Rangers finish sweep of Indians
9/10/2009CLEVELAND - Scott Feldman pitched seven shutout innings, Esteban German went 5 for 5 and Marlon Byrd hit a three-run homer as the Texas Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians 10-0 yesterday, completing a three-game sweep within 24 hours.
Feldman (16-4) tied New York's CC Sabathia and Detroit's Justin Verlander for the AL lead in victories. Verlander was scheduled to pitch last night at Kansas City. Feldman allowed five hits and struck out five to win his eighth consecutive road start, a new club record. His 12 road victories this year also are a new team mark and tops in the AL.
He was staked to a 5-0 lead before throwing a pitch after Byrd and Ivan Rodriguez hit home runs in the first inning, knocking Cleveland starter Fausto Carmona (3-10) out of the game. Carmona allowed five runs in 2/3 of an inning, the shortest start of his career.
Carmona was yanked after throwing 41 pitches and facing just nine batters. Three of the game's first four hitters scored on Byrd's homer, his second three-run shot of the series. Byrd, who had been 0 for 12 lifetime off Carmona, went 9 for 14 in the series with two homers and seven RBIs.