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Orlando Cabrera’s big hit leads Indians past Oakland
AP
Photo
Cleveland Indians' Travis Hafner watches his RBI single hit off Oakland Athletics' Trevor Cahill during the third inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, May 4, 2011, in Oakland, Calif.
Associated Press
OAKLAND, Calif.
On a day with so much potential distraction, the Cleveland Indians delivered another dramatic, late-game win.
Orlando Cabrera hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the ninth in his lone at-bat, Fausto Carmona won for the third time in four starts and the Indians beat the Oakland Athletics 4-1 on Tuesday night for their seventh straight victory. It was their fourth in a row in their final at-bat, too.
“The attitude is to win, find a way to win, hang in there,” Cabrera said.
Matt LaPorta and Jack Hannahan hit back-to-back one-out singles off Brian Fuentes (1-3) in the ninth before Cabrera came through against his former club. Asdrubal Cabrera then provided a two-run single as insurance.
LaPorta hit a tying RBI single in the seventh and the majors-best Indians (20-8) produced another impressive win. Things could have turned sour in a hurry for the AL Central leaders, who dealt with the Monday arrest of outfielder Shin-Soo Choo on suspicion of drunken driving.
Before the game, Choo apologized to each of his teammates individually in the clubhouse for his mistake and any embarrassment it caused.
Carmona (3-3), a 13-game winner and first-time All-Star last year, gave up only Kurt Suzuki’s RBI groundout in the fourth. He allowed five hits and one run, struck out five and walked one in eight strong innings — an efficient 96-pitch performance.
His curveball and slider kept Oakland off balance and he got quick outs on groundballs.
“Today, every pitch was working for me,” he said. “I was throwing strikes.”
Chris Perez pitched a perfect ninth for his eighth save in nine tries and second in two games.
The Indians kicked off a six-game California road trip against the AL West by continuing the momentum they gained during a 6-0 homestand that gave them a 13-game winning streak at Progressive Field.
“They’re playing well and their record reflects that,” Fuentes said. “They’re just clicking on all cylinders. They had a great starter tonight. He went out and threw the ball really well. It’s just a really good ball club.”