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NEW YORK (AP) -
Cliff Lee
knows he probably won't win all of his starts this season. That doesn't mean he isn't going to try.
Lee threw seven sharp innings Wednesday night to beat Chien-Ming Wang in a matchup of unbeaten starters, leading the
Cleveland Indians
to a 3-0 victory over the
New York Yankees
.
''I've got to focus on this next outing and if I do that and continue to do that things should go the way they have gone,''
Lee said. ''Obviously I can't expect to put up zeros every single time but it's my job to put up as many as I can and get
deep into the game and give the team a chance to win.
''I've done that so far and hopefully it continues.''
Lee became the first Indians pitcher to win his first six starts since
Greg Swindell
in 1988 and lowered his major league-best ERA to a microscopic 0.81. The left-hander has allowed just four earned runs in
44 2-3 innings after a rough 2007 that included a stint in the minors.
''Cliff is in the groove right now,'' Indians manager
Eric Wedge
said.
Wang (6-1) allowed three runs and five hits in seven innings for the Yankees, who dropped to 3-5 on their nine-game homestand.
Hideki Matsui
singled in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 16 games, matching a career high.
New York fell to 27-8 in 35 career starts by Wang following a Yankees loss, ending an 11-game winning streak in those games.
He fell to 22-7 in those starts.
''A lot of nights that's good enough,'' Yankees manager
Joe Girardi
said. ''He gave us seven good innings. Unfortunately we couldn't score any runs for him.''
Victor Martinez
had a sacrifice fly in the first inning,
Casey Blake
singled in a run in the fourth and
David Dellucci
added an RBI single in the fifth. Dellucci was booed before each of his at-bats after his pinch-hit three-run homer off
Joba Chamberlain
lifted Cleveland to a 5-3 victory Tuesday night.
''That's two straight days our offense has been pitiful,'' said
Johnny Damon
, who is 0-for-9 in the last two games.
The Indians have won the first two of the three-game set to secure their first winning series at Yankee Stadium since June
2001. They improved to 4-2 against New York this season, clinching their first season series win since they went 7-6 against
the Yankees in 1992.
Paul Byrd
will oppose New York's
Mike Mussina
on Thursday as Cleveland goes for its first sweep of three games or more in the Bronx since April 1989, according to the Elias
Sports Bureau.
Lee (6-0) set it up with another impressive performance, allowing just six hits and striking out seven. He hasn't walked a
batter in his last 28 innings.
''They had a lead and he just kept attacking the strike zone,'' Damon said. ''He did exactly what he needed to do.''
Rafael Perez
worked the eighth and
Rafael Betancourt
got three outs for his fourth save, finishing off the seven-hitter.
The matchup between Wang and Lee was the first between two pitchers with at least a 5-0 record since Oakland's
Dave Stewart
faced Swindell on May 8, 1988, according to Elias. Stewart moved to 8-0 with a four-hitter, beating Swindell and Cleveland
5-1.
Lee will go for his seventh straight win to open the season Monday against Toronto. His fast start would've been hard to predict
a year ago, when he began the season on the disabled list, spent some time at Triple-A Buffalo and was left off Cleveland's
playoff roster.
''Mainly just locating my fastball a little better,'' Lee said about the difference this year. ''Working ahead in the count,
staying out of hitter's counts, 2-0, 3-1, trying to stay ahead in the count. Obviously, locating my fastball is the key.''
The Yankees put runners on first and second with one out in the fifth but Lee struck out
Morgan Ensberg
and got
Jose Molina
to fly out to deep right. He fanned Matsui with runners on second and third to end the sixth.
Notes:
Alex Rodriguez
(strained right quadriceps),
Jorge Posada
(right shoulder) and
Phil Hughes
(stress fracture in rib) are expected to travel to New York's spring-training facility in Florida on Thursday to continue
rehabbing their injuries. Rodriguez ran in the outfield, played catch, fielded grounders and took batting practice before
Wednesday night's game. ... Indians 3B
Andy Marte
singled in the fifth to snap an 0-for-14 skid. ... Martinez went 0-for-3, ending a 15-game hitting streak. The All-Star catcher
served as the designated hitter after he was scratched from Tuesday night's game with a stiff neck. ... The Indians scheduled
a doubleheader with Kansas City for Sept. 13 to accommodate a game that was postponed due to rain last week. ... Wang allowed
four hits over seven innings in a 1-0 win at Cleveland on April 27.
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