Chris Perez finishing off dominant second half

CLEVELAND, Ohio — For batters facing Indians closer Chris Perez since June 28, the weather has been cloudy with virtually no chance of meatballs.

Perez has allowed two earned runs in 34 innings of 33 appearances in that span. He has given up 16 hits, walked 16 and struck out 37. The 0.53 ERA is best in the majors since June 28.

"It comes down to paying attention to details and getting ahead of hitters," Perez told Will Burge from WKNR AM/850 late Wednesday. "When you do fall behind, you try to make good pitches and not come into them and give them meatballs."

Perez spoke after a four-out save secured the Indians' 4-3 victory over Detroit in the second game of a doubleheader at Progressive Field. The Tribe swept the doubleheader to conclude the home schedule with six straight victories.

Perez and his teammates tossed autographed balls into the stands as a sign of appreciation to those of the 12,227 paid attendance who remained.

On Aug. 6 against Minnesota, Perez gave up two runs on three hits in one inning and blew the save. Since then, he is 10-for-10 in saves and unscored upon in 18 innings of 17 appearances, batters having managed five hits and six walks while striking out 21 times.

"I've had good command, and a little luck's involved, too," Perez said, "but I just feel confident out there. When I'm down in the count, 2-0, or 3-1 or 1-0, I feel like I can throw the ball where I want and have them miss-hit. Whenever I get ahead, I believe I can finish them off.

"It's kind of like when a hitter's going well. Things come naturally. You're not thinking about it, you're not trying to do too much. You're just letting your abilities take over."

Perez, who became the full-time closer after Kerry Wood was traded July 31, is the anti-Joe Borowski. Instead of smoke and mirrors, he uses a mid-90s fastball and slider. The fastball features late life, in part because of his near-sidearm delivery. Perez's pitches get on top of batters quickly because he hides the ball well.

In 63 games overall, Perez is 2-2 with a 1.71 ERA and 23 saves in 27 opportunities. He has allowed 40 hits, walked 28 and struck out 61 in 63 innings.

Progressive Field was a fun place for Perez to be. The Twins' appearance accounted for half of the earned runs he gave up in 35 innings of 34 games.

Perez is part of a bullpen that has been especially stingy since Sept. 1. Tribe relievers have allowed 21 earned runs in 89 innings and held batters to a sub-.200 average. They worked six scoreless innings Wednesday.

"The bullpen's been pretty good the second half of the year," Perez said. "It starts with guys knowing their roles. Everybody's happy to be here. We don't have egos. We have a lot of good, young arms down there. I think we'll be even better next year with the experience we've gained."

Perez, 25, was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals for Mark DeRosa on June 27, 2009. The Tribe also received reliever Jess Todd. If Perez keeps doing anything close to what he's doing, the trade will rank among the best of General Manager Mark Shapiro's tenure. DeRosa hit .228 in 68 games for the Cardinals in 2009 and has hit .194 in 26 games for the Giants this year.

Max effort: The Tribe is 6-0 since Perez's son, Maxwell Alexander, was born last Friday in Tampa, Fla.



(cleveland.com)