Cliff Lee's seemingly inexorable march to 20 wins continued Tuesday as he pitched into the eighth inning in the Indians' 10-4 win over the Tigers. With the victory, Lee is 19-2.
His next start will come Monday, at home, against the White Sox, as he attempts to become the first Indians pitcher since Gaylord Perry in 1974 to win 20 games. Lee's career year has been marked by remarkable strike-throwing ability, soaring confidence and terrific efficiency. But manager Eric Wedge says one other quality has been the key to Lee's season.
"When you talk about what he's doing, his consistency is as impressive as anything," Wedge said. Indeed, each of Lee's starts looks very similar to the one that preceded it.
He generally throws seven or eight innings, gives up two or fewer runs, rarely walks anyone and throws strikes on roughly 70 percent of his pitches.
Tuesday, Lee threw strikes on 74 of his 108 pitches. It has been a season of tremendous consistency in all areas. And coming, as it has, after a disastrous 2007 season in which he spent half of the season at Class AAA Buffalo battling a horrendous slump, makes Lee a strong candidate to win both the Cy Young and Comeback Player of the Year awards.
INDIANS 10, TIGERS 4: Cliff Lee held the Tigers to two runs in 7 2/3 innings to improve his record to 19-2, and the Indians won their ninth game in a row. The Indians belted four home runs, two by Ben Francisco and one each by Jamey Carroll and Kelly Shoppach.
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