco Giants.After 75 pitches, third time through, the breaking ball has to be especially sharp, Roberts told the Daily News. If its not, theres damage to be had.In Japan, Maeda was the one doing damage. During his eight-year career with the Hiroshima Carp in Japans Central League, the right-hander won 15 games three times and compiled earned-run averages ranging between 2.60 and 1.53 in the past six years.Last season, Maeda led Japans Central League with 15 wins, compiled a 2.09 ERA and held opponents to a .222 average. Maedas performance earned him the Sawamura Award as the best pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball for the second time.The Dodgers signed Maeda to an eight-year contract worth $25 million in January after declining to re-sign right-hander Zack Greinke or to pursue two other highly regarded free-agent starters, right-handers Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija -- who helped the San Francisco Giants compile baseballs best record. ' ' '