Indians Shut Out Marlins, 2-0
CLEVELAND (AP) — Jeanmar Gomez pitched three-hit ball into the seventh inning and Asdrubal Cabrera homered to lead the Cleveland Indians past the Miami Marlins 2-0 Saturday.
Gomez (3-2) allowed two Marlins to reach base in an inning only once, striking out four over 6 1-3 innings. Cabrera connected off Anibal Sanchez (2-2) to put Cleveland ahead in the fourth inning.
Three relievers finished off the Indians' third shutout of the season. Chris Perez struck out the side on 10 pitches in the ninth for his 13th save in 14 chances.
Miami dropped to 13-5 in May, while Cleveland tied the three-game interleague series 1-1 by earning its fifth win in six games.
Gomez's performance was the latest in a string of strong outings by Cleveland's rotation. Indians starters have worked six or more innings in 20 of the last 23 games. They have logged more innings than any other starting staff since April 27.
Gomez walked two and was in trouble only once, when the Marlins put runners on first and third with two outs in the third. He got Hanley Ramirez to fly out to right to end the threat.
The 24-year-old right-hander has made two straight strong starts after being tagged for a season-high eight runs in 6 2-3 innings by the Chicago White Sox on May 9. He gave up one unearned run in three hits in a no-decision Monday against Minnesota before shutting down the Marlins in his first career interleague appearance.
Joe Smith replaced Gomez with a runner on first and one out in the seventh and got Gaby Sanchez to ground into a double play. Vinnie Pestano pitched a perfect eighth, striking out one.
Sanchez lost his second straight start. The right-hander gave up seven hits and two runs over eight innings and continued to be plagued by a lack of offensive support. The Marlins have scored only 14 runs while Sanchez has been on the mound, an average of 1.75 in his eight starts.
Cabrera broke a scoreless duel by hitting his fifth homer on an 0-2 pitch to lead off the fourth.
Cleveland made it 2-0 in the fifth when Shelley Duncan reached on an infield single and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Jason Kipnis.
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