The Indians have been waiting for designated hitter Travis Hafner to show something close to the kind of power he displayed a few years ago when he was one of the most feared sluggers in the American League. Friday, Hafner did exactly that.
In the first inning of the Indians' 13-7 loss to Toronto, Hafner hit a double off the top of the right-field fence. In Hafner's second at-bat, in the third inning, he hit a home run over the right-field fence. Hafner also homered in his last at-bat Thursday, in Cleveland's loss to Texas. So in those three at-bats Hafner came close to hitting home runs in three consecutive at bats.
Hafner hit only five home runs in his injury-hampered 2008 season. Weakness in his right shoulder resulted in offseason surgery to clean out the shoulder joint.
Hafner didn't show much power at all in spring training, and he struggled in the Indians' first two games of the regular season. However, Hafner's two home runs in the last two games give Indians officials hope he is making progress in returning to pre-injury form.
BLUE JAYS 13, INDIANS 7: The Indians' pitching woes continued as five pitchers combined to give up 13 runs and 17 hits. Cleveland pitching has surrendered 25 runs in the last two games and 42 runs in four games overall. The Indians got three home runs, from Travis Hafner, Shin-Soo Choo, and Victor Martinez.
