10 games that made the season
<p class="MsoNormal">Embargo until Wednesday, Oct. 3
<p class="MsoNormal">Ten games that proved critical during the Indians' 2007 quest for the Central Division championship:
<p class="MsoNormal">1. Sept. 8, Indians 6, Angels 1: C.C. Sabathia pitched a complete-game, five-hit victory to turn the tide after the Angels had won the first two games of the series. Cleveland would win the next night as well, earning a critical split and preventing a disheartening loss of momentum heading into the stretch run.
<p class="MsoNormal">2. Sept. 17, Indians 6, Tigers 5: Casey Blake's 11th-inning walkoff home run all but finished off defending American League champion Detroit in the Central Division race. The Indians rallied from a 5-1 deficit to lead the division by 5 1/2 games instead of 3 1/2.
<p class="MsoNormal">3. April 24, Indians 5, Twins 3: Fausto Carmona showed he is the real deal by outpitching two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana. It was the first of what would be five Indians victories against Santana in 2007.
<p class="MsoNormal">4. Sept. 23, Indians 6, A's 2: Jake Westbrook allowed two runs over seven innings, and Rafael Betancourt struck out three of the last four batters as the Tribe clinched its first Central Division title since 2001.
<p class="MsoNormal">5. Aug. 25, Indians 9, Royals 4: Rookie left-hander Aaron Laffey worked six innings for the victory and the Indians picked up momentum they would never lose. Cleveland, 12-17 from July 22 through Aug. 24, won 24 of its next 30 games.
<p class="MsoNormal">6. April 2, Indians 12, White Sox 5: Grady Sizemore hit a home run on the second pitch of the season, and Cleveland batted around in the first inning as Cleveland won big on Opening Day in Chicago.
<p class="MsoNormal">7. April 10, Indians 7, Angels 6: Indians players could have whined and complained about the snowed-out series against the Angels being moved to Milwaukee's Miller Park. Instead, they delighted 19,031 mostly neutral fans with a thrilling victory. Cleveland catcher Kelly Shoppach ended the game when he threw out Erick Aybar attempting to steal second.
<p class="MsoNormal">8. June 24, Indians 4, Nationals 3: Shoppach gunned down Washington's Nook Logan when he overran third base in the bottom of the ninth inning to finish off the interleague victory. Victor Martinez's three-run home run in the top of the ninth had given Cleveland the lead.
<p class="MsoNormal">9. June 29, Indians 2, Devil Rays 1: Outfielder Ben Francisco made his first big-league start, then hit the game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.
<p class="MsoNormal">10. June 15, Indians 3, Marlins 2: Jason Stanford made his first big-league start since 2004, working into the seventh inning in the deciding game of the interleague series.
<p class="MsoNormal">-- The Repository