Dunn homers in 4th straight game; Reds sweep Tribe

[May 19, 2008]  CINCINNATI (AP) -- With two well-timed swings, Adam Dunn and Joey Votto gave untouchable Cliff Lee his comeuppance.

Dunn homered for the fourth straight game, and Votto finished off Lee with the first pinch-hit homer of his career Sunday, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-4 victory and a three-game sweep of the Cleveland Indians.

No one had treated Lee (6-1) that way all season.

The left-hander came into the game on an amazing run, having allowed only four earned runs and one homer all season for an ERA of 0.67. Now it's up to 1.37. Cincinnati's left-handed swingers got the best of him, deciding a matchup of the majors' two stingiest starters.

Edinson Volquez (7-1) gave up four hits and a pair of runs in six innings, raising his earned run average from 1.12 to 1.33. Cleveland's Michael Aubrey, a first-round draft pick called up a day earlier, homered for his first hit in the majors.

It was the first time Volquez had given up more than one earned run in a game this season -- but it was much better than that of his AL counterpart.

Lee gave up 10 hits and six runs (five earned) in only 5 2-3 innings, more runs than he had allowed in his seven previous starts combined. It was a stunning setback for Lee, who came in with a 10-1 career mark in interleague games, the best around.

He and the Indians hit town at the wrong time.

The Reds emerged from a season-long funk by sweeping all six games on their homestand for their longest winning streak of the season. They've managed to climb out of last place in the NL Central.

The Indians got swept in Cincinnati for the first time because they couldn't get clutch hits and they couldn't handle a lineup that is finally starting to hit. Dunn led the way, driving in the go-ahead run in all three weekend games.

He had a bases-loaded walk for 4-3 victory in the opener, then hit a three-run homer in the ninth for a 4-2 on Saturday.

Against Lee, he connected on a belt-high pitch for his 10th homer and a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning. Votto's two-run homer in the sixth put the Reds up 6-2 and ended Lee's outing.

Francisco Cordero pitched the ninth for his ninth save in 10 chances.

Thanks to interleague play, the 34,612 fans got to see only the third matchup of league ERA leaders. The other two times it happened, the outcome wasn't as low-scoring as expected, either.

The Yankees beat the Mets 8-4 on June 26, 1998, when Hideki Irabu got no decision and Al Leiter took the loss. Boston's Derek Lowe beat Atlanta's Tom Glavine 6-1 on June 16, 2002.

Notes: The Indians lead the intrastate series 29-25. The teams have their rematch in Cleveland from June 27-29. ... Casey Blake's RBI single in the fourth snapped Cleveland's 0-for-21 streak with runners in scoring position during the series. ... Dunn's streak of homers in four straight games matches his career high. He also did it in August 2004 and June 2006. ... The intrastate series remains popular in Cincinnati, drawing 110,068 for the three games.

[Associated Press; By JOE KAY]

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