• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Lee strong again as Indians top Rays

Aug 5, 2008 - 4:28 AM ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) -- Whether the game is played in Cleveland or Tampa Bay, one thing doesn't change - the Indians own the Rays.

Cliff Lee tossed seven solid innings as Cleveland continued that trend and snapped Tampa Bay's five-game winning streak with a 5-2 victory on Monday.

David Dellucci and Asdrubal Cabrera homered for the Indians, who have the second-worst record in the American League. But they continued their dominance against the Rays, posting their fifth consecutive victory in the series.

Dellucci and Kelly Shoppach each had two hits and two RBI for Cleveland, which handed Tampa Bay just its 10th loss in its last 49 home games.

"For some reason, we play really well against these guys and, when you have Cliff Lee on the mound, you pretty much follow his lead," Dellucci said. "He threw a great game once again, and we put runs up there for him."

Lee (15-2) scattered eight hits over seven innings, allowing two runs while walking two and striking out two. He is 4-0 in his last five starts and hasn't lost since July 6 at Minnesota. Rafael Perez pitched the final two innings for his second save.

"I wanted to be aggressive, but not miss over the middle of the plate," Lee said. "Honestly, I didn't have my best stuff tonight. Most of the innings it seemed like I had to battle quite a bit. They put me to the test pretty good."

Trailing, 2-0, in the fourth, Tampa Bay pulled even on Akinori Iwamura's two-run single, but Dellucci's two-run shot one inning later put the Indians ahead for good. Shoppach added an eighth-inning single to account for the final margin.

"David really swung the bat well," Cleveland manager Eric Wedge said. "He really stepped up for us offensively."

Shoppach's second-inning single and Cabrera's third-inning solo home run spotted the Indians a 2-0 lead.

Matt Garza (9-7) allowed seven hits and four runs in five innings while walking two and striking out four for Tampa Bay (66-45), which remained three games ahead of the Boston Red Sox (64-49) for first place in the AL East Division. The Red Sox lost 4-3 in Kansas City on Monday night.

"Lee was good, Garza wasn't as good as he has been," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "We had chances, but overall not many. They just happen to match up well with us. Their pitching matches up well with our offense."