AMERICAN LEAGUE Lee stays perfect as Tribe wins fifth in row

Cliff Lee was backed by Victor Martinez as Cleveland beat the White Sox, 7-2.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Cliff Lee shrugged at a question about his perfect record. He downplayed another query about his chances of making the All-Star team and dismissed a thought that he might have been bothered by the rain.
Lee's only concern is winning, and this season, no Cleveland pitcher has done that better.
Lee remained unbeaten, and Victor Martinez picked up three more RBIs to help the Indians win their fifth straight, 7-2 over the Chicago White Sox on Monday night.
The 25-year-old Lee (5-0) gave up one run and two hits in the first and nothing else to the White Sox. He walked three, struck out three and became the first Cleveland starter to start 5-0 since Dennis Martinez was 9-0 in 1995.
"Everything was working and we won. That's all that matters," Lee said. "It couldn't have gone any better for me."
Team doing well
And it's finally going pretty good for the Indians (18-19), who have won six of seven overall and nine of 11 at home.
If not for its bullpen blowing 10 games this season, Cleveland would be even closer to first place in the AL Central.
"I think we're going to be all right," Lee said.
Martinez, whose AL-high 10 RBIs in his five previous games made him a co-winner of the league's player of the week award, hit an RBI double in the first inning and a two-run single in the second off Felix Diaz (0-1).
In 13 starts since Martinez was moved into the Indians' cleanup spot on May 3, the switch-hitting catcher is batting .333 (18-for-54) with 21 RBIs.
"He showed in the minors he can hit," Indians second baseman Ronnie Belliard said of Martinez, a two-time league batting champion before making it to the majors. "He can hit right-handers or left-handers."
Swings big bat
At 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, Martinez might not have the bulging biceps and big bat of a typical major league cleanup hitter, but he's producing like one.
His two RBIs in the second put the Indians ahead 5-1 and gave him 13 in six games and 30 this season.
"He goes up there to hit," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "He doesn't get caught up in the situation and focuses on what he needs to do from pitch to pitch."
Travis Hafner and Matt Lawton added two RBIs apiece for the Indians, who hadn't won five in a row since May 27-June 2 last season.
Chicago has dropped seven of 10.
The start was delayed 1 hour, 29 minutes by thunderstorms, and the game was stopped again by rain for another 34 minutes in the bottom of the fifth.
The delays had little affect on Lee, except for making him hungry during the game. A protein bar satisfied his stomach.
Diaz hit hard
Diaz was roughed up in his second start since being recalled from Triple-A Charlotte. Pitching on just three days' rest, he allowed six runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings.
"Pitching sets the tone and we did not do that today," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "You have to throw strikes and if you don't, you get hurt."
Cleveland came close to chasing the right-hander in the first, scoring three runs on five hits.
Singles by Matt Lawton and Omar Vizquel put runners at first and third for Martinez, whose double tied it 1-1.