Final
Sizemore helps Sabathia to league-leading 12th win
Jul 1, 2007 - 4:04 AM CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- The wins keep on coming for C.C. Sabathia. And the starting nod for the American League in the upcoming All-Star Game may be on its way.Sabathia tossed seven solid innings en route to his league-leading 12th victory as the Cleveland Indians survived a late scare and posted an 8-6 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Saturday.
Sabathia (12-2) allowed three runs - two earned - and six hits, striking out eight without a walk. The lefthander, who improved to 7-1 with a 2.62 ERA in his last 10 starts, became the first Indian since Gaylord Perry in 1974 to record 12 victories before the All-Star break.
"It feels good to have 12 wins, but it feels better to be in first place right now," said Sabathia, whose team has a 1 1/2-game lead over Detroit in the AL Central Division.
The portly Sabathia finished the month of June at 4-1 with 41 strikeouts and just three walks. He will make one more start before the Midseason Classic, facing the Tigers on Thursday.
"You'd have to be crazy to say he doesn't deserve to start the (All-Star) Game," Indians center fielder Grady Sizemore said. "He not only stops people, he dominates them."
"He's been a No. 1 (starter) for a while now," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "There's an entirely different air in the ballpark when C.C. is pitching."
Sabathia also impressed Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon.
"The one difference in him I see is, he's throwing his slider and changeup more, and he's controlling them," Maddon said. "He still throws hard, but he's not walking anybody."
Sizemore was the offensive star for Cleveland, going 3-for-4 with a walk and three RBI. He gave the Indians the lead with a two-run single in the second inning and plated another run with a base hit in the fourth to make it 4-0.
Travis Hafner added a solo homer in the fifth before Cleveland stretched its advantage to 8-3 with a three-run sixth, which was highlighted by Casey Blake's two-run single.
Devil Rays starter J.P. Howell (1-2) lasted just 4 1/3 innings, allowing five runs and eight hits with a walk and five strikeouts.
"They did a good job," Howell said. "I got behind in the count too much, and when I did get ahead, I couldn't finish them off. That's what good-hitting teams do."
Tampa Bay, which has lost six in a row and 13 of 17, made things interesting in the ninth against lefthander Rafael Perez. With one on and one out, Raul Casanova belted his third homer of the season, and Dustan Mohr followed with his first to pull the Devil Rays within 8-6.
But closer Joe Borowski came on to get the final two outs and record his 23rd save in 25 opportunities.
The Devil Rays halved their deficit to 4-2 in the fifth on Casanova's sacrifice fly and Mohr's single. Ty Wigginton added an RBI single in the sixth.
Jason Michaels was the only player without a hit for Cleveland, which pounded out 15 en route to its fifth win in six games.
The Devil Rays totaled just 10 runs in the first five games of their losing streak. On a night in which the offense scored six runs, the pitching staff allowed 15 hits, leaving Maddon with a culinary analogy for his team's troubles.
"I guess our biscuits and our gravy are a little convoluted at this point," he said. "We have to work at getting the proper recipe."
- AL
FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
TAMPA BAY 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 3 6 9 1
CLEVELAND 0 2 0 2 1 3 0 0 x 8 15 3 (FINAL)
BATTERIES: TAM - J.P. HOWELL, JASON HAMMEL (5TH), BRIAN STOKES (7TH) AND RAUL
CASANOVA
CLE - C.C. SABATHIA, RAFAEL PEREZ (8TH), JOE BOROWSKI
(9TH) AND VICTOR MARTINEZ
HOME
Jun 30 10:19 PM - AL
AT CLEVELAND - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY DUSTAN MOHR (1) TO LEFT WITH 1 OUT IN THE
9TH OFF RAFAEL PEREZ.
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 6, CLEVELAND 8
DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: A IWAMURA (.293, 0-FOR-4)
Rays vs. GuardiansJun 30 10:13 PM - AL
AT CLEVELAND - SCORING UPDATE
TWO-RUN HOME RUN BY RAUL CASANOVA (3) TO LEFT WITH 1 OUT IN
THE 9TH OFF RAFAEL PEREZ SCORED JOSH WILSON.
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 5, CLEVELAND 8
DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: D MOHR (.143, 1-FOR-3, RBI)
Rays vs. GuardiansJun 30 10:10 PM - AL
AT CLEVELAND - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY JHONNY PERALTA SCORED GRADY SIZEMORE.
SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, J PERALTA ON FIRST, C BLAKE ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 3
CLEVELAND 8 BOTTOM, 6TH
DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: J MICHAELS (.298, 0-FOR-2, HBP)
Rays vs. GuardiansJun 30 9:21 PM - AL
AT CLEVELAND - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY CASEY BLAKE SCORED FRANKLIN GUTIERREZ AND JOSH
BARFIELD.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, C BLAKE ON FIRST, G SIZEMORE ON SECOND, 0 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 3
CLEVELAND 7 BOTTOM, 6TH
DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: V MARTINEZ (.321, 2-FOR-3)
Rays vs. GuardiansJun 30 9:16 PM - AL
AT CLEVELAND - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY TY WIGGINTON SCORED DELMON YOUNG.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, T WIGGINTON ON FIRST, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 3
CLEVELAND 5 TOP, 6TH
DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: J GOMES (.264, 1-FOR-2)
Rays vs. GuardiansJun 30 8:57 PM - AL
AT CLEVELAND - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY TRAVIS HAFNER (13) TO RIGHT WITH 1 OUT IN
THE 5TH OFF J.P. HOWELL.
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 2, CLEVELAND 5
DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: J PERALTA (.277, 0-FOR-2)
Rays vs. GuardiansJun 30 8:41 PM - AL
AT CLEVELAND - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY DUSTAN MOHR SCORED JOSH WILSON.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, D MOHR ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 2
CLEVELAND 4 TOP, 5TH
DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: A IWAMURA (.297, 0-FOR-2)
Rays vs. GuardiansJun 30 8:32 PM - AL
AT CLEVELAND - SCORING UPDATE
SACRIFICE FLY BY RAUL CASANOVA SCORED JONNY GOMES.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, J WILSON ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 1
CLEVELAND 4 TOP, 5TH
DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: D MOHR (.000, 0-FOR-1)
Rays vs. GuardiansJun 30 8:30 PM - AL
AT CLEVELAND - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY GRADY SIZEMORE SCORED JOSH BARFIELD.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, G SIZEMORE ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 0
CLEVELAND 4 BOTTOM, 4TH
DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: C BLAKE (.272, 0-FOR-2)
Rays vs. GuardiansJun 30 8:23 PM - AL
AT CLEVELAND - SCORING UPDATE
FIELDER'S CHOICE BY JOSH BARFIELD SCORED RYAN GARKO.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, J BARFIELD ON FIRST, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 0
CLEVELAND 3 BOTTOM, 4TH
DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: G SIZEMORE (.281, 1-FOR-2, 2 RBI)
Rays vs. GuardiansJun 30 8:19 PM - AL
AT CLEVELAND - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY GRADY SIZEMORE SCORED JASON MICHAELS AND RYAN
GARKO.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, G SIZEMORE ON FIRST, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 0
CLEVELAND 2 BOTTOM, 2ND
DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: C BLAKE (.273, 0-FOR-1)
Rays vs. GuardiansJun 30 7:44 PM
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