Nomar, BoSox Sweep Tribe

Nomar Garciaparra has shown his muscle in May.

Garciaparra hit his fourth homer in three games and Brian Rose won his third straight start as the Boston Red Sox completed a three-game sweep of Cleveland with a 4-2 win Sunday.

Garciaparra, who didn't hit a homer in April when he missed six games with an injured hamstring, has 10 this month along with 34 RBIs.

Rose (3-0), recalled from the minors May 19, had a perfect game through five innings. Tom Gordon got the last three outs for his 10th save, extending his major-league record to 53 in a row.

Cleveland has lost three in a row for the first time this season.

Garciaparra hit a three-run homer in the third, lining a 1-0 pitch from Dwight Gooden (2-2) into the left-field bleachers for a 3-0 lead. The 437-foot shot was his second three-run homer of the series.

"I did entertain the thought of walking Nomar there," Indians manager Mike Hargrove said. "But it is tough to give an intentional walk in the third inning. If it had been late in the game, I likely would have."

On Saturday, Garciaparra's three-run homer in a four-run eighth inning helped the Red Sox rally to a 4-2 win. On Friday, he hit hit two solo shots in Boston's five-homer assault and 12-5 win.

Rose lost the perfect game when David Justice led off the sixth with a grounder that Garciaparra fielded on the first-base side of second, but his throw pulled first baseman Brian Daubach off the bag.

The 317th consecutive sellout crowd at Jacobs Field booed the scorekeeper's ruling of error, though replays showed that an accurate throw would have retired Justice.

One out later, Einar Diaz doubled off the left-field wall to break up the no-hit bid and send Justice to third.

"I wasn't thinking about it," Rose said. "Nomar gave us the lead with that big homer and I was just trying to get our guys back in the dugout each innings as fast as possible."

Justice scred when Daubach misplayed a grounder by Kenny Lofton for another error, sending Diaz to third. Diaz scored when Omar Vizquel grounded into a fielder's choice, making it 3-2.

Rose allowed two unearned runs and two hits over six innings, striking out five without a walk.

"The kid changed speeds and threw his breaking ball for first-pitch strikes," Indians first baseman Jim Thome said. "When you get ahead in the count you throw hitters off and you are going to be successful. That's what he did."

Rose made 16 first-pitch strikes to the 22 batters he faced.

Garciaparra drew a walk from reliever Steve Karsay and later scored on a single by Mike Stanley to make it 4-2 in the eighth.

After getting robbed of a base hit by second baseman Roberto Alomar in the ninth, Boston's Reggie Jefferson went into the dugout and threw his helmet onto the field. It landed about 30 feet away from plate umpire Joe Brinkman, who then ejected Jefferson.

Brinkman picked up the helmet, but refused to give it to the batboy or Boston third-base coach Wendell Kim. Instead, the umpire threw the helmet into the dugout, narrowly missing the batboy.

Notes: