Good-bye, seven-game skid: Lee bounces back, lifts Tribe

Joe Borowski got his first save since returning from the disabled list.

CLEVELAND — Cliff Lee bounced back from his only poor outing this season and Ben Francisco hit a three-run homer to help Cleveland snap its seven-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Texas Rangers Saturday night.

Lee (7-1), was not as sharp as he when he compiled an 0.67 ERA and 6-0 record in his first seven starts. He gave up two runs and seven hits over 62‚Ñ3 innings, striking out eight with a season-high three walks.

That was better than his previous start Sunday in Cincinnati, when the Reds tagged him for five earned runs and 10 hits over 52‚Ñ3 innings.

Francisco, robbed of a three-run homer by an umpire’s blown call Friday night, left nothing to chance by hitting a 2-2 pitch from Scott Feldman (1-2) well over the wall in left for his second homer to put Cleveland ahead 4-2 in the third inning. On Friday, he hit a ball that TV replays showed cleared the wall, but the umpires ruled it in play and Francisco got only an RBI double.

Francisco has hit safely in 14 of his last 18 games, going 23-for-62 (.371) with 11 RBIs.

Rafael Perez pitched 11‚Ñ3 perfect innings of relief and Joe Borowski worked the ninth for his third save. Borowski, activated Friday after spending five weeks on the disabled list with a strained right triceps, gave up a two-out single to Michael Young and got Josh Hamilton on a long flyout to left to end the game.

Lee yielded single runs in each of the first two innings.

He struck out Ian Kinsler to open the game, yielded singles to Young and Hamilton, then struck out Milton Bradley. David Murphy singled home Young before Lee came back to fan Gerald Laird.

In the second, Marlon Byrd doubled and Chris Shelton drew a walk. Lee struck out German Duran, yielded an RBI single to Kinsler, then fanned Young and got Hamilton to line out to short.

Francisco doubled and scored on an error in the bottom half to get Cleveland within 2-1.

Jhonny Peralta hit his ninth homer in the Cleveland sixth off Feldman, who allowed five runs and six hits over six innings.

Notes

Indians 2B Asdrubal Cabrera snapped an 0-for-20 slump with a fourth-inning single. ... Cleveland put RHP Fausto Carmona on the disabled list with a left hip injury, sent RHP Jensen Lewis to Triple-A Buffalo and added RHPs Scott Elarton and Edward Mujica from Buffalo.