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Lee hopes to continue solid start vs. Yankees

May 7, 2008 - 12:44 PM Cleveland (15-17) at NY Yankees (17-17) 7:05 pm EDT

BRONX, New York (Ticker) - Cliff Lee and the Cleveland Indians face the New York Yankees on Wednesday in the second of a three-game series.

Plagued by injury and inconsistency a year ago, Lee struggled to a 5-8 record with a 6.29 ERA. He was even demoted to the minors at one point.

Through five starts in 2008, Lee (5-0, 0.96 ERA) has shown little resemblance to the pitcher who endured such a tumultuous season just one year ago.

The lefthander has won all five of his starts, holding the opposition without a run in three of those outings and allowing a total of four earned runs.

Three of those runs came in last Wednesday's 8-3 win over Seattle when Lee permitted eight hits over six frames.

His next assignment figures to be a bit more daunting, however, as the lefthander is 1-2 with an 8.79 ERA in three career starts in Yankee Stadium.

While Chien-Ming Wang (6-0, 3.00) hasn't been quite as effective as Lee, he has been every bit as good in the win column.

The sinkerballer has yielded three runs or less in six of his seven starts, including a 1-0 win over Cleveland on April 27 in which he allowed four hits and struck out nine over seven innings.

The righthander was nearly as sharp in his next start vs. Seattle on Friday, when he permitted one run and three hits over six innings of a 5-1 victory.