Originally published Sunday, July 20, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Cleveland's Shoppach sinks M's with three-run homer
Kelly Shoppach ended an 0-for-13 funk with a decisive, three-run homer off injured starter Carlos Silva in the fourth for a 6-2 victory over the M's. Seattle flopped to 22 games below .500 at the bottom of the AL West.
AP Sports Writer
SEATTLE — Cliff Lee followed up his All-Star start with his second complete game of the season, scattering 11 hits Sunday in the Cleveland Indians' 6-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
Lee became the American League's first 13-game winner and Kelly Shoppach ended an 0-for-13 funk with a decisive, three-run homer off injured starter Carlos Silva in the fourth.
Shoppach tied a career high with four RBIs, helping Cleveland to its second consecutive win following 10 straight road defeats -- its longest such skid since 1991.
Seattle flopped to 22 games below .500 at the bottom of the AL West.
The Mariners lost Silva to back tightness immediately after Shoppach's home run, the latest ailment for a sick, injured and ineffective rotation.
Seattle lost for the eighth time in 11 games and is 13-13 since firing manager John McLaren on June 19 and replacing him with Jim Riggleman.
Four of the season-high 11 hits allowed by Lee (13-2) stayed in the infield. He struck out four and walked none in his fifth career complete game.
The last Indians pitcher to yield at least 11 hits in a complete-game win was Charles Nagy, who gave up 13 against Baltimore on June 17, 1992, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
After making his first All-Star team, Lee was picked to start Tuesday night for the AL at Yankee Stadium. He struck out his first two batters and tossed two scoreless innings.
The left-hander was on top of his game again Sunday. He threw first-pitch strikes to 16 of his first 20 batters, and 41 of his first 50 pitches were strikes. Only one Mariner even saw ball three: Miguel Cairo with two outs in the seventh. Cairo then tripled home Jose Lopez to make it 6-2.
Lee's 2.29 ERA is second in the AL to Oakland's Justin Duchscherer (1.87).
Seattle took a 1-0 lead in the second on a leadoff double by Adrian Beltre, a groundout and an RBI infield single by slow-running Jose Vidro.
![]()
Cleveland tied it in the third on a double by Asdrubal Cabrera, a groundout and a sacrifice fly by David Dellucci.
Silva (4-12) allowed a double to Johnny Peralta in the fourth and an infield single to Shin-Soo Choo before Shoppach's drive just over the left-field scoreboard, his eighth home run. Mariners trainer Rick Griffin immediately joined Riggleman and all the infielders on the mound with Silva. The bullish, 250-plus-pound right-hander walked off the field alone following a brief consultation. He was replaced by Roy Corcoran.
Silva is in the first season of a $48 million, four-year contract. He has won once in 17 starts since April 17.
A double by Grady Sizemore, an RBI single by Casey Blake and another RBI single by Shoppach against Corcoran made it 6-1 in the fifth.
J.J. Putz pitched a perfect seventh hours after Seattle activated him from the 15-day disabled list. His final pitch was a darting, 96 mph splitter that Choo swung over -- a hint that Putz might be fully recovered from the hyperextended elbow that had him on the DL since June 12.
Riggleman said last year's All-Star closer, who has struggled this season, will initially appear in non-save situations while fill-in Brandon Morrow remains the closer.
Notes: Lee has allowed two runs or fewer in 14 of his 19 starts. ... Peralta extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
UPDATE - 7:15 PM
Mariners' Felix Hernandez has fun in spring debut, after scary start
UPDATE - 8:27 PM
Catcher Gregg Zaun retires after 16 seasons
Mariners' Ackley adjusting at second base
Carlos Beltran singles in first spring at-bat | Baseball
Sideline Chatter: And you thought there wasn't a Hornets in baseball

general classifieds
Garage & estate salesFurniture & home furnishings
Electronics
just listed
American Bulldog pups NKC
Martin Logan speakers
Pug puppies ready for good homes
More listings
POST A FREE LISTING
- Lakewood cop accused of embezzling $150K meant for slain officers' families
- 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
- Agency set to investigate handling of 911 call about Josh Powell
- Quick decisions: How Washington hired its new football staff
- Historic day for gay marriage as another fight looms
- Justin Wilcox's versatile defensive style is the right fit for Huskies | Jerry Brewer
- It's Terrence Time: Enigmatic Ross leads Huskies
- Social worker recounts minutes before Powell fire
- $25B settlement reached over foreclosure abuses
- Club promoter convicted in brutal 2010 murder of Des Moines prostitute
- Gay-marriage bill passes House, awaits Gregoire's signature
459 - Historic day for gay marriage as another fight looming
352 - Wanted in Seattle classrooms: more teachers of color
242 - 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
239 - Source: NY, California to sign mortgage settlement
228 - Oregon live game thread
155 - Pac-12 picks ... including the UW game
140 - Council members get briefing on arena proposal, minus details
104 - Worker: Josh Powell told son he had 'surprise'
96 - AP Source: Obama to change birth control rule
88
- State Medicaid program to stop paying for unneeded ER visits
- 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
- Wanted in Seattle classrooms: more teachers of color
- One man's audacious pursuit of sailing history
- Darren Berg gets 18-year sentence for Ponzi scheme
- $25B settlement reached over foreclosure abuses
- 'Gauguin and Polynesia': dazzling mix-and-match | Art review
- A wandering gene's destructive path | Book review
- Economy, blogs give survivalists new reason to look to Northwest
- Navy fliers' love-hate relationship with water-crash survival class



