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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Dave Burba wanted his first AL shutout Monday,
but was happy to settle for a 5-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
that enabled Cleveland to maintain its wild-card lead.
"I planned on going to the ninth with a chance for a shutout,"
Burba (13-6) said after pitching 7 2/3 strong innings. The
Indians won for the 13th time in 16 games.
|  | | Travis Fryman rips an RBI triple in the second inning to score David Segui and give the Indians an early lead on the Devil Rays. |
Kenny Lofton's record run-scoring streak came to an end, but the
Indians remained two games ahead of Boston and Oakland in the AL
wild-card race.
Lofton failed to score for the first time in 19 games. Lofton
went 1-for-5 and remained tied with Red Rolfe of the 1939 New York
Yankees for the major league record for scoring in 18 consecutive
games.
Burba (13-6) allowed one run and seven hits -- three to rookie
Steve Cox. The right-hander struck out four and walked two to bail
out a beleaguered bullpen. Cleveland used eight pitchers Sunday in
a 12-11 victory over Baltimore in 13 innings.
"That was big because we had to rest those guys out there,"
Indians manager Charlie Manuel said. "I'm sure he wanted to keep
going, but he did his job."
Burba did not quibble with the decision to bring in Paul Shuey,
who pitched 1 1/3 hitless innings.
"Naturally I wanted to keep going, but I'll take one run over
seven and something innings every time," Burba said. "The big
thing is winning and getting to the playoffs. That's all any of us
in the clubhouse is concerned with, believe me."
The Indians took a 2-0 lead in the second off Albie Lopez
(11-10). With one out, David Segui singled and scored on a triple
by Travis Fryman. Fryman scored when Russell Branyan grounded a
single to right.
Fryman, Branyan, Roberto Alomar, Segui and Manny Ramirez each had
two of Cleveland's 13 hits. Ramirez extended his hitting streak to
a career-high 19 games.
Jim Thome's bases-loaded single drove in two runs in the
seventh. Segui followed with an RBI single to make it 5-0.
"We got some key hits with runners on, sure, but this one was
Burba's game," Thome said. "He just did a great job."
Cox hit his ninth homer with two outs in the eighth to spoil
Burba's bid for his first shutout in more than five years.
"I just saw the ball good against him," Cox said. "I didn't
swing at too many bad pitches."
Lopez allowed two runs and eight hits in three innings. The
right-hander left with a strained left calf and fell to 0-2 with a
2.16 ERA in seven career outings against his former team.
"It's still sore," Lopez said. "Covering first base is where
it happened."
Lopez twice had to race over to cover the bag on grounders by
Omar Vizquel in the first two innings.
Lopez had pitched five or more innings in all 18 of his previous
starts.
Game notes
Rain delayed the start by nine minutes. ... Branyan made
his first career start in left field for the Indians. ... Cox went
3-for-3 and has hit .368 (25-for-68) in his last 21 games. ...
Burba's only shutout came Aug. 18, 1995 -- a two-hitter for
Cincinnati against Houston. ... Ramirez has hit .441 (30-for-68)
during his 19-game streak.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Tampa Bay Clubhouse
Cleveland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 5
Seattle 1
Cleveland 5
Tampa Bay 1
Oakland 10
Toronto 0
Texas 5
Chi. White Sox 4
Baltimore 3
Minnesota 2
Detroit 5
Anaheim 0
NY Yankees 4
Kansas City 3
Cincinnati 6
NY Mets 2
St. Louis 4
Montreal 2
Colorado 6
Chicago Cubs 2
Florida 5
Houston 2
San Francisco 3
Philadelphia 0
Pittsburgh 12
Los Angeles 1
San Diego 4
Milwaukee 3
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