(Sports Network) - A pair of youngsters looking for their initial 2010 wins square off on the mound tonight when the Cleveland Indians host the Toronto Blue Jays in game three of a four-game series at Progressive Field.
The woeful Indians have won the first two games of the series and ran their win streak to an unlikely three straight when Matt LaPorta's solo homer in the sixth inning provided the game-deciding run in a 5-4 victory.
Fausto Carmona (7-6) scattered six hits and three walks, allowing four runs -- three earned -- in 6 1/3 innings to squeak out a win. The sinkerballer recorded 13 of his outs on the ground to offset only two strikeouts.
Kerry Wood closed it out in the ninth for his third save in as many days.
Travis Hafner doubled twice and drove in a run for Cleveland, which has won three straight on the heels of an 1-11 stretch.
Brandon Morrow (5-6) yielded five runs -- three earned -- on seven hits and two walks to take the loss. The hard-throwing righty ended with eight strikeouts over a six-inning start.
Adam Lind drove in a pair of runs for Toronto, which has dropped seven of nine overall.
The hosts send 25-year-old lefty Aaron Laffey to the mound for his second start of the season after he opened with 20 straight appearances out of the bullpen.
The former 16th-round 2003 draft pick was knocked around for five hits and five runs in four innings of his first start on June 25 at Cincinnati, a 10-3 interleague loss to the Reds.
Previously, he'd posted a 5.61 earned run average in 25 2/3 innings of relief work, including a scoreless inning against the Blue Jays in an 8-5 Toronto win on May 4 in Cleveland.
Laffey had won a previous start against Toronto after allowing six hits over seven scoreless innings with a walk and two strikeouts.
The Blue Jays counter with 25-year-old righty Jesse Litsch, who's made just five big-league starts since emerging with 13 wins for Toronto in 2008.
Litsch debuted for 2010 on June 13 at Colorado and was tagged for nine hits and seven runs in a 10-3 loss, before subsequently giving up 10 hits and six runs over a pair of home starts -- a no-decision and a loss -- to San Francisco and Philadelphia.
The product of South Florida Community College has never faced the Indians in 54 major-league outings.
Toronto swept a three-game set from the Indians back in early May and has won six of its last nine in Cleveland