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Sabathia hopes to extend Indians' winning streak

Apr 27, 2008 - 1:21 PM NY Yankees (12-13) at Cleveland (12-12) 1:05 pm EDT

CLEVELAND (Ticker) - C.C. Sabathia takes the mound Sunday as the Cleveland Indians try to extend their winning streak to six games when they face the New York Yankees.

Sabathia (1-3, 10.13 ERA) started the season 0-3 with a 13.50 ERA in his first four starts. Likewise, Cleveland - expected to be a championship contender this season - rolled out to a pitiful 7-12 start.

But the Indians turned up their offense and Sabathia looked to regain the form that allowed him to claim the American League Cy Young Award in 2007. The offense posted a season high in runs while the lefthander struck out 11 over six scoreless frames in a 15-1 thrashing of Kansas City on Tuesday.

Even though Chien-Ming Wang (4-0, 3.94) hasn't experienced the struggles to begin the season like Sabathia, his Yankees are headed in the opposite direction of the surging Indians. Saturday's 4-3 loss to Cleveland was the team's third straight one-run setback.

Wang notched his 50th career win in Tuesday's 9-5 triumph over the Chicago White Sox. The sinkerballer hit the milestone in his 85th start, making him the fastest pitcher to 50 victories since Dwight Gooden did it in 82 starts back in 1986.

The teams complete this four-game set Monday.