| Lee wins sixth straight start for Tribe |
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The Cleveland Indians haven't had a pitcher get off to as good a start as Cliff Lee in 20 years. It's been even longer since the Minnesota Twins last had a player hit for the cycle. Lee became the first Indians pitcher to win his first six starts since Greg Swindell in 1988 and lowered his major league-best ERA to a microscopic 0.81 in a 3-0 win over the New York Yankees on Wednesday night. ``Cliff is in the groove right now,'' Indians manager Eric Wedge said. That assessment could apply to Carlos Gomez, too. He became the first Twins player to hit for the cycle since Kirby Puckett on Aug. 1, 1986. Gomez helped Minnesota rout Chicago 13-1. He couldn't fathom his name in the same sentence as Puckett's. ``It's amazing,'' Gomez said. ``Kirby Puckett, I saw the video of the player. He is an All-Star and I can't explain it to you. That's unbelievable.'' Lee helped Cleveland secure its first winning series at Yankee Stadium since June 2001. The Indians improved to 4-2 against New York this season, clinching their first season series win since they went 7-6 against the Yankees in 1992. The left-hander has allowed just four earned runs in 44 2-3 innings after a rough 2007 that included a stint in the minors. On Wednesday, he gave up just six hits and struck out seven. He hasn't walked a batter in his last 28 innings. ``They had a lead and he just kept attacking the strike zone,'' Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon said. ``He did exactly what he needed to do.'' The Yankees threw their ace Chien-Ming Wang, who pitched well. Wang (6-1) allowed three runs and five hits in seven innings for the Yankees, who dropped to 3-5 on their nine-game homestand. Hideki Matsui singled in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 16 games, matching a career high. New York fell to 27-8 in 35 career starts by Wang following a Yankees loss, ending an 11-game winning streak in those games. He fell to 22-7 in those starts. ``A lot of nights that's good enough,'' Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. ``He gave us seven good innings. Unfortunately we couldn't score any runs for him.'' In other AL games, it was Detroit 10, Boston 9; Kansas City 9, Los Angeles 4; Toronto 6, Tampa Bay 2; Oakland 6, Baltimore 5, 10 innings; and Texas 2, Seattle 0. At Minnesota, Livan Hernandez took a shutout into the ninth one night after Chicago's Gavin Floyd lost a no-hitter in the ninth. Gomez homered off Mark Buehrle (1-4) on the game's third pitch. He added an RBI triple in the fifth, doubled in a run in the sixth and completed the cycle with an infield single to lead off a six-run ninth. The ball deflected off reliever Ehren Wasserman, forcing a rushed throw by shortstop Alexei Ramirez that sailed wide. Hernandez (5-1) was in line for his eighth shutout and his first since July 31, 2004, until Jermaine Dye hit a solo homer with one out in the ninth. Tigers 10, Red Sox 9 At Detroit, Placido Polanco hit a broken-bat, tiebreaking single with two outs in the ninth off Jonathan Papelbon. Boston had everything set up for its sixth straight win, rallying from a four-run deficit with its star closer on the mound. But Papelbon (2-1) blew his first save in 11 chances by allowing two unearned runs. Todd Jones (1-0) pitched the ninth for Detroit. Royals 9, Angels 4 At Kansas City, Mo., David DeJesus and Alex Gordon both homered and Kansas City, the lowest-scoring team in the AL, banged out 14 hits. Zack Greinke (4-1) went seven innings for the victory as the Royals snapped the Angels' four-game winning streak and won at home for just the fourth time in 13 games. Jered Weaver (2-5) had his worst start of the year, charged with a season-high eight runs in a season-low 3 1-3 innings. The right-hander gave up 10 hits and had one walk and one strikeout. DeJesus hit a three-run shot off him in the second and Gordon added a two-run drive. Blue Jays 6, Rays 2 At Toronto, Shaun Marcum came one out away from a shutout and Scott Rolen hit a two-run homer. Marcum (4-2) struck out nine, allowing two runs in 8 2-3 innings. He won back-to-back starts for the first time this season and lowered his ERA to 2.59. Rays starter Matt Garza (1-1) had to deal with baserunners in four of his first six innings, but didn't give up a run until the seventh. Athletics 6, Orioles 5, 10 innings At Oakland, Calif., Mark Ellis broke out of his offensive funk in a big way, hitting the first game-ending home run of his career with two outs in the 10th inning. Ellis connected on a 1-0 pitch from loser Lance Cormier (0-1), a solo shot that hit the left-field foul pole. Ellis ended his 0-for-17 funk with a two-out single in the singled with two outs in the sixth. Dallas Braden (1-0) pitched 2 1-3 innings and the A's sent Baltimore to its season-worst fifth straight defeat. Rangers 2, Mariners 0 At Seattle, Vicente Padilla allowed two hits over seven innings to outpitch Erik Bedard and Milton Bradley homered as the Rangers beat the struggling Mariners. Bradley hit his fourth home run in the sixth and scored both runs. Brandon Boggs had a run-scoring triple in the fourth. Padilla (5-2), who has won three straight starts, walked two and struck out a season-high eight. He has allowed just one run in his last three starts, spanning 21 2-3 innings. He lowered his overall ERA to 3.02. Mariners starter Erik Bedard (2-2) allowed two runs on six hits in his seven innings. |
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