Indians Rally for 10th Consecutive Victory

As Matt Lawton stepped to the plate in the eighth inning, Jacobs Field pulsated and the pounding in his ears told him all he needed to know.

The Cleveland Indians were coming back.

“When that drum started beating out there,” Lawton, one of the newest Indians said, shaking his head. “As an opposing player, you almost grow to accept it.”

Down by five runs in the eighth, the Indians rallied for their 10th consecutive victory and most improbable one yet in 2002 on Saturday, 8-7 over the Kansas City Royals at Cleveland.

Cleveland scored five runs--three on Lawton’s homer--to tie it at 7-7 in the eighth, and then won it with one out in the bottom of the ninth when pinch-runner Einar Diaz scored on Jason Grimsley’s wild pitch.

At 11-1, the Indians have baseball’s best record and are off to their best start since opening the 1966 season 14-1.

“The only thing we hadn’t done was have a big comeback,” said reliever Paul Shuey (1-0), who has seen the Indians rally to win 93 times in their last at-bat in Jacobs Field since 1994.

“People will be watching on ESPN tonight and it will be in the back of their minds that we can come back.”

Cleveland also had a 10-game winning streak last season from April 28-May 9.

Boston 7, New York 6--Shea Hillenbrand hit a go-ahead homer off Mariano Rivera as the Red Sox rallied for four runs in the eighth inning at Boston and sent the Yankees to their fourth consecutive loss.

The Yankees scored four in the first against struggling Boston ace Pedro Martinez.

David Wells left with a 6-3 lead after giving up Johnny Damon’s one-out double in the eighth, and neither Ramiro Mendoza nor Rivera (0-1) could end the threat.

Minnesota 7, Detroit 3--The Tigers lost their 10th in a row--their worst start in 82 years--as Torii Hunter went three for three with three RBIs to lead the Twins at Minneapolis.

The Tigers are the lone winless team in the majors and are off to their worst start since going 0-13 in 1920.

Toronto 5, Tampa Bay 4--Carlos Delgado hit a two-run homer and doubled at St. Petersburg, Fla., as the Blue Jays won their fourth in a row.

Former Dodger Luke Prokopec (1-1) earned his first AL victory, giving up one run and seven hits over five innings.

Seattle 9, Texas 4--Mike Cameron homered twice and the Mariners defeated the Rangers for their sixth consecutive victory--all on the road.

Cameron’s two-run homer started a four-run outburst in the sixth that put Seattle ahead to stay. He had a solo shot, his fourth of the season, in the ninth for his sixth career two-homer game.

Chicago 4, Baltimore 3--Paul Konerko hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning after a key error by Oriole second baseman Melvin Mora as the White Sox rallied to win at Chicago.

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Seattle Mariner designated hitter Edgar Martinez had surgery to remove a ruptured hamstring tendon and is expected to be out more than a month. The procedure of removing the tendon is still relatively new, which makes it difficult to determine the recovery time. Mariner Manager Lou Piniella said the 39-year-old Martinez would be out at least four to six weeks, but that may be an optimistic estimate.... Minnesota Twin second baseman Luis Rivas has a fractured left forearm and will probably miss two to four more weeks. Rivas hasn’t played since being hit by a pitch from Kansas City’s Dan Reichert on April 3.