Mon May 12 18:51:42 2008

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Carmona tosses five-hit shutout for Indians

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Cleveland, OH (Sports Network) - Fausto Carmona threw a five-hit shutout, and Asdrubal Cabrera hit a two-run homer, as the Cleveland Indians topped the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-0, in the first game of a doubleheader.

The twin bill was scheduled after Sunday's game was postponed due to rain.

Carmona (4-1) struck out three and walked four in his first shutout since blanking the Twins on May 17, 2007. David Dellucci went 2-for-4 with an RBI single for the Indians, who have won five of six. Grady Sizemore added a double and scored a run.

Matt Stairs went 3-for-4 for the Blue Jays, losers of four straight. A.J. Burnett (3-4) took the loss despite holding Cleveland to three runs on five hits over 7 2/3 innings, racking up seven strikeouts.

Burnett cruised through the first five innings, holding the Indians to a first inning single by Dellucci, before Sizemore smashed a one-out double in the sixth off the base of the wall in right-center. One out later, Dellucci drove in the game's first run with a sharp single up the middle.

The Indians tacked on some insurance against Burnett in the seventh, as Travis Hafner worked a leadoff walk, and one out later Cabrera slammed a fly ball to right-center that just cleared the wall for his first homer in 101 at-bats this season.

Stairs singled to left with one out in the ninth, but Carmona got Lyle Overbay to hit a chopper to Cabrera for a game-ending double play.

Carmona walked Scott Rolen to start the second, but was bailed out when Cabrera gloved Stairs' grounder up the middle and flipped it from his glove to second baseman Jamey Carroll to start a double play. Ryan Garko's diving stop of Overbay's chopper finished off a spectacular defensive frame.

Cleveland's defense paid dividends for Carmona again in the fourth. With Rolen on first and one out, Stairs lined a single to right. Rolen tried to make it to third, but Ben Francisco made a perfect, one-hop throw to third baaseman Casey Blake to get the out.

Game Notes

The Jays have been outscored 21-1 in the first three games of the series, and are riding a 22-inning scoreless streak...Carmona threw 108 pitches, 69 for strikes...Alex Rios and Rod Barajas had the other two hits for Toronto...This is the first traditional doubleheader at Progressive Field since the Indians played a twin bill with Detroit on August 13, 1997.