Indians win with 3 homers

7/22/2008

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Andy Marte, Casey Blake and Jhonny Peralta hit home runs and the Cleveland Indians beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-2 last night, snapping the AL West leaders' five-game winning streak.

Paul Byrd (4-10) allowed a run and nine hits over 51/3 innings for his first victory since June 6. He was 0-5 with a 7.76 ERA in his previous six starts.

The former Angels right-hander came in 1-8 with a 6.94 ERA on the road. The last time he pitched at Angel Stadium, on April 9, he retired nine of 16 batters and gave up three homers in a 9-5 loss.

Byrd worked with runners on base in five of the first six innings last night, stranding five in scoring position.

The Angels had two on and one out in the sixth when Byrd was replaced by Rafael Perez, who retired Chone Figgins on a double-play grounder. They stranded nine and the Indians won for the seventh time in eight games.

Masa Kobayashi struck out the side in the ninth for his sixth save in eight chances.

The Angels still own the baseball's best record (60-39) and hold a nine-game lead over Oakland in the AL West.