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Peralta leads Indians to fourth straight win

Apr 26, 2008 - 4:06 AM By Todd Krepop PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- With two outs, the Cleveland Indians had Andy Pettitte right where they wanted him.

Jhonny Peralta drove in four runs to lead the Indians to their fourth consecutive victory, a 6-4 triumph over the New York Yankees on Friday night.

Peralta's three-run home run highlighted a four-run fifth inning as the Indians defeated the Yankees for the first time in nine regular-season matchups.

Trailing, 3-1, Cleveland rallied to score all four runs in the fifth with two outs. The 35-year-old Pettitte (3-2) retired the first two batters in the inning with relative ease before allowing consecutive singles by Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez.

Peralta then worked the count in his favor and blasted Pettitte's 3-1 offering into the left field bleachers.

"I wasn't looking for a pitch," Peralta said. "(Pettitte) threw a changeup and my hands were back. It allowed me to see the ball good."

With the crowd still buzzing, Franklin Gutierrez followed with a solo blast to give the Indians a 5-3 lead. It was the first time this season the Indians hit back-to-back home runs.

"I thought we put up some good at-bats," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "Jhonny had a real big hit there. He stayed through it. A lot of at-bats before and after were big for us too, so it was good to see."

"I couldn't get the third out," Pettitte said. "They had some good at-bats. I made some bad pitches and I ran out of gas."

Pettitte's night was over after the fifth as he gave up five runs - four earned - and eight hits with three walks and three strikeouts.

"It wasn't a good night for me at all," Pettitte said. "These guys made me work. I fought with myself the whole game."

New York closed within 5-4 on Hideki Matsui's solo home run in the sixth, but Jamey Carroll's RBI single in the bottom half restored the Indians' two-run advantage.

Paul Byrd (1-2) pitched just well enough to pick up the win despite giving up three home runs. Byrd yielded four runs and six hits without a walk or strikeout.

"It was fun getting the win, but I pitched just OK," Byrd said. "Jhonny Peralta picked me up, and all the way around, everybody helped."

Rafael Perez pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings and Rafael Betancourt worked a scoreless ninth to notch his second save in as many chances.

Peralta gave the Indians a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI single through the hole at shortstop.

"You look at (Cleveland's) runs, they were on two-out hits," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "Those will kill you."

Jason Giambi had two of the three home runs by the Yankees, who managed just six hits. Giambi tied the game at 1-1 in the first when he smashed Byrd's first offering into the Indians' bullpen in center field, and he gave New York a 3-1 lead two innings later with a two-run shot.

"I've been swinging the bat good, but I haven't had a lot of hits," said Giambi, who has 36 multi-homer games. "I'm just glad I'm having good at-bats. I hit the ball well tonight."

Alex Rodriguez returned to the lineup after missing the previous three games with a strained right quadriceps. The reigning American League MVP went 0-for-4.

"I definitely felt it," Rodriguez said. "I got it tested on defense. I haven't had an at-bat in four days. I felt good. I'm going to be fine."