Indians' 6-run 7nth helps C.C. Sabathia defeat Roy Halladay and the Blue Jays 6-1
Associated Press | May 9, 08 9:15 PM CDT in
Sports
Casey Blake and Ben Francisco hit two-run doubles in a six-run seventh inning to help C.C. Sabathia and the Cleveland Indians defeat Roy Halladay and the Toronto Blue Jays 6-1 in a duel of Cy Young Award winners on Friday night.
Blue Jays center fielder Vernon Wells jammed his left wrist while making a diving catch and left in the sixth inning as Toronto lost for the 13th time in its last 14 games in Cleveland.
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.
Halladay (3-5) lost for the fourth time in five starts and fell to 5-1 in his career against Cleveland. The 2003 winner fanned nine and had a 1-0 lead until the seventh, when Travis Hafner and Ryan Garko each singled. With Asdrubal Cabrera trying to put down a sacrifice bunt, Halladay walked the .183 hitter on four pitches to load the bases.
Blake then lined an 0-1 pitch off the wall in left-center to give Cleveland a 2-1 lead.
Jesse Carlson relieved and got Grady Sizemore to pop out, then intentionally walked Franklin 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 to score Francisco for a 6-1 lead.
Toronto took a 1-0 lead in the fifth. Rod Barajas hit a leadoff double and was bunted to third by Brad Wilkerson. Former Indians farmhand Marco Scutaro then lined an RBI single to right-center.
Barajas continued to torment Sabathia. The .239 career hitter went 1-for-3 against the left-hander and is 7-for-17 (.412) with three homers against him overall.
The Blue Jays failed to score more than five runs for the 22nd time in their last 23 games despite adding veteran outfielder Kevin Mench and 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.
Wells, leading the Blue Jays in homers (five) and RBIs (24) walked off after robbing Gutierrez of a hit. The Blue Jays said he jammed his left wrist and had tightness in his right hamstring.
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.
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