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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
CLEVELAND (AP) – Tanyon Sturtze made a lot of people smile in a
Tampa Bay clubhouse that had not seen much joy lately.
|  | | Tanyon Sturtze pitches seven shutout innings to help the Rays beat the Indians for the first time this season. |
Sturtze shut out Cleveland for seven innings and Steve Cox drove
in a career-high five runs Sunday as the Devil Rays finally
defeated the Indians 7-0.
"A lot of people are happy with this one," Sturtze (1-2) said
after limiting the AL's top-hitting team to five singles.
"Cleveland has an unbelievable lineup and we sure didn't want to
lose six straight to them."
The right-hander struck out five and walked two in his second
start since being moved from the bullpen.
Greg Vaughn had four hits for the Devil Rays, who had been 0-5
against Cleveland this season. Tampa Bay won for only the third
time in 13 games overall.
The Indians lost for the second time in their last 14 games, but
got to see heralded rookie Danys Baez.
Baez, who defected from the Cuban national team in 1999, pitched
one scoreless inning and walked two in his major league debut after
being recalled from Triple-A Buffalo in the morning.
Rusty Meacham and Esteban Yan each pitched one inning to
complete the shutout.
"That was a brilliant performance," manager Hal McRae said.
"Sturtze normalized their offense. They looked like regular guys
for a change."
The Indians batted .344 (62-for-180) and outscored Tampa Bay
45-19 in winning the first five meetings this year. In its first 11
games in May, Cleveland hit .324 with 91 runs.
Cox continued to pound Indians pitching. He went 3-for-5 and has
a career .419 (13-for-31) average with four homers and nine RBI
against Cleveland.
"I just see the ball well at this park," Cox said. "Most
hitters feel that way."
Cox hit a two-run homer into the seats in right-center in the
fifth inning to make it 7-0.
"Cox was awesome," Sturtze said. "His big day settled us all
down, made it a lot easier."
The Devil Rays strung together two-out singles by Ben Grieve,
Vaughn and Cox to take a 1-0 lead in the first inning off Dave
Burba (5-2).
The same trio again delivered two-out hits to make it 3-0 in the
third. Grieve singled to right and went to third on Vaughn's double
down the third-base line. Both scored on Cox's bloop single to
center.
Three more two-out hits in the fourth made it 5-0. Felix
Martinez hit a two-out double and scored on Randy Winn's double off
the left-field wall. Gerald Williams followed with an RBI single.
"We couldn't get that third out," Indians manager Charlie
Manuel said. "Burba usually pitches out of trouble. That's why it
is hard to tell when to take him out. He stands in and battles."
Burba gave up five runs and nine hits in 3 2-3 innings. He had
won five straight since a 7-6 loss in Chicago on April 11.
Game notes
Tampa Bay is 10-24 all-time against Cleveland, its worst
mark against any AL team. The Devil Rays are 4-14 at Jacobs Field.
... Len Barker, who pitched a perfect game for Cleveland 20 years
ago, threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Indians broadcaster
Rick Manning. On May 15, 1981, Manning caught the final out in
center field of Barker's gem against Toronto. ... Vaughn's four-hit
game was his second this season and seventh in his career. ...
Tampa Bay is 7-0 in games started by Sturtze over two seasons. ...
Baez signed a $14.5 million contract with Cleveland in 1999. ...
Cleveland's Marty Cordova extended his hitting streak to 18 games
with a ninth-inning single. ... The shutout was Tampa Bay's first
in 35 career games against Cleveland.
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RECAPS
Boston 5
Oakland 4
Tampa Bay 7
Cleveland 0
Anaheim 14
Detroit 2
Baltimore 10
NY Yankees 5
Seattle 7
Toronto 5
Chi. White Sox 6
Texas 3
Minnesota 7
Kansas City 3
Milwaukee 4
Pittsburgh 1
St. Louis 13
Chicago Cubs 4
Montreal 14
Colorado 10
San Francisco 6
NY Mets 3
Los Angeles 3
Atlanta 1
Arizona 6
Philadelphia 1
Florida 10
San Diego 4
Houston 4
Cincinnati 3
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