Victor Martinez's RBI single in 9th lifts Indians to 5th straight win, 4-3 over Yankees

Martinez slapped a pitch from Ross Ohlendorf (0-1) into left to bring in Sizemore, who moments earlier came up limping while running the bases. But Cleveland's speedy center fielder scored easily after Martinez came through with his first career walk-off hit.

Masa Kobayashi (1-0) pitched two innings, escaping a jam in the ninth, for his first major league win. One of Japan's top relievers, Kobayashi signed with the Indians in November.

Johnny Damon had four hits, Derek Jeter went 3-for-5 and Jorge Posada hit a three-run, pinch-hit triple for the Yankees, who dropped their third straight.

Sizemore singled with one out in the ninth off Ohlendorf but then twisted his right ankle as he pulled up at second on David Dellucci's base hit to right. Trainer Lonnie Soloff hustled onto the field to check on Sizemore, who has played in a major-league high 382 straight games.

Sizemore stayed in after proving to Soloff he could still run, and he quickly moved to third on a wild pitch to Travis Hafner.

The Yankees then put Cleveland's DH on intentionally before Martinez lined a 2-1 pitch into left.

Indians manager Eric Wedge was ejected in the eighth for arguing a missed call. TV replays showed that Yankees second Robinson Cano never had possession of the ball on a force play, and Wedge came storming out of the dugout to argue before getting tossed by second base umpire Derryl Cousins.

The Yankees were in position to take the lead in the ninth off Kobayashi, who gave up a pair of one-out singles. But the right-hander got Jeter to rip a one-hopper that hit off the back side of the mound and caromed to second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera, who quickly stepped on second and threw to first for the double play.

Jeremy Sowers, called up from Triple-A to start for the Indians, allowed three runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings. The 24-year-old pitched his way out of Cleveland's starting rotation last season following an impressive debut in '06. He was optioned to Buffalo late in training camp after finishing behind Cliff Lee for the club's No. 5 starter's job.

He dodged trouble in the fourth and fifth but couldn't get out of a mess in the sixth.

The Yankees loaded the bases with one out on a single, a hit batter and a walk before Sowers was lifted for Jensen Lewis. The reliever struck out pinch-hitter Cano and got two strikes on Posada before New York's catcher hit a sinking liner to left that Dellucci just missed with a headfirst dive. The ball rolled to the wall for a three-run triple, tying it 3-3.

With patience and some well-placed hits, the Indians scored three runs in the second inning off Ian Kennedy, who was on the verge of big trouble.

Jhonny Peralta and Cabrera opened with singles and Franklin Gutierrez sacrificed. Kennedy then walked Casey Blake to load the bases and did the same to Sizemore, forcing in Cleveland's first run. Dellucci's sacrifice fly to center made it 2-0 and Hafner's bloop RBI single to left gave Sowers a three-run lead.

Notes:@ Alex Rodriguez, who missed three games with a strained quadriceps, told manager Joe Girardi that playing Friday helped loosen up his leg. Girardi, though, gave A-Rod a break from the field and had him DH for the second time this season. ... Indians RHP Jake Westbrook will be out at least one month with a strained lower back muscle. The team initially thought he would only miss two starts. Westbrook received a cortisone injection on Friday. ... The Yankees fell to 3-11 when their opponent scores first. ... Indians closer Joe Borowski will begin playing catch on Monday, the first throwing he's done since going on the DL nearly two weeks ago with a strained triceps. ... Sunday's pitching matchup is a good one: C.C. Sabathia vs. Chen-Ming Wang.

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