Looking at the best starting pitching in the AL so far in 201 the2 Cleveland Indians’ Derek Lowe holds his own with top tier names like the Detroit Tigers’ Justin Verlander and Seattle Mariners’ Felix Hernandez. Through eight starts, Lowe boasts a 6-1 record and 2.05 ERA. Lowe pitched a complete-game shutout against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday, May 15, thrusting the starter’s early success into the Cleveland media spotlight.

Derek Lowe’s early success with the Cleveland Indians surprises many. The Indians acquired Lowe during the offseason in a trade with the Atlanta Braves. Given last year the starter yielded a career-low 9-17 record, the acquisition didn’t wrestle up too much excitement around Cleveland. Heck, Lowe’s 17 losses topped the NL League Leaders chart.

Personally, I recalled thinking, “Lowe also led the NL in starts so he had the most opportunities to lose.” Now, admittedly, I came up with this notion half-jokingly, desperate to find a positive spin on the trade.

Fast forwarding and returning to mid-May, a question arises. Can Derek Lowe go the entire season pitching so well? MLB.com columnist Anthony Castrovince posted a great piece on the Cleveland Indians website Thursday, May 17 exploring the issue.

By talking to Derek, Lowe Castrovince discovered what plagued the starter last year in Atlanta, writing “Lowe instead points to two factors — a lighter frame that fatigued and the absence of an effective sinker.”

To counter the weight factor, Castrovince notes Lowe packed on 20 pounds. Regarding the effectiveness of the sinker, us Clevelanders can testify to the pitch’s current efficiency.

From the fan perspective, another factor I believe worth mentioning involves Derek Lowe’s teammates, specifically first baseman Casey Kotchman, third baseman Jack Hannahan, and shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. With Kotchman and Hannahan manning first and third opposing hitters become hard pressed to sneak anything past the baselines. Not to be outdone, Cabrera’s defensive resume features a highlight reel of awesome glove work.

Simply put, any baseball purist should enjoy watching a ground ball-inducing pitcher like Derek Lowe take the field with defensively wealthy infielders such as the ones the Cleveland Indians possess. Bottom line, with a working sinker and solid defenders behind him, Lowe appears likely to continue shining.

Zachary Fenell fell in love with the Cleveland Indians during the 1995 season when the Tribe powered their way to the organization’s first World Series appearance since 1954. While the Indians lost some allure since the 1990s you will still find Zachary watching the games on TV, listening to them on the radio, or best yet taking in a game from the stands at Progressive Field.

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Derek Lowe pitched his first shutout in nearly seven years, throwing a six-hitter Tuesday and leading the Cleveland Indians over the Minnesota Twins 5-0.

Shin-Soo Choo, the Indians’ new leadoff man, scored after a leadoff double in the third inning and then hit the first of three Cleveland home runs in the fifth against Jason Marquis (2-3). Asdrubal Cabrera and Carlos Santana also homered to break the game open.

The 38-year-old Lowe (6-1) was at his sinker-balling best, walking four without a strikeout. He induced four double-play grounders in winning his fourth straight decision.

This was Lowe’s longest outing in eight starts this season. He’s allowed three runs or less with six innings or more in seven of them.

Acquiring Lowe from Atlanta for a minor leaguer has turned out to be arguably the best move the Indians made for 2012. The Fausto Carmona false-identity fallout and inconsistency by Ubaldo Jimenez and Justin Masterson have hurt the rotation, but Lowe has been a welcome stabilizer.

Lowe threw a season-high 127 pitches for his 10th career complete game, and first since Aug. 26, 2008, for the Los Angeles Dodgers. This was his fourth big league shutout, the previous one coming on Aug. 31, 2005, for the Dodgers at San Diego.

The only time the Twins truly came close to scoring was in the seventh when they loaded the bases with two outs on two singles and a walk. But Alexi Casilla swung at the first pitch for a lazy fly to right field.

The first-place Indians rebounded from five losses in their previous six games with a two-game sweep at Target Field of the majors-worst Twins, who entered the game with the most groundballs hit in the league, an average of more than 14 per game.

Starting pitching has been just as much of a problem, and Marquis was the latest to falter. Manager Ron Gardenhire spoke before the game of the importance of a quality performance from Marquis, but he gave up nine hits, five runs and two walks in five innings while striking out only two.

The last time the Twins surrendered three homers in one inning was in 2010 when Carl Pavano did it at Detroit.

Casey Kotchman punched an RBI single down the lane past a shifted-over third baseman Jamey Carroll to drive in Santana after a double to start the second. Marquis escaped a leadoff triple by Michael Brantley in the fourth, but the ball was flying all over the place in the fifth.

Choo’s drive reached the left-field seats. Two batters later, Cabrera hit an 0-1 sinker to the upper deck in right-center. Then Santana turned on a changeup that sailed just inside the pole down the right-field line.

NOTES: Cleveland manager Manny Acta said before the game that Choo will be the leadoff hitter until further notice. … The Indians improved to 12-6 on the road, the third-best mark in the majors. … Indians 3B Jack Hannahan was held out for a second straight game because of a sore back. … Pavano will stay in Minnesota for a few days to work with a soft-tissue specialist on his bothersome right shoulder when the team leaves for the road, but he’s expected to make his next start on Saturday. … Twins C Joe Mauer, who went 0 for 3 with a walk and three groundouts, batted second for the first time this season.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Kansas City Royals will play 72 regular-season games against AL Central opponents during the 2012 MLB season. Those opponents include the Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox. The home and away games will be evenly distributed at 36.

The Royals will host their first game against an AL Central opponent when they play the Cleveland Indians from April 13 through April 15. They’ll finish their season with a three-game home series against the Tigers from October 1 through October 3. The Royals won’t host a divisional contest from April 19 through June 3.

Here is a brief rundown of the Royals’ schedule against divisional opponents for the 2012 MLB season.

Complete MLB schedule can be found HERE.

April 2012 (6 Home, 7 Road)

April 13-15: Cleveland Indians

April 16-18: Detroit Tigers

April 24-26: at Cleveland Indians

April 27-29: at Minnesota Twins

April 30: at Detroit Tigers

May 2012 (0 Home, 8 Road)

May 1-2: at Detroit Tigers (Continued)

May 11-13: at Chicago White Sox

May 28-30: at Cleveland Indians

June 2012 (3 Home, 2 Road)

June 4-6: Minnesota Twins

June 29-30: at Minnesota Twins

July 2012 (7 Home, 4 Road)

July 1: at Minnesota Twins (Continued)

July 6-8: at Detroit Tigers

July 13-15: Chicago White Sox

July 20-22: Minnesota Twins

July 31: Cleveland Indians

August 2012 (9 Home, 3 Road)

August 1-2: Cleveland Indians (Continued)

August 6-8: at Chicago White Sox

August 17-19: Chicago White Sox

August 28-30: Detroit Tigers

August 31: Minnesota Twins

September And October 2012 (11 Home, 12 Road)

September 1-2: Minnesota Twins (Continued)

September 7-9: at Chicago White Sox

September 11-13: at Minnesota Twins

September 18-20: Chicago White Sox

September 21-23: Cleveland Indians

September 25-27: at Detroit Tigers

September 28-30: at Cleveland Indians

October 1-3: Detroit Tigers

MLB schedules subject to change due to rainouts or any other unanticipated postponement.

Joshua Huffman grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as a Green Bay Packers and Chicago Cubs enthusiast. He immediately gained an admiration for Cubs fans after watching numerous games on WGN during the mid-90s. His favorite Cubs moment was Kerry Wood’s(notes) 1-hitter, 20K extravaganza that was only denied of a no-hitter by Kevin Orie’s defensive blunder. As a Packers and Cubs fan, he suffered through Steve Bartman and “4th & 26″ in a span of three months. He can be found on Twitter HERE.

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