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Jimenez strong as Indians top Rangers

May 6, 2012 - 10:59 PM Cleveland, OH (Sports Network) - Ubaldo Jimenez threw seven shutout innings, giving up just two hits, and the Cleveland Indians held on for a 4-2 victory over the Texas Rangers in the finale of a three-game series Sunday.

Cleveland handed Texas rookie Yu Darvish his first major league loss.

The Indians won two of three in the set after Jimenez (3-2) struck out six in his outing, helping them take a 4-0 lead despite issuing five walks.

Jason Kipnis hit a solo homer and Asdrubal Cabrera knocked in two runs for Cleveland, which has won four of its last five overall.

"It's very encouraging," Indians manager Manny Acta said of the series win. "Our pitching deserves a lot of credit for keeping those guys down."

Darvish (4-1) struck out 11 but gave up four runs -- three earned -- on six hits and four walks in six innings. The 25-year-old Japanese right-hander had been unbeaten with a 2.18 earned run average in his first five MLB starts. He now has 44 strikeouts in 39 innings.

"He threw well enough to keep us in the ball game. We just didn't support him with any runs today," Texas manager Ron Washington said about Darvish.

Jimenez walked the bases loaded with two outs in the third inning but escaped trouble by getting Michael Young on a ground ball. The Indians then rallied for a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the inning.

Johnny Damon reached on a pop up that second baseman Ian Kinsler lost in the sun, then went to second on Kipnis' walk and both runners scored on Cabrera's double down the right field line. The third run came on Shin-Soo Choo's two- out RBI single.

Kipnis hit his fifth homer of the year leading off the fifth inning, sending a 2-0 pitch from Darvish well over the wall in right field to make it 4-0.

Tony Sipp relieved Jimenez to start the eighth inning and gave up a single to Kinsler and double to Elvis Andrus. Runs scored on Josh Hamilton's ground out and Young's single before Sipp got one more out and Vinnie Pestano fanned Nelson Cruz to end the inning.

Chris Perez worked around Mitch Moreland's leadoff single in the ninth for his 11th save. Choo saved another baserunner with a diving catch in right field on Adrian Beltre's liner.

Game Notes

The Indians beat the Rangers for the third time in their last 15 meetings. They are 2-1 on a seven-game homestand that continues with a four-game series against the White Sox starting Monday...The Rangers fell to 2-4 on a 10-game road trip that continues Monday with the opener of a four-game series at Baltimore.