Always good with the lumber, the Tribe outfielder has made noticeable strides in his defense since being called up from Triple-A Buffalo in early May for the fifth, and possibly final, time. His paths to the ball are better, errors have been few and far between and his arm, well, it's spoken for itself of late.

Francisco leads the American League with nine outfield assists going into Friday's Ohio Cup series opener with the Reds at Progressive Field. It's only taken the 26-year-old Santa Ana, Calif., native 49 games to rack up the surprising total.

"I didn't know it was that many," he admitted.

But Francisco's defensive improvement was a work in progress from the early days of spring camp in Winter Haven, Fla.

"He's a young man who's really committed to being a better outfielder," Eric Wedge said. "[At the beginning of Spring Training] we immediately saw him get better. We knew he was capable to improve and that's what he's done."

Francisco's hot bat is what ultimately turned the Tribe's four-man, two-position outfield platoon into a three-man battle for whichever spot Francisco isn't playing. But it's the time he's spent improving his glovework that's made him a factor in both halves of an inning.

"I'm working hard at it," said Francisco, who comes into Friday's game batting .291 with five home runs and 26 RBIs. "Runs are so important up here that you've got to do your best to keep guys off base and keep them from scoring."

Francisco did just that in Wednesday's loss to the Giants. Twice, actually.

In the third, Francisco played a Bengie Molina blast off the left-field wall perfectly and threw out the slow-footed catcher easily at second. In the ninth, Francisco helped prevent any further damage when he threw out Ray Durham with a one-hopper at the plate.

"You always take pride in your defense, because obviously defense helps win games by taking runs off the board," he said. "You like to do that as much as possible."

Wedge has been impressed with the attitude of all his players in what has become a terribly disappointing first half to the season. Francisco's, though, has stood out.

"He's come so far in a short period of time but there's a good reason for it," Wedge said. "It's his work. It's the attitude. It's the way he attacked the outfield. He wants to be a complete player and that's what he's developing into."

Interleague record: 107-101 overall, 5-10 in 2008

2008 Interleague schedule
• May 16 at Reds: Lost, 4-3
• May 17 at Reds: Lost, 4-2
• May 18 at Reds: Lost, 6-4
• June 13 vs. Padres: Won, 9-5
• June 14 vs. Padres: Lost, 8-3
• June 15 vs. Padres: Won, 7-3
• June 17 at Rockies: Lost, 10-2
• June 18 at Rockies: Lost, 4-2
• June 19 at Rockies: Lost, 6-3
• June 20 at Dodgers: Won, 6-4
• June 21 at Dodgers: Won, 7-2
• June 22 at Dodgers: Lost, 4-3
• June 24 vs. Giants: Lost, 3-2
• June 25 vs. Giants: Lost, 4-1
• June 26 vs. Giants: Won, 4-1
• June 27 vs. Reds
• June 28 vs. Reds
• June 29 vs. Reds

Pitching matchup
CLE: LHP C.C. Sabathia (5-8, 4.06 ERA)
Sabathia's overall command hasn't been better at any point this season than it is right now. He has found the form that made him the AL Cy Young Award winner in '07, giving up just four runs on 16 hits with two walks and 25 strikeouts over 24 innings in his last three starts. Making his first career start against the Dodgers on Saturday, he allowed just a run on five hits over seven innings. Unfortunately for Sabathia, when he hit a solo shot for his second career homer, that was his only run of support, and he took a no-decision on a day he pitched well enough to win. Sabathia is 2-0 with a 2.68 ERA in seven career starts against the Reds.

CIN: RHP Daryl Thompson (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
In his first Major League start, Thompson blanked a tough Yankees offense through five innings to come away with a no-decision. The right-hander got off to a shaky start when he loaded the bases with no outs in the second inning. But he retired the next three batters, striking out two, to get out of the jam. It came at a cost to his pitch count, though, as Thompson racked up 47 throws in the first two innings and ended the day with 96. He gave up four hits and walked four in his first Reds start.

Tidbits
Friday is Mystery Ball night at Progressive Field. For $50, ticketed fans can purchase a Mystery Ball bag, each of which contains an autographed baseball by one of many top Major Leaguers. Proceeds benefit Providence House. ... Jamey Carroll continued his hot streak Thursday, going 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs. He is now batting .429 (24-for-56) in his last 15 games. ... Kelly Shoppach has hit safely in his last six games, with 11 of his last 17 hits being for extra bases (seven doubles, four home runs). ... Casey Blake was back at his normal third base position Thursday and picked up a hit to boost his average to .400 over the past eight games.

Tickets
 Buy tickets now to catch the game in person.

On the Internet
 MLB.TV
 Gameday Audio
•  Gameday
•  Official game notes

On television
• STO-HD

On radio
• WTAM 1100

Up next
• Saturday: Indians (Paul Byrd, 3-8, 5.21) vs. Reds (Johnny Cueto, 5-8, 5.01), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Sunday: Indians (Aaron Laffey, 4-4, 2.83) vs. Reds (Bronson Arroyo, 4-7, 6.52), 1:05 p.m. ET
• Monday: Indians (Jeremy Sowers, 0-3, 5.97) at White Sox (Gavin Floyd, 8-4, 3.39), 8:11 p.m. ET