Lee 1st Indians pitcher in 34 years to get 20 wins

[September 02, 2008]  CLEVELAND (AP) -- Cliff Lee became Cleveland's first 20-game winner in 34 years, pitching a five-hitter for his second career shutout to lead the Indians to a 5-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on Monday night.

Lee (20-2) is the first Indians pitcher to reach 20 wins since Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry went 21-13 in 1974. The left-hander's milestone win -- his ninth straight victory -- came exactly one year to the day that he was recalled from the minor leagues.

With a chance to join Perry as well as Hall of Famers Bob Feller and Bob Lemon in Cleveland's record book as 20-game winners, Lee shut down the hard-hitting, Central-leading White Sox with ease. He gave up two singles to open the first and then retired 21 in row.

After he got Carlos Quentin to ground into a game-ending double play, Lee punched his fist into his glove and hugged catcher Kelly Shoppach as fireworks boomed above Progressive Field. And as he has done 19 other times this season, Lee got in line to exchange handshakes with his teammates.

First baseman Ryan Garko flipped the ball to Lee, and he headed to the dugout as a video tribute from Perry and Feller was shown on the stadium's giant scoreboard.

Lee's 20 wins put a resounding stamp on his turnaround season.

Ineffective for the first fourth months of 2007, Lee had been sent back to the minors last July, a startling downfall for a pitcher who had won 46 games over the previous three years. In his final start before the demotion, Lee was booed off the field and sarcastically tipped his cap at Indians fans who were sick of seeing him.

Now, they can't get enough of Lee.

Since the first day of spring training in '08, he has been in a groove.

The Benton, Ark., native went 5-0 in April and won his first six starts before suffering his first loss on May 18 at Cincinnati. Lee lost for a second time on July 6 at Minnesota, but was 12-2 when he took the mound as the AL's starter at the All-Star Game in Yankee Stadium. He went 5-0 with a 1.86 ERA in August.

He came in leading the league in wins and ERA, and no pitcher has meant more to his team than the laid-back 30-year-old Lee, who has accounted for 30 percent of Cleveland's 66 victories.

Right now, he's a leading candidate to give Cleveland back-to-back Cy Young winners. C.C. Sabathia won 19 games last season for the Indians, one of four Cleveland pitchers to come within one win of matching the spit-balling Perry.

The Indians' three-decades-plus drought without a 20-game winner was the longest among non-expansion teams. Tampa Bay, Colorado and Florida have never had a pitcher get to 20 wins, and it's been 30 years since the Montreal/Washington franchise and San Diego had a 20-game winner.

Lee is the 25th Indians pitcher to get 20 wins, and he's only the AL's fifth 20-game winner since 2004.

He has been unflappable all season. Lee has refused to put emphasis on any start but his next one, and has shrugged off his success with a hey-this-is-my job nonchalance. For weeks, he has downplayed any significance of reaching the 20-win barrier, insisting that all he wants to do is give the Indians a chance to win.

He has done that, and more.

Lee has been remarkably consistent, pitching at least five innings in all 27 starts. He has allowed two or fewer runs in 21 of them and hasn't walked a batter 10 times. Plus, he has been nearly as good on the road (11-2) as at home (9-0).

If Lee was feeling any pressure to match Perry, he didn't show it before the game. As his teammates went about their pregame routines in Cleveland's clubhouse, Lee reclined in a chair in front of his locker. It's that calm confidence that has helped him turn around a career, that four a few months at least, seemed in peril.

Lee was in trouble right away. Orlando Cabrera and A.J. Pierzynski opened the first inning with singles. But Lee struck out Quentin and then got Jermaine Dye to hit a hard liner to second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera, who snagged the drive and stepped on the bag to double up Orlando Cabrera.

He coasted through the next seven, and slammed his hand into his glove after striking out Alexei Ramirez to end the eighth.

The Indians took a 1-0 lead in the second off Clayton Richard (2-3) on Shin Soo-Choo's RBI single. Jhonny Peralta walked leading off and Garko followed with a base hit. Choo, who came in batting .314 in his last 33 games, followed with a smash that deflected off second baseman Ramirez's glove into right, scoring Peralta.

Ben Francisco's RBI single made it 2-0 in third, and the Indians added two more in the fourth on three straight doubles by Franklin Gutierrez, Shoppach and Asdrubal Cabrera.

Notes: Ken Griffey Jr. was a late scratch from Chicago's lineup. Nick Swisher took his spot in center and in the No. 7 spot. ... DH Travis Hafner, sidelined since May with a shoulder injury, will not be called up from the minors on Tuesday when the Indians expand their roster by seven. Hafner has been rehabbing at Triple-A Buffalo. 2B Josh Barfield is one of the players the Indians will bring up.

[Associated Press; By TOM WITHERS]

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