Masterson And Chris Perez Are Brilliant, Chisenhall Belts 1st Career Homer, As Indians Defeat Yanks 5-3 To Take 2-Of-3 From New York

The Indians took the field this evening against the Yankees knowing that the Tigers had already beaten the Los Angeles Angels. and that they would thus have to win to retain their one and a half game lead. Nine innings and two brilliant pitching performances (and a rookie's first Major League homer) later, and the Tribe had beaten New York 5-3

There might not have been a sense of urgency, but in the bottom of the first, after Justin Masterson (7-6, 2.66 ERA) shut down New York in the top half, the Tribe immediately started putting pressure on Yankees’ starter Phil Hughes (0-2, 10.57 ERA).

Michael Brantley walked and Asdrubal Cabrera singled, putting runners on first and second, and Travis Hafner recorded an RBI with a single to shallow left, giving the Indians a quick 1-0 lead. Carlos Santana struck out swinging for the first out, but Cabrera and Hafner moved up a base on a wild pitch, and Cabrera scored when catcher Russell Martin threw wildly to third, to make it 2-0.

Grady Sizemore flied out to deep left for the second out of the inning, but Orlando Cabrera singled, sending Hafner to third, before Lonnie Chisenhall grounded out to end the inning.

But it was a good start for a team that did not score on Tuesday until the ninth inning.

Alex Rodriguez singled to lead off the New York second and Robinson Cano reached on a fielding error by A. Cabrera  when Cano's grounder popped out of his glove.. Masterson got Nick Swisher to ground out to newly-activated first baseman Matt LaPorta, with both runners moving up, and then Masterson fanned Jorge Posada for the second out. Then Martin grounded out to first, and Masterson had escaped the jam.

Take note, Carlos Carrasco. That is how you do it when your defense makes an error.

LaPorta celebrated his return to the lineup with a single leading off the Tribe second, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Austin Kearns. But Brantley popped out and A. Cabrera grounded out to end the threat.

Hafner collected his second straight hit leading off the Indians’ third, but was stranded at first as the next three hitters were retired by Hughes, who seemed to be settling in in his first action since April.

Masterson struck out Mark Teixeira, A-Rod and Cano in order in the fourth to run his total to five Ks as the game emphatically was being taken over by the pitchers.

LaPorta collected his second hit with one out in the Cleveland fourth but was erased on a force-out from Kearns. Brantley popped out to send the game to the fifth with the score still 2-0, Indians.

Martin singled with two outs in the fifth for just the second hit of the game for the Yankees, but Brett Gardner grounded out to end the frame, after Sizemore had made a leaping catch against the wall in right-center earlier in the inning to rob Swisher.

Asdrubal Cabrera was hit by a pitch to start the Tribe fifth. After Hafner was caught looking at strike three, Santana walked to put two aboard. Sizemore flied out for out number two, but Orlando Cabrera was also hit by a pitch, loading the bases for Chisenhall.

Chisenhall unfortunately flied out, stranding three, but still the Tribe led after five by a pair of runs.

Derek Jeter led off the New York sixth with a walk, but Masterson dodged a bullet when Curtis Granderson flied out to deep center. Teixeira lined out to left and A-Rod grounded out, and Masterson had tidily worked out of any potential trouble.

Luis Ayala came on for New York in the bottom of the sixth, and after one was out, Kearns singled to left, and Brantley followed with a single to right, moving Kearns to third. Brantley stole second while A. Cabrera battled Ayala for eight pitches, but Ayala won that battle when Droobs flied out to shallow left for a huge out for the Yankees.

Lefty Boone Logan came in to face Hafner, and hit Hafner with a pitch — the third time tonight that an Indian had been plunked. Thus, for the second inning in a row, the Tribe had the bases loaded with two outs.

And for the second inning in a row Cleveland failed to add to their lead, as Santana, with a 3-1 count, hit a hot shot to third that was fielded by a diving A-Rod, who threw Carlos out at first.

After six innings, the Indians had left 11 men on base. Against the Yankees, that is playing with fire.

Swisher walked with one out in the seventh as Masterson approached 100 pitches. Justin got Posada to fly out to center for the second out, and reached the century mark in pitches while retiring Martin on a grounder.

Logan retired the first two Indians quickly in the seventh, but then Chisenhall belted his first career homer on a drive to right-center — more than making up for leaving the bases loaded in the fifth — and the Tribe’s lead had stretched to 3-0.

Sergio Mitre came on for the Yankees to replace Logan and retired LaPorta, but the insurance run looked mighty good.

Masterson came back out for the eighth, and retired Gardner before giving up a double to Jeter for the New York icon’s 2,997th career hit.

Granderson grounded out, moving Jeter to third, and Masterson got Teixeira to also ground out, completing his eighth scoreless inning of the night. But at 112 pitches, you had to wonder if Manny Acta would allow Masterson to try for the shutout. The answer to that question turned out to be "no".

Over his last three games, covering 22.2 innings, Masterson has allowed exactly one earned run. That, folks, translates to a 0.40 ERA over that span.

Mitre walked Kearns leading off the eighth, and Brantley singled Kearns to second. Asdrubal Cabrera fanned for the first out, but Hafner walked, and lo and behold, the Indians had loaded the bases yet again, with Cord Phelps coming on to run for Hafner.

This time the Indians scored with the sacks juiced, thanks to Mitre, who walked Santana to make it 4-0. Then Sizemore plated Brantley with a sacrifice fly, and the Tribe had major breathing room at 5-0 (they would need it, as it turned out). O-Cab grounded out to end the inning (and to increase the Indians’ left on base total to 13), and we headed to the ninth.

Vinnie Pestano came on to relieve Masterson and gave up consecutive singles to Rodriguez and Cano to start the frame. Then Swisher doubled to left and suddenly it was 5-1, runners were at second and third and it was nervous time at Progressive Field.

Chris Perez came on in what was suddenly a save situation, with the tying run on-deck.

Perez got Posada to ground out, scoring Cano, and induced Martin to ground out as well, scoring Swisher, making the score 5-3 but leaving the bases empty with two outs.

Perez finished by striking out Gardner to earn his 21st save of the year (and to take Pestano off a very nervous hook), and the Indians had won two-of-three for the third series in a row, and maintained their 1.5 game lead over Detroit.

Next up are the Toronto Blue Jays, who come to town on Thursday night to start a four-game set leading up to the All-Star break.

After finally picking up a win in his last outing, Justin Masterson will try to make it two in a row when he faces the Yankees on Wednesday night in the finale of this three-game series.

The Indians will also be attempting to win their third straight series overall, after taking two-of-three from both Arizona and Cincinnati and splitting the first two games with New York.

In his last outing, Masterson (6-6, 2.85 ERA) won for the first time since April when he defeated the Reds in Cincinnati with eight innings of one-run, four-hit ball in an 8-2 Cleveland win. Masterson struck out five and walked only one in the triumph.

Over his career, Masterson is 1-2 in seven games against the Yankees, including three starts. Masterson has worked 21.1 innings and allowed nine runs to the Bombers, for an ERA of 3.80, and has yet to surrender a home run to New York -- important to consider when facing a lineup that includes Curtis Granderson, who has belted three homers in the first two games of this series.

Masterson will be faced by Phil Hughes (0-1, 13.94 ERA) who will be making his first appearance for the Yankees since April 14, and who has been out since then with "right arm fatigue".

In his three appearances before being shut down, Hughes worked only 10.1 innings and allowed 16 runs on 19 hits. Hughes's longest appearance this season was a 4.1 inning effort against Baltimore, in his final appearance before heading to the DL.

Hughes has faced Cleveland three times in his career, and is 2-0 vs. the Tribe, with a 3.50 ERA. Hughes has worked 18 innings against the Indians in three starts, allowing 14 hits and striking out 20.

The Yankees' right-hander is coming off of an 18-8 season in 2010, and for his career, is 31-19 in 106 games, of which 60 have been starts.

The Indians' Asdrubal Cabrera is day-to-day after slightly spraining an ankle last night on a play at shortstop. The injury is not thought to be serious, but even so, don't be too surprised if one of the Tribe's two All-Stars sits out tonight's affair.

This will be the last scheduled game between New York and Cleveland in the 2011 season. After Tuesday's victory, the Yankees lead the season-series, 4-2.

New York's Derek Jeter, after his two-hit game on Tuesday, now stands four hits shy of 3,000. When Jeter reaches that milestone, it will be an accomplishment worth note, even if he does play for "the evil empire". So good on you, Derek, when you reach 3,000...just don't reach it in Cleveland with some super-game tonight.

The Indians' lead over Detroit remained at a game and a half last night when the Angels' Dan Haren bested the Tigers' Justin Verlander 1-0. Detroit will play this afternoon in Anaheim, so by game-time the Tribe should know whether they have a chance to increase their lead in the AL Central. The Chicago White Sox also lost on Tuesday and so remained 3.5 games back.

And don't look now, but the Minnesota Twins won again and climbed to within seven games of the Indians.

Let's get this one tonight, and get ready for four games with Toronto at home before we all take an All-Star break.

CC Sabathia was the beneficiary of an early outburst from the New York bats and made it stand up through seven shutout innings as the Yankees evened this three-game series with a 9-2 victory over Carlos Carrasco and the Indians at Progressive Field.

With the victory, Sabathia improved to 12-4 on the season, and won his fifth straight start, and tenth in his last eleven times out.

The Yankees exploded for five runs in the second inning, highlighted by a two-run double off the bat of Derek Jeter, Jeter’s second hit of the night off of Carrasco, and by Curtis Granderson’s 24th homer of the year and second in two nights, putting the Yankees firmly in command at 5-0. Francisco Cervelli had plated the game’s first run on a fielder’s choice ground out, but by all rights, the bases-loaded grounder should have ended the inning with no runs scoring. Cord Phelps’ s throw to first skipped into Carlos Santana bread-basket, and instead of a double play, the ball popped out, the run scored, and Carrasco then had the mini-implosion with Jeter and Granderson.

The Yankees did not score in the third inning, but did add two hits in the frame, giving them eight hits with only nine outs achieved by Carrasco.

The Indians, meanwhile, did not get their first hit off of Sabathia until two were out in the third, when Lou Marson singled. Marson was stranded at first when Michael Brantley was retired for the final out of the inning.

Granderson hit his second homer of the night and 25th of the year to make it 6-0 in the fourth.

Carlos Santana and Orlando Cabrera singled with two outs in the fourth, but the Tribe’s chance to get closer fizzled when Grady Sizemore fanned for the second time in the game.

Carrasco (8-5, 3.95 ERA) was relieved by Frank Herrmann to start the fifth. Carrasco ended up allowing ten hits and six runs, walking three and also K’ing three.

Austin Kearns singled and Cord Phelps walked leading off the home half of the fifth, but Marson and Brantley both fanned. Then Lonnie Chisenhall — inserted into Asdrubal Cabrera’s spot in the batting order when Cabrera seemed to turn his ankle in the third after leaping and spinning in the air to start a force play at second — also struck out, giving Sabathia eight Ks on the night.

Josh Judy came on in the seventh after Herrmann once again did a nice job, with two scoreless innings. Judy tossed a scoreless frame.

In the Indians’ seventh, Sizemore doubled leading off, and with one out, Phelps walked, but Sabathia struck out Marson and Brantley to reach 11 strikeouts in the game.

Chad Durbin came on for the eighth and was touched by a run-scoring double from Robinson Cano and an RBI single from Nick Swisher to make it 8-0. Jorge Posada added a ninth run with a sacrifice fly before Durbin escaped from the inning.

Sabathia’s night ended after seven, and Lance Pendleton came on for New York. Sabathia lowered his ERA to 2.90, allowing five hits and fanning 11 to go with two walks. Pendleton worked a scoreless eighth but would get in trouble in the ninth.

Joe Smith came on for the Indians in the ninth and set down the side in order.

In the Tribe’s last at-bat, Sizemore collected his second hit of the night leading off, and Kearns followed with a walk. Phelps also walked, loading the bases
with nobody out.

The Indians finally got on the board when Marson hit a deep sacrifice fly, scoring Sizemore and moving Kearns to third. Brantley followed with a sac fly of his own, accounting for the final 9-2 margin as Chisenhall ended the game by striking out for the third time.

The rubber game of this set will be on Wednesday at 7:05, when the Indians send Justin Masterson against New York’s Phil Hughes.

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(Sports Network) - CC Sabathia faces the team he broke into the majors with when he goes for a fifth straight win tonight, as the New York Yankees continue a three-game series with the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field.

Sabathia spent the first eight-plus seasons of his career with the Indians, who made him a first-round pick in 1998. After he won an American League Cy Young Award for them in 2007, the Indians dealt him to Milwaukee near the 2008 trade deadline, before he signed a monster free agent deal with the Yankees that offseason.

The big lefty won for the fourth straight time and for the eighth time in nine starts against the Brewers on Thursday, as he scattered six hits and matched a career-high with 13 strikeouts over 7 2/3 scoreless innings to improve to 11-4, while lowering his earned run average to 3.05.

"Just a great performance by CC," manager Joe Girardi said afterward. "He was in control the whole day. The only thing that got him was his pitch count at the end."

Sabathia, who was one of the more notable AL players not selected for the All- Star team, has faced his former team four times and is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA. . Cleveland, meanwhile, will counter with its new ace Carlos Carrasco, who is 8-4 with a 3.54 ERA. Carrasco defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday, holding them to two runs and four hits in seven innings.

Carrasco twirled seven scoreless innings to beat the Yankees back on June 13 in his only other start against them.

In Monday's opener, Austin Kearns and Carlos Santana both homered and Josh Tomlin took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, as Cleveland rallied for a 6-3 win.

The story for the Yankees, though, was Derek Jeter's return to the lineup after his pursuit for 3,000 hits was put on hold June 14 due to a strained right calf. Following two rehab games with Double-A Trenton over the weekend, Jeter was activated on Monday, but is still stuck on 2,994 hits after going 0- for-4.

Tomlin (10-4) gave up two runs on three hits over seven innings for the Indians, who have won four of five. He set a modern Major League record by pitching at least five innings for the 29th consecutive start, the longest streak to begin a career.

"He was able to hold down that amazing lineup that they have over there for six innings hitless, and then just gave up two runs," Indians manager Manny Acta said.

Curtis Granderson hit a solo homer for New York, which has lost two in a row since a seven-game winning streak. Nick Swisher drove in two runs.

A.J. Burnett (8-7) allowed four runs on four hits over seven innings to suffer the loss. He struck out six and walked four.

The Yankees took three of four from the Indians earlier in the year and own a 13-5 record in the past 18 meetings.

Josh Tomlin carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning tonight before finally weakening and allowing three hits and two runs, but the Indians bailed him out with a four-run rally of their own in the seventh — including a startling three-run homer off the bat of Austin Kearns — and followed that up with a two-run blast from Carlos Santana in the eighth, as the Tribe defeated the New York Yankees 6-3 in front of 40,676 at Progressive Field.

Tomlin set a new major league record tonight by pitching at least five innings in his 29th straight start to begin his career, breaking a tie for that distinction that he had shared with Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Tomlin was being matched by A.J. Burnett (8-7, 4.12 ERA) through six innings, at least in the department of putting up zeroes. Burnett had allowed only two hits heading for the seventh himself.

New York finally broke through against Tomlin (10-4, 3.78 ERA). Mark Teixeira got the Yankees’ first hit leading off, and after Alex Rodriquez fanned for the first out, Robinson Cano singled, putting Teixeira at second.

Nick Swisher then broke the scoreless tie with a double to left-center, scoring both Teixeira and Cano, before Tomlin retired the next two on ground outs.

The Indians had a chance in the very first inning, when Asdrubal Cabrera singled with one out, but was retired while attempting to take second on a ball that got away from catcher Russell Martin. Travis Hafner followed with a walk, but the threat ended when Carlos Santana flied out.

The Tribe then went without a hit until the bottom of the sixth, when Asdrubal Cabrera doubled with two outs, for his — and Cleveland’s — second hit. but that threat ended when Hafner flied out.

Finally and just in time, the Indians broke through in their next at-bat.

Burnett walked two in the bottom of the seventh, before Shelley Duncan put the Indians on the board with two outs with an RBI single, scoring Grady Sizemore and sending Lonnie Chisenhall to third.

Then Kearns — he of the two RBI all season — homered to right for his first round-tripper of the year, more than doubling his RBI total to five, and giving the Indians a 4-2 lead.

Tony Sipp came on to start the eighth, finishing Tomlin’s night and leaving Josh in position for his tenth win of the season. Sipp struck out Brett Gardner and was replaced by Vinnie Pestano. Pestano retired Derek Jeter on a line-out, but Curtis Granderson followed with a homer to right — his 23rd of the season — and the lead was cut to 4-3 Indians.

Pestano retired Teixeira to end the frame, with the lead still intact but oh-so-fragile.

Burnett gave way for Cory Wade in the bottom of the eighth. Wade had previously worked eight scoreless innings for New York, after coming to the Yankees via the Los Angeles Dodgers, for whom Wade last toiled in 2009.

That changed when Wade faced the Tribe tonight.

With one out Hafner singled to second and rode home on Carlos Santana’s 13th homer of the season, and suddenly Cleveland led 6-3 headed to the ninth.

On came Chris Perez for the Indians. Perez retired A-Rod on a grounder to short, got Cano to fly out to left, and got Swisher to pop out to end the game and to secure his 20th save of the season a day after being named to the All-Star team.

With the victory, the Indians will maintain at least a half-game lead over the Tigers, who played later on Monday night.