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Rain forced Cliff Lee to wait an extra hour and 42
minutes to take the mound for his start against the Giants on Thursday night.
As it turns out, it was worth the wait.
Lee turned in another stellar outing that will stand as
evidence of his All-Star worth, as the Indians avoided a sweep with a 4-1
victory in front of 25,257 at Progressive Field.
In eight innings, Lee limited the Giants to a mere run
on four hits. He walked one and set a career high with 11 strikeouts, and he
looked to be in even greater command of the ballgame late than he was early.
The Indians had no trouble giving Lee adequate support
against Giants right-hander Matt Cain. Jamey Carroll tripled off the left-field
wall to bring in one run in the third, and Jhonny Peralta doubled to center to
bring home two more. In the fourth, Carroll added another run with a two-out RBI
single up the middle.
Lee's only hiccup came when he surrendered an RBI single
to Rich Aurilia in the fourth. Aside from that, he was dominant, racking up his
11th win of '08.
