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CLEVELAND (AP) -
Casey Blake
delivered again in the clutch for the
Cleveland Indians
, this time breaking up a duel between Cy Young Award winners.
Blake hit a go-ahead, two-run double in a six-run seventh inning to help C.C. Sabathia and the Indians defeat
Roy Halladay
and the
Toronto Blue Jays
6-1 on Friday night.
''We've been struggling to score for C.C. and to be able to do it feels good,'' said Blake, a .228 career hitter with runners
in scoring position who is batting .429 (15-for-35) with all but one of his 24 RBIs this season coming in that situation.
The Indians won for the third time in four games.
The
Blue Jays
lost center fielder
Vernon Wells
with a left wrist injury and tight right hamstring as they fell for the 13th time in their last 14 games in Cleveland.
''I felt a little something as soon as I left my feet,'' said Wells, who was hurt making a diving catch in right-center to
rob
Franklin Gutierrez
of a hit in the sixth. ''I hit the ground pretty hard. I couldn't breathe. From top to bottom, I didn't feel too good. I've
never injured my wrist before so I don't know what to expect.''
Sabathia (2-5) struck out nine over seven innings. The reigning AL
Cy Young
winner gave up six hits, walked two and won for the first time in five decisions at home this season.
''I just felt like if I could keep us in the game, we could battle back,'' Sabathia said. ''I thought Casey's ball was gone.
He really came through.''
Halladay (3-5) lost for the fourth time in five starts and fell to 5-1 in his career against Cleveland. The 2003
Cy Young
winner struck out nine and had a 1-0 lead until the seventh, when
Travis Hafner
and
Ryan Garko
singled. With
Asdrubal Cabrera
trying to put down a sacrifice bunt, Halladay walked the .183 hitter on four pitches to load the bases.
''The walk killed me,'' Halladay said. ''I got caught up in trying to field the bunt and I never made a quality pitch. It
was a dumb mistake. That's what changed the game.''
Blake then lined an 0-1 pitch off the wall in left-center to give Cleveland a 2-1 lead.
''Halladay is as good as there is,'' Blake said. ''He left a cutter over the plate. I think he got a little tired. To walk
a guy on four pitches, you just don't see Roy doing that.''
Reliever
Jesse Carlson
got
Grady Sizemore
to pop out, then intentionally walked Gutierrez.
When left-hander
Jeremy Accardo
came on to face
David Dellucci
, Indians manager
Eric Wedge
sent up right-hander
Ben Francisco
to pinch hit. Francisco, recalled from the minors Tuesday, lined a double off the wall in left to make it 4-1.
Gutierrez scored on a wild pitch and
Victor Martinez
hit a sacrifice fly for a 6-1 lead.
''It was nice to put together a big inning against a very good pitcher,'' Wedge said. ''C.C. put us in position to win. He
did a good job of limiting them after they took the lead.''
Toronto's
Rod Barajas
doubled to lead off the fifth and was bunted to third. Former Indians farmhand
Marco Scutaro
lined an RBI single to right-center.
Barajas continued to torment Sabathia. The .239 career hitter went 1-for-3 and is 7-for-17 (.412) with three homers against
the left-hander overall.
The
Blue Jays
failed to score more than five runs for the 22nd time in 23 games despite adding veteran outfielder
Kevin Mench
and
Brad Wilkerson
. Mench, acquired from Texas for cash, went 0-for-2 with a walk. He also struck out, hit into a double play and was pulled
for pinch-hitter
Matt Stairs
in the eighth. Wilkerson, signed as a free agent after being released by Seattle, went 1-for-3.
Toronto manager
John Gibbons
said Wells is scheduled to have an MRI and would not play Saturday night. Wells leads the
Blue Jays
in homers (5) and RBIs.
Notes: Hafner came in hitting .143 (4-for-28) in his last nine games, but went 2-for-3 with a walk. ... To make roster room
for Mench and Wilkerson, Toronto optioned INF
Joe Inglett
to Triple-A Syracuse and designated for assignment LHP
Gustavo Chacin
and INF Sergio Santos. ... Toronto 3B
Scott Rolen
went 2-for-4 and has seven hits in his last 13 at-bats. ... Halladay's season-high nine strikeouts came in his shortest outing.
He had pitched at least seven innings in all seven of his starts.
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