Associated Press
The AL roundup …
CHICAGO ó CC Sabathia pitched eight strong innings to earn his major league-best 16th win and the New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox 3-2 on Monday for their fourth consecutive victory.
Sabathia allowed two runs and 10 hits, matching a season high, but managed to wiggle out of trouble all night as the White Sox struggled to score without injured slugger Paul Konerko. They put the tying run in scoring position in the fifth, sixth and seventh and came away with nothing each time.
Sabathia (16-5) improved to 9-1 with a 1.76 ERA in his last 10 starts, burnishing his credentials for a second AL Cy Young Award. The big left-hander has pitched at least six innings in each of his last 21 outings.
Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect ninth for his 28th save in 32 chances and second in as many days.
Alexei Ramirez hit a two-run homer for Chicago, which has lost three straight games. Ramirez, A.J. Pierzynski and Gordon Beckham each had two hits.
White Sox right-hander Jake Peavy (4-5) settled down after a rough start and pitched seven effective innings. The 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner gave up three runs and eight hits, but still dropped his fourth consecutive decision.
Indians 9, Red Sox 6
BOSTON ó Asdrubal Cabreraís second two-run homer of the game, originally ruled a single off the short wall in right field and overturned by replay review, broke an eighth-inning tie and lifted the Cleveland Indians to a 9-6 win over the Boston Red Sox on Monday night.
Travis Hafner homered after Cabreraís first of the game as the Indians won for just the third time in their last 11 games.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia had a broken-bat two-run homer and Carl Crawford had a solo homer, double and scored two runs for Boston, which was coming off a 20-6 record in July ó itís first 20-win month since May 2007.
Cabreraís homer came off reliever Daniel Bard (1-5) and halted his scoreless innings streak at 26 1-3, longest active in the majors. It was the first run he allowed after 25 scoreless appearances.
After Jason Kipnis singled leading off the eighth, Cabrera hit a fly ball down the right field line that hooked around the Pesky Pole and caromed off what looked like the top of the wall to outfielder Josh Reddick. Replays appeared to show the ball hitting beyond the padding on the top of the approximately 5-foot wall and bouncing back into play off a fanís knee. After a delay of a few minutes, the umpires came back onto the field and ruled it a home run and Cabrera finished his trot around the bases, making it 7-5. Matt LaPorta added an RBI double in the inning.
Rafael Perez (4-1) pitched one inning of scoreless relief for the win.
The Indians started a seven-game road trip against division leaders.
After four against the AL East-leading Red Sox, they are scheduled to play three in Texas against the West-leading Rangers this weekend.
After the Indians had grabbed a 5-3 lead in the sixth, Saltalamacchia hit his improbable two-run homer off starter Josh Tomlin in the bottom half. With the end of his bat flying down the first-base line, the ball carried into the seats in right. Indians first baseman LaPorta appeared to be staring into the Red Sox dugout in disbelief as Saltalamacchia rounded the bases.
Trailing 3-2 in the sixth, Cleveland grabbed the lead on the consecutive homers by Cabrera and Hafner against starter John Lackey. Cabrera hit his into the deepest part of Fenway Parkís right field, a drive that carried into the first row of seats over a short wall for his 18th of the season after Kipnis doubled. Hafner then belted his 10th into Bostonís bullpen.
Lackey, who had won his last four starts for his best stretch of the season, gave up five runs and eight hits, struck out five and didnít walk anyone in 6 2-3 innings.
Boston took a 3-1 lead by scoring a run in the second and two in the third.
Kosuke Fukudomeís RBI single made it 3-2.
Marco Scutaro, who left the game with what the club called dizziness in the fourth inning, made it 1-0 with an RBI single.
Michael Brantleyís RBI double tied it in the third.
The Red Sox added two in third on Kevin Youkilisí RBI triple off the center-field wall and Crawfordís homer.
Tomlin allowed five runs and 10 hits in six innings.
NOTES: Indians manager Manny Acta said RF Shin-Soo Choo, out since late June with a broken left thumb, will likely take BP on the field later this week. Acta would not talk about any rehab dates yet. ěHeís got a couple of steps before that,î Acta said. Choo was Clevelandís top hitter the past two seasons. … Boston utility INF Jed Lowrie, on the 15-day DL since June 17 with a strained left shoulder, started a rehab assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket on Monday. … Acta held a brief team meeting before the game. ěWe have a lot of kids that have never been here, a different ballpark, just for them to really take advantage of it with extra batting practice and all that,î he said. ěJust let the guys know that this is fun, a couple of games out and two months to go. In a way I needed to let them know weíre still in it, but we needed to get back to what got us to where weíre at.î … It was the fifth time this season the Indians hit consecutive homers.
The Associated Press
08/01/11 22:34