By STEVE GOLDMAN
For the Star Beacon
CLEVELAND - C.C. Sabathia finished with a flourish. And Ryan Garko isn't letting up.
In his final start of the year, Sabathia pitched eight scoreless innings.
Garko, a midseason call-up who has been impressive in his 45 games with the
Indians, backed him with a career-high five RBI in Tuesday's 6-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox (87-71).
Garko belted a two-run double in the third inning and a three-run homer in the fifth, both against starter Javier Vazquez (11-11, 4.77 ERA). The rookie first baseman, who also singled in the first inning, is now hitting .299 with seven homers and 41 RBI in 167 at-bats.
Sabathia ranks third in the American League with a 3.22 earned run average, but poor run support cost him in the won-loss record this season. Tuesday's win puts him one game above .500 at 12-11.
In this one, though, he needed minimal support. The left-hander breezed through most of his outing, as he struck out a season-high 11 batters while allowing four hits and not walking a batter. He threw 121 pitches, 91 of which were strikes.
Matt Miller worked the ninth to complete the four-hit shutout.
Sabathia struggled only in the fifth, when he threw 29 pitches. He gave up two two-out hits in the frame, including a single to Sandy Alomar Jr. on the 12th pitch. But he got Pablo Ozuna to hit a soft liner to short to end the threat.
"(Sabathia) was outstanding," manager Eric Wedge, whose team is now 74-83 and has won four straight, said. "They made him work that one inning - Sandy, in particular, that one at-bat - but he was outstanding.
"They came out aggressive against him, and he did a good job of mixing pitches early in the count, and finishing guys off as well. He and (catcher) Victor (Martinez) really worked well together. They mixed it up, and he had great stuff all night long."
Sabathia, who went 4-0, 2.23 against the White Sox this year, will finish above the .500 mark for the sixth time in as many major-league campaigns.
His previous best in ERA was 3.60 in 2003.
Sabathia also leads the league with six complete games, and led the majors in the same category entering Tuesday, despite missing a month of the season because of injury.
""I definitely feel like this is the best year I've pitched," he said. "Just consistent. This has been the most consistent year that I've had by far. This is the best I've felt by far, as far as my pitches."
"Wins and losses don't always tell the true tale when it comes to a starting pitcher, as is evident with some great pitchers in the game," Wedge said. "C.C.'s a guy who really has solidified himself as a No. 1 this year."
Garko's double to the left-center field gap followed Martinez's sacrifice fly. In his next at-bat, he sliced a drive to the opposite-field as it landed in the Chicago bullpen in right.
"Garko really stepped up for us big," Wedge said. "A couple of two-out knocks, (5) RBIs.
"This is a guy that's had a lot of RBIs in a limited amount of at-bats. And hitting in the middle of our lineup without (Travis) Hafner, he's done an outstanding job for us."
"Obviously, (cleanup) is a big spot," Garko said. "If you're going to try hitting in the middle of the lineup, you've got to be able to be a run-producer."
Martinez's single in the fifth inning extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
Vazquez, who lasted seven innings, struck out 12 batters, marking the fourth time in his last five games that he has fanned 10 or more. Sean Tracey finished for the White Sox.
Goldman is a freelance writer from South Euclid.
Star Beacon Print Edition: 9/27/2006
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