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Indians rout Reds, win eighth straight home game

May 19, 2007 - 3:50 AM CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Grady Sizemore and the Cleveland Indians gave their in-state rival a very rude welcome to Jacobs Field.

Sizemore matched a season high with four hits, including a two-run homer, on Friday to lead the red-hot Indians to a 9-4 triumph over the Cincinnati Reds in the opener of a three-game interleague series.

It was the fourth straight victory for Cleveland, which has won its last eight games at Jacobs Field. The Indians have scored 64 runs during their current home streak and own a 15-3 overall record at Jacobs Field this season, the best home record in the majors.

"We're playing well here," Sizemore said. "The guys are a little looser, we're playing with confidence, but we still haven't played our best ball."

The 24-year-old Sizemore paced a Cleveland offense which erupted for nine runs over the first three innings and finished with 13 hits. Ryan Garko belted a homer and had three RBI while Jhonny Peralta chipped in three hits for the Indians, who improved to 27-19 all-time against the Reds.

"The at-bats have been consistent," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "The guys have done a good job; there are a lot of tough outs with this team."

Sizemore started the onslaught right away in this one, leading off the first inning with a single against Reds starter Kyle Lohse (1-5) and scoring two batters later on Travis Hafner's groundout to make it 1-0.

Cincinnati responded with a four-run second inning highlighted by Ryan Freel's three-run triple.

But Cleveland took the lead for good in the bottom of the frame, sending 11 batters to the plate in a six-run outburst. Garko forged a tie with his sixth homer of the campaign, a three-run blast to left field.

"It felt pretty good," Garko said. "To come back and get the three runs for Cliff, it felt like I made up for the error."

Sizemore gave the Indians the lead two batters later with his second hit of the contest, an RBI single to center field that made it 5-4. Casey Blake followed with a sacrifice fly and Peralta capped the rally four batters later with an RBI single to push the lead to 7-4.

"We're getting big hits in spots with guys on base," Garko said. "Earlier in the year we weren't doing that. Guys are staying with their approach."

The Indians tacked on two more runs in the third on Sizemore's seventh homer of the season, a two-run shot to right field. The star center fielder also singled in the eighth to cap his outstanding offensive effort.

"I wasn't swinging the bat as well as I wanted to earlier," said Sizemore, whose batting average has risen from .239 to .276 on the homestand. "I am just trying to have good at-bats and put a good swing on the ball."

Cleveland provided more than support for starter Cliff Lee (2-0), who overcame his second-inning jitters to win his third straight home decision. The lefthander yielded four runs - two earned - and six hits in six innings, walking two and striking out two.

"A lot of times you give up four runs in the second inning - your night is over," Lee said. "Luckily our offense came through in the bottom of the second. My job then was just to keep them off the board."

Lee paved the way for righthander Roberto Hernandez and lefthander Aaron Fultz, who combined for three perfect relief innings. Hernandez had four strikeouts in two frames while Fultz had one strikeout in the ninth.

The struggling Reds managed just two hits after the second inning and lost for the 13th time in their last 16 games. Brandon Phillips had a double and a sacrifice fly for Cincinnati, which fell to 1-6 on its nine-game road trip.

"That's a pretty good lineup," Reds manager Jerry Narron said about the Indians. "When you give them extra outs, you're in trouble and when you make bad pitches, you're in trouble."

Lohse lost his fifth straight outing in awful fashion, allowing seven runs - five earned - and seven hits in just 1 1/3 innings. The righthander had no walks and one strikeout, falling to 7-9 lifetime against the Indians.