Desperate for a shot in the arm offensively, the Indians got one Tuesday, as David Dellucci belted a three-run, pinch home run with two outs in the eighth inning to lift the Indians to a 5-3 win over the Yankees.
Dellucci's blast couldn't have come at a better time for the Indians, who were within four outs of another loss, which would have been the 17th time in 32 games they scored three runs or fewer. Dellucci's blast changed that, but the win hardly seems to signify that the team-wide slump is over. The Indians only had six hits in the game, and two of them were home runs.
Cleveland scored all of its runs on home runs, and that's a return to a familiar theme.
The Indians tend to score only when they hit home runs. Their rally-creating ability is still lacking, probably because most of their hitters are in slumps.
The Indians have to hope that Dellucci's late home run Tuesday is the spark the team needs to produce a more consistent offensive attack.
INDIANS 5, YANKEES 3: Cleveland needed a strong effort from its bullpen to pull out Tuesday's win. After Fausto Carmona pitched five innings and left with a 3-2 deficit, Rafael Perez (two innings), Jensen Lewis (one inning) and Rafael Betancourt (one inning) tossed two-hit, shutout ball the rest of the way.
