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Lee, Indians aim for sixth straight win over Tigers

Jun 2, 2007 - 1:54 PM Detroit (30-24) at Cleveland (34-19) 7:05 pm EDT

CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- The Cleveland Indians have sent a strong message to their division rival Detroit Tigers in the past week.

Cliff Lee (2-2, 5.86 ERA) takes the hill for the Indians as they host the Detroit Tigers in the third game of a four-game series on Saturday night.

The Indians were 1/2 game behind in the American League Central on Friday, but have won five straight vs. the Tigers since then, and now hold a 4 1/2 game lead.

Cleveland is a league-best 15-4 in division play and will be looking to hand Detroit its eighth loss in nine games.

However, Lee may have a tough time helping them do so. The lefthander is 0-4 with a 4.75 ERA in his last five starts against the Tigers. For his career, he is 3-5 with a 4.92 ERA in 13 games against the defending AL Champions.

In his last start, Lee allowed three runs and six hits in five innings in a 5-3 loss to Boston on Friday.

His counterpart, Chad Durbin (4-1 4.39) will try and get the Tigers out of their rut, and in the process win his fifth straight start. Durbin, who allowed two runs and six hits in a loss to Tampa Bay on Monday, has gone 4-0 in his last seven starts.