Tribe take two from Struggling Tampa : Lee wins 12th.

One night after the offense broke out of a 10-game losing streak, the Indians won again 5-0.  Cliff Lee pitched six innings, scattering five hits and not allowing a run in his last outing prior to the All-Star break. 

Rafael Perez and Edwardo Mujica combined closing out the last three innings with two hit, no run ball against the slumping Tampa Bay Rays. 

After starting July 5-0, the Rays are 0-5 since.  They have two more games against Cleveland.

Cliff Lee handed Akinon Iwamura a leadoff walk, then struck out the side.  The Indians offense responded with a run in the bottom of the first, giving Cleveland the lead for good.

A white-hot Jhonny Peralta went two for four, driving in the first Indians run with a double and pounding his 15th home run of the year in the bottom of the third, making him the lone RBI man for the Tribe as they opened up a 3-0 lead.

The Indians would add a run in the fifth and seventh innings, allowing them to cruise to a 5-0 victory and insuring a split with the Rays no matter the outcome of the last two contests. 

The Indians had ten hits.  Ben Francisco accounted for three of the hits, with Jamey Carroll adding a pair.  The first four batters in the Indians lineup had eight of the hits, all five of the runs, and all five RBI in the win.  David Dellucci and Shin-Soo Choo accounted for the other two hits. 

The Rays had eight hits, but Lee and the Indians bullpen did not allow the Rays to string anything together in the shutout.

Lee, surely the starter for the AL in the All Star game, heads into the break with a 12-2 mark and a 2.31 ERA.  He’s been a bright light in the horrible first half for the Tribe.

Andy Marte, being giving a long lead as of late, went 0-4 and is batting .160 on the season.  Casey Blake played first, is batting .279, and is still earmarked as trade bait and the next ex-Indian on the roster.

The Indians hope to get back Fausto Carmona pretty soon.  Attendance at the game was 33,663, a pretty nice crowd in support of Lee.