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Indians seek fifth consecutive win

Apr 26, 2007 - 2:07 PM Texas (8-12) at Cleveland (11-7) 12:05 pm EDT

CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- The Cleveland Indians aim for their fifth straight win when they meet the Texas Rangers on Thursday.

Paul Byrd (1-1, 3.00 ERA) makes his third start of the season for Cleveland. The righthander shined in his first start of the year but followed it up with a dud.

In a 4-0 win over the White Sox on April 14, Byrd pitched six scoreless innings. He also threw six innings in his second start on Saturday but allowed six runs and 11 hits in a 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay.

Byrd went 0-2 with a 6.97 ERA in two starts against Texas last season.

Kameron Loe (1-0, 3.29), who opened the season in the bullpen, makes his second start for Texas. The 6-7 righthander pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out five in a 7-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Saturday.

After squandering a six-run lead, the Indians emerged with an 8-7 win in 11 innings on Wednesday. Over the last nine games, Cleveland's Travis Hafner is batting .529 (18-of-34) with four home runs and 10 RBI.

While the Indians are 5-2 at home, the team is batting .167 (9-for-54) with runners in scoring position at Jacobs Field.

The Rangers' Sammy Sosa missed a home run by inches on Wednesday and remains stuck at 592 for his career. He is still seeking his first blast at Jacobs Field, one of three current major league stadiums that Sosa has not homered in. The others are the new Busch Stadium in St. Louis and RFK Stadium in Washington.

The Rangers struck out 19 times on Wednesday, breaking the previous club record of 18. The team is ranked 28th in the majors with a .231 batting average.