Indians Back In First In AL Central

The Cleveland Indians haven't even been close to playing their best baseball and they're still tied for the lead in the AL Central. Fausto Carmona struck out a career-high 10 and finally got his

Thursday, August 16th 2007, 8:07 am

By: News On 6

The Cleveland Indians haven't even been close to playing their best baseball and they're still tied for the lead in the AL Central. Fausto Carmona struck out a career-high 10 and finally got his 14th win as the Indians beat Detroit 5-2 on Wednesday night to snap a four-game losing streak, split the two-game series and regain a share of the division lead with the Tigers.

Franklin Gutierrez hit a two-run homer for Cleveland, which is 14-18 since the All-Star break.

``It feels like we've been fighting ourselves out there,'' closer Joe Borowski said. ``It was good to see different guys contribute. I hope that's an indication of things to come.''

Carmona (14-7) allowed one earned run and four hits in eight innings. He snapped a personal three-game losing streak, a skid during which the Indians scored just two runs, by getting his first win since beating Boston 1-0 on July 25.

``Whew, Carmona was something,'' Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge said. ``First of all, he has an incredible sinker, but he's throwing a slider and changeup for strikes, too. All night, I saw one, maybe two pitches up in the zone. Everything else was on the black or at the knees _ and with movement.''

In other AL games on Wednesday, it was: Tampa Bay 6, Boston 5; Baltimore 6, New York 3 in 10 innings; Minnesota 6, Seattle 1; Toronto 2, Los Angeles 1; Texas 4, Kansas City 3; and Oakland 3, Chicago 2.

Cleveland has won five of its last 18 home games after starting the season 33-13 at Jacobs Field.

The Tigers and Indians, who have moved in and out of first place the past few weeks, will play six more times. Cleveland visits Detroit from Aug. 21-23, and the Tigers return to Cleveland from Sept. 17-19.

``You have to put a lot more stock in a game like this,'' Indians manager Eric Wedge said. ``This was a big win for us.''

Gutierrez hit a two-run homer in the second off Jair Jurrjens (0-1), a 21-year-old right-hander who was called up from Double-A Erie to make his major league debut. The first native of Curacao to pitch in the majors, Jurrjens gave up four runs and five hits in seven innings.

``I was in a fantasy world,'' Jurrjens said. ``This was the first time my dad saw me pitch (as a professional). I recognized his whistle in the crowd. That was the best feeling ever. I thought I pitched OK, but that Carmona was incredible. He has the best two-seamer in the game.''

The Indians scored once in the eighth and Borowski, who gave up four runs in the 10th inning of Tuesday's 6-2 loss, worked the ninth for his 33rd save.

``It was important to stop the slide and get the offense going a little bit,'' Cleveland's Travis Hafner said. ``We have a lot of work to do still. But it's a start.''

Devil Rays 6, Red Sox 5

At Boston, Al Reyes struck out Manny Ramirez with two on for the final out for the Devil Rays' dramatic end to a three-game losing streak. Andy Sonnanstine (2-8) took a shutout into the seventh inning and light-hitting Tampa Bay roughed up Daisuke Matsuzaka (13-9) in taking a six-run lead.

Boston cut it to 6-5 in the ninth on Julio Lugo's RBI double with no outs. Reyes struck out Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis before David Ortiz walked. He struck out Ramirez swinging.

Carlos Pena drove in three runs and the Devil Rays scored five runs in the first three innings, matching their total for the previous 39.

Orioles 6, Yankees 3, 10 innings

At New York, The Orioles blew a three-run lead in the bottom of the ninth then came back to beat Mariano Rivera and win two of three in the series. Miguel Tejada hit a tiebreaking double off Rivera (3-4) and Aubrey Huff added a two-run homer.

Shelley Duncan's three-run homer, his sixth, with two outs in the ninth sent the game to extra innings. Alex Rodriguez went 4-for-4 for the Yankees, who were in danger of being shut out in consecutive games at home for the first time since 2000.

Baltimore starter Erik Bedard struck out eight and allowed four hits in seven shutout innings. He is 8-0 in his last 12 starts and hasn't lost since June 10 against Colorado. Bedard struck out eight to run his league-leading total to 207.

Twins 6, Mariners 1

At Seattle, Torii Hunter hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth and added a grand slam in the ninth as Minnesota ended its road trip with a 3-6 record after consecutive wins over Seattle. Hunter's single off rookie Brandon Morrow also came with the bases loaded. Pat Neshek (7-2) pitched 1 1-3 scoreless innings for the win.

Jarrod Washburn (8-10) allowed seven hits and two runs _ one earned _ in seven-plus innings, but still lost his fourth consecutive decision.

Blue Jays 2, Angels 1

At Toronto, Shaun Marcum (10-4) allowed one run and four hits in seven-plus innings to win his fifth straight start. Alex Rios had three hits for the Blue Jays, who won for the 11th time in their last 13 home games.

Dustin Moseley (4-2) lost for the first time as a starter. He allowed two runs and nine hits over five innings and the Angels dropped to 7-14 in their last road 21 games.

Rangers 4, Royals 3

At Arlington, Texas, Michael Young hit a two-run double in the sixth to give Texas a 2-1 lead and Ian Kinsler added his 15th homer in the eighth. Mike Wood (3-1) allowed two hits in one scoreless inning to earn the win. C.J. Wilson earned his sixth save despite giving up two runs in the ninth, snapping his scoreless streak at 16 2-3 innings.

Gil Meche (7-1) gave up three runs and five hits in 6 1-3 innings to lose his fifth straight start.

Athletics 3, White Sox 2

At Oakland, Calif., Mike Piazza broke a scoreless tie with an RBI single in the fourth inning and Kurt Suzuki added a two-run homer for the Athletics, who have their first three-game winning streak since June 13-15. Joe Blanton (10-8) allowed five hits in seven scoreless innings for his second victory in his last eight starts. Huston Street worked the ninth for his 10th save and first since May 6. He was on the disabled list from May 15 to July 23 with nerve irritation in his right elbow.

Mark Buehrle (9-8) gave up three runs and seven hits in seven innings.