Indians 2, Yankees 1
CLEVELAND -- Cleveland's Danny Salazar and Cody Allen combined on a four-hitter, and the Yankees' offensive woes continued as the Indians beat New York 2-1 Wednesday night at Progressive Field.
It's the fifth loss in a row for the Yankees, who have only scored six runs in the five games. The Indians have won four in a row. New York's loss coupled with Toronto's win over Oakland pushes the Blue Jays ahead of the Yankees for first place in the AL East.
The right-handed Salazar (10-6) pitched 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run on four hits. He struck out eight and walked five. Salazar was removed from the game after walking consecutive batters with one out in the eighth inning. With runners at first and second, Allen entered the game and got designated hitter Alex Rodriguez to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Allen, a right-hander, then pitched the ninth inning to pick up his 23rd save.
Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia (4-9) seemed to run out of gas in the middle innings, giving up hits to six of the last 10 batters he faced before being removed from the game after the sixth inning. In his six innings of work, Sabathia threw 110 pitches and gave up two runs on nine hits with two strikeouts and two walks.
Five of those nine hits came in the fifth and sixth innings, when the Indians overcame an early 1-0 New York lead. The Indians tied it with a run in the fifth inning.
In the sixth, designated hitter Carlos Santana led off with a single and he went to second on a single by right fielder Jerry Sands. Third baseman Giovanny Urshela grounded into a force out at second for the first out. But center fielder Abraham Almonte lined a single to center, scoring Santana and giving Cleveland a 2-1 lead.
Sabathia started for the Yankees. The 2007 Cy Young Award winner with the Indians held his former team scoreless on three hits through the first four innings.
Salazar made his first career start against the Yankees. The only run he allowed in the first five innings came with one out in the second when catcher Brian McCann smashed a towering drive over the right-field wall for his 19th home run of the year, giving New York a 1-0 lead.
Salazar walked the next batter but then retired the next 11 in a row through the fifth.
The Indians had a golden opportunity against Sabathia in the third. Catcher Roberto Perez led off the inning with a walk, second baseman Jose Ramirez singled and shortstop Francisco Lindor walked to load the bases with one out.
But first baseman Chris Johnson, who came into the game hitting .778 (7-for-9) in three games since coming to Cleveland in a trade with Atlanta, grounded into an inning-ending double play. The Indians came into the game hitting .155 (13-of-84) with the bases loaded.
The Indians failed to finish a rally in the fourth when Santana led off with a single and went to second on a wild pitch. But with a runner at second and no outs, Sabathia retired the next three batters in order, all on ground balls, and the score remained 1-0.
The Indians broke through in the fifth. Perez led off with a single and went to second on a single by left fielder Mike Aviles. After a sacrifice bunt by Ramirez moved the runners to second and third, Lindor drove a single through the right side of the infield, scoring Perez with the tying run.
The Indians had a chance to do further damage, but Johnson grounded into an inning-ending double for the second time in five innings.
NOTES: Before the game, 1B/INF Garrett Jones was designated for assignment by the Yankees and RHP Branden Pinder was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. ... The Yankees also recalled RHP Nick Goody and purchased the contract of RHP Chris Capuano from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Manager Joe Girardi said all four roster moves were the result of the 16-inning game Tuesday that left the Yankees short on pitching. ... Indians RHP Trevor Bauer, who will start Thursday's game, has struggled at Progressive Field this year. He is 4-5 with a 5.60 ERA in 12 home starts and 5-3 with a 2.35 ERA in 10 starts on the road.