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Lee sharp as Indians top Giants

Jun 27, 2008 - 4:38 AM By Todd Krepop PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Cliff Lee might want to start thinking about pitching in the All-Star Game.

Lee pitched eight strong innings and the Cleveland Indians defeated the San Francisco Giants, 4-1, on Thursday night.

Jamey Carroll and Jhonny Peralta each drove in two runs the Indians, who salvaged the final game of the three-game interleague series.

Lee (11-1) joined Joe Saunders of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim as the only 11-game winners in the American League. The lefthander struck out a career-high 11 batters and allowed one run on four hits to lower his ERA to 2.34 - second best in the AL.

Despite those lofty numbers, Lee hasn't given much thought about pitching in the Midsummer Classic.

"I just think about the next opponent," Lee said. "I'll start thinking about (the All-Star Game) when they tell me I am in it."

"I would think he (should be considered)," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "I haven't checked out to see what everybody else is doing in the league, but he is having an incredible year."

Lee also improved to 8-1 following an Indians' loss.

"I don't put much thought into that," Lee said. "It doesn't matter if we won the night before or lost, I just try and go out and do my job, which is go deep into games and give us a chance to win."

Unfazed by the 1-hour, 42-minute rain delay at the start of the game, Lee struck out the side struck out the side in the second and seventh innings en route to his fifth straight win.

"(The rain delay) didn't affect me at all," Lee said. "I had plenty of time to get ready and treat it like any other start."

"You can see why his record is what it is," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "When you get that many strikeouts, you're at the top of your game and he was tonight. He had great stuff."

Joe Borowski finished off the four-hitter by pitching a scoreless ninth to earn his sixth save in nine chances.

Cleveland gave Lee some run support when it struck for three runs off Matt Cain (4-6) in the third to take a 3-0 lead.

Kelly Shoppach led off the third with a single and came around to score on Carroll's one-out triple. Peralta followed a walk to Ben Francisco by lining a two-run double off the left field wall.

"You always want the pitches back (that) you give up extra-base hits on," Cain said. "The pitch to Carroll was supposed to be a fastball away, but it was 18 inches off. Obviously, that's not what you want to do. The pitch to Peralta was supposed to be a fastball in, but I didn't get it there."

Carroll added an RBI single in the fourth off Cain to give the Indians a 4-1 lead. In his last 15 games Carroll is batting .453.

"Jamey has been consistent for such a long period of time," Wedge said. "He's been a guy who has not only started innings with hits, but has also driven in some timely runs."

Cain yielded four runs and eight hits in five innings. The young righthander struck out four and walked two.