CLEVELAND — Cliff Lee said his poor performance last year was a fluke.
Through his first two starts of 2008, it appears the left-hander may be on to something.
With Lee looking like he did during his days as an effective member of the rotation from 2004-06, the Indians avoided a dubious sweep at the hands of the A’s via a 7-1 decision at Progressive Field on Sunday. Oakland was bidding for its first three-game sweep in Cleveland since September 1989, but was denied by an Indians team that won for the first time in four games and the fifth time in its first 12 games.
Lee, who endured a dismal 2007, was at the forefront of the victory, allowing a run on two hits while striking out eight in eight innings.
“It’s going pretty good,” said Lee, who is 2-0 with a 0.61 ERA, allowing just one earned run while striking out 12 in his first two starts (142/3 innings). “I’m giving the team a chance to win and pitching deep into games. I’m pretty happy with that.
“I was really anxious to get back and redeem myself after last year. I feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to do so far.”
It’s been a much different start to the season for Lee, who began last year on the disabled list and ultimately lost his job in the rotation before being ushered off to Triple-A Buffalo, where he spent the majority of the season.
“He’s done a lot of work, but first and foremost, he’s healthy,” said Indians manager Eric Wedge. “He’s pitching with a great deal of confidence.”
That was more than evident against the A’s, whom Lee faced for the second time this season.
The cold, rain, snow and wind that made life miserable for players and fans much of the day didn’t affect Lee, who hit the mound running after a 48-minute delay to the start of the game.
Lee retired nine straight to start the game before allowing two hits consecutively — a triple to Travis Buck, followed by an RBI infield single from Mark Ellis. From there, he retired 14 consecutive before being relieved by Rafael Betancourt to start the ninth inning.
Staying with a steady diet of fastballs, Lee kept Oakland hitters on their heels for the duration.
“He’s been throwing the ball great,” said Cleveland catcher Victor Martinez. “It’s pretty tough when you face a pitcher that is on you all the time, 0-1, 0-2. He’s been pretty aggressive. I think that’s the key for a pitcher.”
Lee felt like the unsavory elements worked to his advantage against the A’s, who managed just three hits for the game.
“I wouldn’t have wanted to be a hitter today,” he said.
That applied to Cleveland hitters as well, with the Indians offense remaining in neutral for much of the day, including through the first four innings against Oakland starter Chad Gaudin.
Cleveland managed just a hit over the first four innings, but it was a productive one, with Travis Hafner putting Cleveland in front 2-0 with a two-out double in the third.
Despite Lee’s strong start, the Indians led by just two runs before finally cashing in with a four-run eighth inning that secured the victory.
A one-out walk to Ryan Garko followed by Franklin Gutierrez’s double and another walk to Jamey Carroll loaded the bases for pinch hitter Asdrubal Cabrera, who struck out to bring Grady Sizemore to the plate.
Sizemore lifted a liner into right-center to score two, and David Dellucci duplicated the effort with a two-run single that provided the final count.
“It was nice to see us take advantage of some opportunities that we presented for ourselves,” Wedge said.
The Indians are getting sporadic sparkling performances from their rotation and just enough offense to stay afloat, but the wins have been hard to come by early in the season.
“If we go out and play good baseball, the wins will come,” Wedge said. “I felt like today a lot of good things happened out there.”
“I don’t see any panic,” Martinez said. “We’re 5-7, that’s it. We just haven’t played our game yet.”
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. 

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