Blake's blast nets Tribe 1-0 win



It was his sixth homer and second game-winning blast this year at the Jake.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Even Casey Blake was startled by his latest game-winning hit.
Blake hit the third pitch by reliever Jim Mecir into the left-field bleachers to give the Cleveland Indians a 1-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.
"I didn't realize we won, it was just so unexpected," Blake said. "I got to second and saw all our guys at home plate and it was like, 'What are you guys doing?' "
They were celebrating Blake hitting a 1-1 pitch from Mecir (0-4) for his sixth homer -- and second game-winning shot this season at Jacobs Field.
"One of those in my lifetime would make me happy, two makes me even happier," said Blake, who said he couldn't remember winning a game with a last at-bat homer before doing it May 14 against Tampa Bay.
"Not in Little League, college, never," he said.
First victory in AL
Jose Jimenez (1-3) pitched a scoreless ninth for his first American League win.
"I was in the clubhouse and didn't know what was going on," said the right-hander, who has pitched two scoreless innings since being named Cleveland's closer on Wednesday. "I watched the TV and thought it was a replay from two weeks ago. The clubhouse guys started yelling and I said, 'Hey, I got a win. That's pretty cool.' "
Oakland starter Barry Zito pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and five walks while striking out seven.
"I felt like I was throwing well, but we don't like to lose," said Zito, who said the scoreless match-up was fun.
"I don't think fans like it, but being a player, every pitch is much more important. It was a good game."
Limited offense
The only Cleveland players to reach second base in the first seven innings did so on a botched pick-off, a wild pitch and a balk.
Cleveland's Victor Martinez, with 28 RBIs in his previous 21 games as a cleanup hitter, struck out on a 3-2 change-up with the bases loaded in the eighth against Zito.
"He's one of the best I've faced," Martinez said. "He was tremendous, but so were all our pitchers. This was a fun game to win."
The two teams were a combined 1-for-15 with nine strikeouts with runners in scoring position. The hit, an infield single by Oakland's Eric Byrnes in the seventh, didn't even advance the runner.
Oakland left 14 runners stranded, including the bases loaded in the seventh when reliever Rafael Betancourt got Jermaine Dye looking.
Jimenez got Scott Hatteberg to foul out with runners on first and third in the ninth.
Lee comes through
The Athletics twice put runners on second and third in the first two innings. But Cleveland starter Cliff Lee struck out Hatteberg to end the first and fanned Byrnes to stop the second.
"The scoreboard said he was throwing 91 or 91, but his fastball was popping," Oakland manager Ken Macha.
With two on in the fifth, Lee struck out both AL home run leader Eric Chavez and Dye.
"I just tried to make quality pitches and get an out anyway I could," Lee said. "I had pretty good command of my fastball, though."
And with runners on second and third in the eighth, Matt Miller came on and got former Indians farm-hand Marco Scutaro to foul out.
Lee tied a career high with eight strikeouts, including four over a five-batter span in the fourth and fifth innings. He allowed four hits and five walks over 6 1-3 scoreless innings.
The left-hander has worked 10 consecutive scoreless innings and his 2.87 ERA is third lowest in the AL by a starter.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.