Indians Scalp Rangers 10-3

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

May 16, 1998 / 7:58 PM EDT / CBS Sportsline

Brian Giles and Mark Whiten each homered and drove in four runs and Dave Burba pitched seven solid innings as the Cleveland Indians won their third straight game, 10-3 over the Texas Rangers.

Giles and Whiten were instrumental in Cleveland scoring five quick runs in the first against Bobby Witt (4-2). Kenny Lofton led off with a walk, Omar Vizquel singled and Jim Thome drew a walk one out later to load the bases.

Whiten followed with a two-run single to right and Giles added his 10th homer, a three-run shot, into the bullpen in right. Giles lifted the Indians to a 3-2 win over Texas on Friday with a leadoff homer in the 14th inning.

"You just want to keep slumps as short as possible," said Giles, who ended a 1-for-26 skid with Friday's homer. "I'm trying to get one hit and take it from there. I'm putting better swings on pitches. The offense has struggled and we have needed one or two big hits to keep rallies going. That's what we did today."

Burba (4-4), who had lost three of his last four decisions, allowed three runs and seven hits with four strikeouts and three walks. The right-hander has lasted seven innings in seven of his nine starts this year and improved to 2-0 all-time versus Texas.

"My back was a little tender today and I had to deal with it," said Burba. "I wasn't 100 percent, but I got through it. It's nice to have five runs any time. But whether it's 0-0 or 5-0, you still have to go out and pitch."

Jose Mesa and Ron Villone each worked a perfect inning of relief for Cleveland, which has won seven in a row at home. The streaky Indians had won six straight and lost six straight prior to their current skein.

Witt surrendered a season-high nine runs and 10 hits with a season-best seven strikeouts and two walks in seven innings. He has dropped his last 10 decisions versus the Tribe since beating them on April 18th, 1991.

"That was the best fastball I've had all year," said Witt. "If you looked at the boxscore and scoreboard, you wouldn't say that. But it's just the way I felt. I felt great. It's just that the first thing you do, you put yourself in a hole at 5-0 and it's hard to battle ot, especially after the last couple of days where the guys have played 13 and 14 innings."

The 34-year-old Witt fell to 5-16 in 27 career outings against Cleveland and 0-4 with an 8.44 ERA at Jacobs Field.

"If he throws the ball like he did today, he will get results," said Rangers manager Johnny Oates. "There was no comparison between today and his last five starts as far as I am concerned. He was right there all day and when he missed, he just missed. Bobby gave up five runs in seven innings in my mind. He might have been nibbling in the first inning, but he had good stuff today."

Texas has lost three of its last four games following five-game winning streak. The Rangers are 3-3 against Cleveland this season.

The Rangers got on the board in the third as Lee Stevens opened with a single and went to third on Domingo Cedeno's double down the right-field line. Fernando Tatis followed with an RBI groundout and, after Tom Goodwin walked, Mark McLemore singled in Cedeno.

Cleveland answered with two runs in the fifth when Dave Justice singled and Thome reached on first baseman Stevens' throwing error. Whiten then singled in a run and Giles drove in another after beating out second baseman McLemore's throw following a fielding error.

Burba plated a run when he uncorked a wild pitch with the bases loaded in the top of the seventh, but Thome and Whiten led off the bottom half with home runs, the first back-to-back round-trippers for Cleveland this season.

It was Thome's eighth homer of the year and his fourth in as many games against Witt. Whiten, who is in his second stint with the Indians after signing 10 days ago, hit his first home run since June 1st, 1997 with the New York Yankees.

"It feels good to contribute to the team," said Whiten. "I have to take advantage of the opportunities when I get them. The situation dictates that I am going to be a spot player. I can live with that. I have to be patient and stay ready."

"I thought that Manny Ramirez could use the day off," said Indians manager Mike Hargrove about using Whiten. "At times, he has struggled in day games after night games. I thought Whiten matched up well with Bobby Witt."

Justice added an RBI single in the eighth as Cleveland's 3-to-6 hitters combined to finish 7-for-17 with three homers, 10 RBI and seven runs scored.

Texas' Juan Gonzalez went 0-for-3 and is hitless in his last 12 at-bats. Catcher Ivan Rodriguez was 0-for-4 and is now 2-for-25 versus Cleveland this season.

"Right now my timing is a little off," said Gonzalez. "I'm fine and my mind is ready to continue. Burba was hitting the corners and using his splitter and there was nothing easy to hit. It was just one of those days."