Indians Win Behind a New Ace

C.C. Sabathia showed he can be Cleveland’s ace after the trade of Bartolo Colon as the Indians began rebuilding with an 8-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night at Cleveland.

Sabathia (6-6) gave up only one earned run and four hits in 7 2/3 innings one day after the Indians sent Colon to the Montreal Expos in a six-player deal.

Before the game, Cleveland Manager Charlie Manuel said he hoped Sabathia “will show he’s a No. 1 [starter],” and that’s exactly what the 21-year-old left-hander did.

Sabathia struck out five and walked three in winning for the first time in four starts.

Chris Magruder hit a three-run homer, and Ellis Burks had a two-run shot as the Indians scored seven runs in the fourth inning off Miguel Batista (4-5) and rolled past the defending World Series champions.

Jim Thome, rumored to be the next Indian star on the trading block, had a solo homer, his 22nd, in the seventh off Greg Swindell.

Colon’s stunning trade surprised his teammates and angered many Cleveland fans. Several brought signs into the ballpark to show their displeasure.

One read: “Keep Thome and Omar [Vizquel],” while another criticized General Manager Mark Shapiro, saying: “Shapiro Bobblehead Day, June 27. No Spring Needed.”

But at least for a few hours the fans got to enjoy seeing the Indians play the kind of ball that has given them six American League Central titles in seven years.

The Diamondbacks didn’t get their second hit off Sabathia until the sixth inning. But he contained the damage by getting Luis Gonzalez to ground into a 6-4-3 double play that brought home Craig Counsell.

Seattle 6, Colorado 2--Joel Pineiro pitched a six-hitter to win his fourth consecutive start and Bret Boone hit a three-run homer as the Mariners won at Seattle. The AL West-leading Mariners stretched their winning streak to four games with their 50th victory, while the Rockies dropped their fourth in a row.

Boone’s 10th homer of the season, an opposite-field shot to right, came in the fifth inning off rookie Jason Jennings to break a 2-2 tie. With two out, Edgar Martinez walked and Carlos Guillen singled before Boone’s homer.

Plate umpire Brian Gorman warned Rockies reliever Todd Jones and both benches after Jones knocked down Boone with a head-high fastball in the seventh. It was Jones’ first pitch to Boone in Boone’s first at-bat after his homer. Boone got up and responded with a single, went to third on Dan Wilson’s single and scored on a wild pitch by Jones.

Atlanta 4, Boston 2--Vinny Castilla and Henry Blanco drove in runs in the ninth inning as the Braves won at Boston in a matchup of teams that began the night as division leaders.

Tim Wakefield (2-3) gave up a leadoff double in the ninth to Gary Sheffield, who stayed at second as the next two batters flied out to center field. Then Castilla singled in Sheffield, Darren Bragg walked for the third time and Blanco doubled home Castilla.

John Smoltz retired the side in order for his 26th save. Mike Remlinger (4-0) got the victory after pitching the eighth.

Oakland 10, San Francisco 6--Mark Mulder won his seventh consecutive start and Eric Chavez drove in four runs for the Athletics, who won at Oakland to end a three-game losing streak.

Mulder (9-4) cruised through the first eight innings, but gave up four hits in the ninth before giving way to Mike Venafro with one out left. Venafro struck out Barry Bonds to end it.

Giant Manager Dusty Baker had Jeff Kent batting third and Bonds behind him for the second consecutive game. Kent hit a two-run home run in the third.

Kansas City 14, San Diego 10--Mike Sweeney homered for the fourth consecutive game and drove in five runs as the Royals won at Kansas City, Mo., rallying from two five-run deficits to defeat the Padres.

Sweeney, who leads the majors with a .367 batting average, extended his hitting streak to a season-high 11 games. He had a bases-clearing double in a five-run seventh as the Royals took the lead for the first time. Sweeney also tied his own club record with home runs in four consecutive games.

Houston 6, Texas 5--Roy Oswalt struck out nine, including the last three batters he faced, and the Astros won at Arlington, Texas. Oswalt (8-5) gave up three runs and seven hits over seven innings. The right-hander, one of the National League’s top rookies last season, is 20-7 with a 3.02 earned-run average in 37 career starts.

Orlando Merced hit a two-run homer off Chan Ho Park (3-4) and later scored on Brad Ausmus’ go-ahead double for the Astros. Houston’s Billy Wagner got his 12th save.

Montreal 2, Toronto 1--Tony Armas Jr. and Scott Stewart combined on a three-hitter and Fernando Tatis hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh inning as the Expos won at Toronto. Montreal slugger Vladimir Guerrero went 0 for 4, ending his 20-game hitting streak. Armas (8-7) gave up one run and three hits in seven innings, improving to 3-0 in his last five starts. Stewart pitched two perfect innings for his ninth save.

Philadelphia 6, Baltimore 2--Pat Burrell hit a three-run homer and Randy Wolf got his first victory in more than a month as the Phillies won at Baltimore. Jimmy Rollins, Jeremy Giambi and Scott Rolen also homered for the Phillies, who have won four of five games. Wolf (4-6) was 0-4 in six starts since defeating Arizona on May 19.

Tampa Bay 4, Florida 0--Wilson Alvarez gave up four hits in seven innings at St. Petersburg, Fla., to earn his first victory at home in nearly three years. Alvarez (2-2), who missed the last two seasons recovering from left shoulder surgery, struck out five and walked three to extend his streak of scoreless innings against the Marlins this season to 13.

Minnesota 5, Milwaukee 1--A.J. Pierzynski and Dustan Mohr each hit two-run homers and Johan Santana threw eight strong innings for the Twins at Minneapolis. Santana (3-1) gave up four singles, didn’t walk anybody and struck out a career-high nine.

Pittsburgh 3, Detroit 1--Josh Fogg gave up two hits over seven innings for the Pirates at Detroit. The victory was only Pittsburgh’s fourth in 14 games, while the Tigers have lost eight of nine.