CLEVELAND (92.3 The Fan) – STEAL MY SUNSHINE: The Tribe isn’t exactly lighting it up when they take the field on day games, which they will do today against the A’s. In 46 day games in 2012, the team is 16-30, a winning percentage of .348, the worst in the Majors.

The funny part about the day/night game comparison is that the teams offense is actually BETTER during the day than at night. The team is hitting .255 during day games, while at night they are hitting just .245. Of course the pitching is the big issue, as the teams ERA during the day sits at 5.40, while at night it’s 4.42. Just another scratch your head stat in this season of disaster for the Indians.

ROUGH STRETCH FOR VINNIE: Going into August 13th, if there was one player the Indians could still count on, it was relief pitcher Vinnie Pestano. Well, two and a half weeks later, Pestano’s season has taken the same downward spiral as the rest of the Indians.

“I’ve never been so disgusted and embarrassed in myself,” Pestano said. “You go for four months grinding it out to pissin it away in 3-4 appearances.”

In five appearances starting with August 13th, Pestano is 0-1, and has allowed 6 earned runs in 5.1 innings, including two in the 9th Wednesday vs the A’s.

So what’s been the big issue for Pestano?

“Just not been able to locate anything, not having a feel for either pitch.”

Pestano still is having an impressive season despite the last few outings, going 3-1 with an ERA of 1.79 with 33 holds on the year.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBERTO: It’s Roberto Hernandez’s birthday today, and it’s quite Ok if you ask just how old the former Fausto Carmona is.

Hernandez, who was known to Indians fans as Fausto Carmona before he was arrested in the offseason and charged with using a false identity, turns 32 today.

According to his old identity, Hernandez would have turned 30 today. Hernandez shares a birthday with former Indians Cy Young pitcher Cliff Lee, who turns 34 today.

ATHLETICS DOMINATION: The A’s have beaten up the Indians in 2012, taking advantage of the Indians swoon in August, winning 7 in a row against the Tribe.

The Indians are 2-7 against the A’s overall in 2012, and have been outscored 48-23 entering Thursday’s game. The Indians are putting up just 2.6 runs per game, hitting just .222.

“As much as we would like to point out about our offense, those guys (A’s) have a very good pitching staff,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “They are top three in the league and they are tough, so we can see why they are playing the way they are playing.”

LINEUPS:

A’s – Crisp CF
Drew SS
Reddick RF
Cespedes DH
Smith LF
Moss 1B
Donaldson 3B
Kottaras CA
Pennington 2B
Parker P

Indians – Kipnis 2B
Cabrera SS
Choo RF
Brantley CF
Santana DH
Kotchman 1B
Carrera LF
Hannahan 3B
Marson CA
Masterson P

Follow @Loede923TheFAN