Lewis extends shutout streak

9/16/2008

CLEVELAND Scott Lewis pitched six shutout innings in his second career start, and the Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins 3-1 last night.

Lewis (2-0) has yet to allow a run in 14 innings since being called up from the minors Sept. 7. The left-hander allowed three hits and two walks, striking out five.

Kelly Shoppach hit his 21st homer in the fourth inning off Kevin Slowey (12-10) to put Cleveland ahead 1-0. Grady Sizemore singled with one out in the fifth and scored on a two-out homer by Shin-Soo Choo to make it 3-0.

Choo went 3-for-4 and is hitting .449 (31-for-69) with five homers and 16 RBIs in his last 18 games.

Jensen Lewis, the fourth pitcher used by Indians manager Eric Wedge, allowed Joe Mauer s ninth homer with one out in the ninth, but got his ninth save in 10 chances.

Cleveland bounced back after losing three straight to last-place Kansas City in a four-game series in which Indians pitchers allowed 59 hits and 34 runs.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Scott Lewis has the longest scoreless streak to start his career as an Indians pitcher since 1969.

Before facing the Twins, Wedge said he would monitor Scott Lewis carefully. The 24-year-old has battled injuries throughout his career. When he gave up three hits in eight shutout innings in his big-league debut Wednesday night in Baltimore, it was only the second time he had worked that long in a game.

The Indians have committed to playing in Cleveland through 2023.

The club signed a new lease with the Gateway Economic Development Corp. yesterday. The previous lease was set to expire in 2013.

The Indians began play at Progressive Field, then called Jacobs Field, in 1994.

As part of the new lease with Gateway, the Indians will be permitted to play up to five home games at sites outside of the United States and Canada over any five-year period.