Sizemore Leads Indians Past Jays
Posted August 28, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The last time Cleveland’s Paul Byrd started he didn’t make it out of his first inning, giving up nine runs against the Royals. Remarkably, the Indians rallied to win that game 15-13 and Byrd escaped with a no-decision. His teammates bailed him out once again on Monday when they battled to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-4 despite another poor outing from Byrd.
The right-hander allowed three earned runs and 10 hits in five-plus innings, looking somewhat shaky throughout.
Grady Sizemore picked up the slack at the plate, blasting a homer, doubling twice and scoring three runs to lead the charge.
“I cant say enough about Grady,” said Byrd. “Whether he goes 0-for-5 or 5-for-5, he plays the same way. He plays hard. He dives, risks injury. He signed a big contract at the beginning of this season and I don’t think it’s a secret that some guys, after they get a big contract, get a little too comfortable. Not Grady.
“The way he plays the game, you’d think he was in the last year of his contract, not the first. Everyone on our team should learn from him.”
Sizemore now leads the league with 75 extra-base hits, two more than Boston’s David Ortiz.
“If he’s not the best all-around player in the league, he’s near the top,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said.
“He’s just a great all-around player who works as hard as anyone we have. One thing people don’t see is his mental toughness. And just the way he plays the game, and the effect it has on his teammates.
“I’ll take him over anybody.”
Ryan Garko added a pair of RBI doubles off A.J. Burnett, helping the Indians improved to a major league-best 14-5 since Aug. 9.
Reed Johnson had three hits for the Jays while Vernon Wells doubled in a losing effort.
