CLEVELAND — Cliff Lee’s lengthy streak of scoreless innings came to an end Wednesday night at Progressive Field.
The left-hander’s brilliant start to the season, however, remained firmly intact.
With General Lee leading the cavalry once again, the Indians snapped a three-game losing skid, racing past the Mariners, 8-3, to even the series at a game apiece — the rubber match coming tonight.
Lee entered the game with a 4-0 record, the majors’ lowest ERA at 0.28 and in the midst of a
21-inning scoreless streak. He took the spotless string six innings into his fifth start of the season before surrendering a three-run home run to Wladimir Balentein in the seventh — the Seattle right fielder’s first long ball of the year.
“That’s what I’m trying to do, to go out and put up zeroes,” said Lee, whose 27-inning streak is the longest scoreless stretch by a Cleveland pitcher since John Denny tossed 342/3 straight in 1981. “(The streak) had to come to end eventually, though.
“I’m happy I’m doing my job. We’ve won every time I’ve pitched. That’s the goal.”
Lee (5-0, 0.96) allowed three runs on eight hits through six innings, striking out three and walking none. Before Balentein’s homer, he had allowed just one run through the first month of the season.
“It’s not something you would ever expect from anyone at this level,” said Cleveland manager Eric Wedge. “To go out and be able to have that type of month, that’s special stuff.”
Lee, who is tied for the league lead in victories and just one shy of the major league lead, is the first Indians pitcher to win his first five starts of the season since Greg Swindell went 6-0 in 1988.
He got a surprising lift from the Indians’ offense, which has struggled for the majority of the season and had scored just four runs over its three previous games.
Cleveland ended a four-game homer drought as quickly as possible, with Grady Sizemore going deep on the third pitch he saw from Seattle starter Jarrod Washburn. It was Sizemore’s 12th career leadoff homer, pushing him into second place on the club’s all-time list behind Kenny Lofton’s 18, and accounted for one of six extra-base hits on the night.
The Indians scored once more in the first to grab the early lead, chasing Washburn with a five-run fifth inning that broke the game open. Cleveland, which outhit the Mariners 11-9, led 8-0 after five innings.
“It was really important for us (after three straight losses),” said right fielder Franklin Gutierrez, who has collected seven hits over his last three games and who was one of four players to have more than one hit Wednesday. “It’s just the beginning of the season, but it’s still a good start. We just need to keep it going.”
“Grady got us going early and they kept going from there,” said Wedge, who rested struggling regulars Travis Hafner and Jhonny Peralta. “These guys are starting to figure it out and it’s starting to come together a little bit.”
Despite the offense’s struggles coming in, Lee said he put no extra pressure on himself to carry the load by himself. Nevertheless, he did early, holding the Mariners in check on five hits through six innings, long enough for his hitters to chip away.
“I don’t hit, so I’m just focused on what I have to do on the mound,” said Lee, who snapped a three-game team losing skid for the third time this year. “But we swung it tonight. If they do that every time I pitch, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be able to give us a chance to win.”
Sizemore has been a welcome addition after missing two straight games with a sprained eight ankle. He is 4-for-7 with four runs, three doubles, a homer and an RBI in two games since returning to the lineup, going 2-for-3 with two runs, a double, his third homer of the year and a pair of walks Wednesday.
“He’s capable of doing something special every night,” Wedge said. “But most definitely, it’s nice to see him back in there.”
The Indians finished the first month of the season at 13-15 after going 14-8 in March-April of last year.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

TONIGHT

WHO: Cleveland vs. Seattle
TIME: 7:05
WHERE: Progressive Field
PITCHERS: Byrd (1-2, 4.85 ERA) vs. Batista (2-3, 5.26)
TV/RADIO: SportsTime Ohio; WEOL 930-AM, WTAM 1100-AM

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