Peralta has 3 RBIs, Tribe rallies past Yankees 5-4

[June 01, 2009]  CLEVELAND (AP) -- Johnny Peralta drove in three runs with three hits, including the game-winning single with one out in the ninth inning as the Cleveland Indians defeated the New York Yankees 5-4 Sunday.

Peralta lined a 3-1 pitch from David Robertson past diving third baseman Alex Rodriguez on the backhand side to score Trevor Crowe from second base.

Mark Teixeira extended his season-high hitting streak to 13 games and had four RBIs for New York. He hit a two-run homer, his 16th, in the sixth off former Yankees right-hander Carl Pavano. His two-run double off Matt Herges in the eighth tied it at 4.

New York played its 17th straight errorless game, tying the major league record set by Boston in June 2006, but lost for only the fourth time in 18 games.

Kerry Wood (2-2) pitched one scoreless inning for the win. He got Jorge Posada to bounce into an inning-ending double play to end the top of the ninth.

Phil Coke (1-3) came on in the bottom half for New York and walked Crowe, who was bunted to second by Asdrubal Cabrera. Robertson replaced Coke and walked Ben Francisco before yielding Peralta's hit.

Pavano pitched well for 7 1-3 innings, leaving with a 4-2 lead as he sought his sixth win in seven starts in May.

The right-hander signed a four-year, $40 million contract with New York in 2005, but spent much of his time on the disabled list. In only 26 starts, he was 9-8 with a 5.00 ERA.

He got off to a rocky start in Cleveland after signing a one-year, free-agent contract in January. He was 0-3 with a 9.50 ERA in four April starts before becoming one of the Indians' few bright spots in May.

The Indians put All-Star center fielder Grady Sizemore on the 15-day disabled list before the game with an inflamed left elbow and played without catcher Victor Martinez, who bruised his left knee Saturday. Reliever Rafael Betancourt made only three pitches before leaving with a right groin strain Sunday.

Pavano yielded a one-out single to Derek Jeter in the eighth and was replaced by Rafael Perez. Johnny Damon sent Jeter to third with a double and Perez was replaced by Betancourt, who went to a 2-1 count on Teixeira -- and had to leave.

Manager Eric Wedge and trainer Lonnie Soloff went to the mound to check on the right-hander, who tried no warmup pitches before walking to the dugout.

Teixeira hit a 3-2 pitch from Herges off the wall, just out of the reach of a leaping Crowe in center to score both Jeter and Damon and ruin Pavano's bid for a win.

Pavano gave up three runs and seven hits, striking out four without a walk.

Yankees starter Phil Hughes struck out six over five innings, allowing four runs on five hits and one walk. The right-hander struggled with his command and asked for the grounds crew to repair the mound during Cleveland's three-run third.

After Peralta's two-run single put Cleveland ahead 2-0, Hughes went to second-base umpire Tim Tschida and pointed to some loose dirt that needed repair.

On Friday night, Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte said he had some difficulty with his footing following a rain delay. Pettitte left in the sixth inning with a strained lower back.

With the mound fixed, Hughes hit Shin-Soo Choo with a pitch and yielded a sacrifice fly to Mark DeRosa that made it 3-0. Cleveland went ahead 4-0 on a sac fly by Choo in the fifth.

Notes: Cleveland called up utilityman Chris Gimenez from Triple-A Columbus to take Sizemore's roster spot. Gimenez, who can catch, served as backup to Kelly Shoppach. ... Yankees RHP Joba Chamberlain is scheduled to start Monday night. It would be his first appearance in Cleveland since the 2007 AL division series when he was bombarded by a swarm of bugs. ... New York manager Joe Girardi still expects Pettitte to start against Texas on Wednesday and said OF Melky Cabrera (bruised right shoulder) will return to the lineup Monday.

[Associated Press]

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