Saturday, April 19, 2008
The Tribe lefty is 3-0 with 0.40 ERA this season.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Cliff Lee pitched two-hit ball for eight innings, Casey Blake homered and had three RBIs, and the Cleveland Indians beat Francisco Liriano and the Minnesota Twins 4-0 on Friday night.
Lee shuffled among the disabled list, the minors and the Indians rotation last season, never finding his groove. He’s on track this season, winning his first three starts with an ERA of 0.40.
Lee (3-0) struck out eight and walked one.
His performance overshadowed Liriano’s second start in over 19 months after having Tommy John surgery following a dominant 2006 rookie campaign.
Liriano looked a little sharper than he did in his season debut Sunday in Kansas City, but the result was his second loss.
The lefty threw 88 pitches in five innings, giving up three runs on four hits.
He tied his career high of five walks set in his first outing, only this time he threw first pitch strikes to 12 of the 23 batters he faced, compared with nine of 24 in his first start.
Liriano (0-2) lasted 42‚Ñ3 innings and gave up four runs on six hits in his first start.
He walked Jason Michaels to load the bases in the second, then gave up a two-run single to Blake, scoring Ryan Garko and Jhonny Peralta. Garko has reached base in all 17 games this season.
Victor Martinez’s RBI single in the fifth made it 3-0 and Blake led off the seventh with his first home run.
The Twins have lost eight straight to Cleveland, their worst stretch against the Indians since losing nine straight from May 9, 1981, to Aug. 20, 1982.
Cleveland has won 15 of the last 20 meetings, outscoring Minnesota 100-49.
Only one Minnesota baserunner reached second off Lee. He gave up hits to Matt Tolbert and Joe Mauer. Both baserunners were erased by double plays.
Lee doesn’t have a complete-game shutout in his career. He last tossed a complete game May 8, 2007, against the Los Angeles Angels.
Rafael Perez pitched the ninth for Cleveland.