Lee outduels Buehrle; Tribe pound slumping ChiSox

CHICAGO (AP) -- Just when the White Sox thought their starting pitching was coming around following three straight solid efforts in Boston, Mark Buehrle failed to get out of the fifth inning.

Cliff Lee pitched six strong innings for Cleveland, and the Indians got homers by Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez off Buehrle to beat the slumping White Sox 9-1 Thursday night.

Elias Says
Hafner Who needs Travis Hafner when you've got Ryan Garko? Garko went 3-for-3 with a pair of walks in the Indians' 9-1 win at Chicago on Thursday night. The last Indians rookie to record a so-called "perfect day" at the plate in a game of at least five plate appearances was Brian Giles in 1996. • For more Elias Says, click here

"I think you can blame the season on the starting staff. We haven't been where we wanted to be and where we were last year," Buehrle said. "Everybody had career years last year, and I don't think you can expect every guy to duplicate what happened last season. Obviously, we're not close to what we did last year, and that's been our downfall."

Not that the defending World Series champions are out of the playoff picture. They're still only one-half game behind the Twins for the AL wild card and 5½ back of Detroit in the AL Central, that despite losing six of eight.

"We got to be thankful that the two teams in front of us, they're in a little funk right now, as well," Buehrle said.

Cleveland, which has won 13 of 18, generated five runs with two-out hits, including a pair by rookie Ryan Garko, who was 3-for-3 with two walks. Andy Marte singled, double and tripled for the Indians, who had 17 hits.

"Obviously they're playing to make the playoffs and we're playing to get on a good streak for next year," said Lee, who gave up a run and five hits.

Garko, batting .349 in his last 16 games, has given the Indians an offensive lift, especially while Travis Hafner has been sidelined after being hit in the hand with a pitch last Friday.

"We had some guys who really clutched up. Garko had a couple of big hits for us," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "Garko is right in the middle of our lineup. Particularly with Hafner out of there, he's done an outstanding job."

Lee (12-10), who retired the first 10 batters, walked Tadahito Iguchi and Jermaine Dye in the fourth for his first runners before retiring Jim Thome on a flyout and Paul Konerko on a popup.

Rob Mackowiak got Chicago's first hit with a leadoff single in the fifth. Lee lost his shutout bid the following inning when Iguchi doubled and Dye singled to cut the Indians' lead to 7-1. But a potential rally attempt was stopped by Dye's baserunning blunder -- he took off from second on Mackowiak's one-out fly ball to center and easily was doubled off.

"That tells you how bad we played," Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen said of Dye's gaffe. "That's not the first time somebody has made a mistake."

Buehrle (12-12) gave up five runs -- four earned -- and 10 hits in four-plus innings. The All-Star lefty dropped to 3-6 in the second half and is 0-3 in five starts against the Indians this season.

"Obviously we're not playing as well as we want," Buehrle said. "If we go out and play as well as we can and don't get in the playoffs, it's going to stink, but we tried as hard as we could."

Sizemore, the Indians' talented center fielder and leadoff hitter, got his AL-leading 81st extra-base hit with an opposite-field homer to left -- his 23rd -- to make it 2-0 in the third.

Jason Michaels followed with a double and Garko delivered his second straight two-out RBI single to make it 3-0.

Cleveland scored in the first when Buehrle brushed Sizemore's jersey with a pitch, and Michaels singled. After Martinez grounded into a double play that sent Sizemore to third, Garko singled.

Martinez led off the fifth with his 14th homer to put Cleveland up four and after Garko singled for third straight hit, Buehrle was replaced by rookie knuckleballer Charlie Haeger.

Haeger got Casey Blake to ground to shortstop, but Juan Uribe threw the ball past second for an error, putting runners at second and third. With two outs, Aaron Boone hit a two-run single, and Marte followed with a triple off the center-field fence to make it 7-0.

Blake hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the eighth for an 8-1 lead.

Game notes
Buehrle, one of the fastest working pitchers in the majors, threw 85 pitches in his short outing. ... The Indians were 5-14 against the White Sox last season. They are 8-5 this year. ... Hafner missed his sixth straight game after being hit on the hand with a pitch by the Ranger' C.J. Wilson last Friday. ... Lee's win over the White Sox was his first since June 2004. He is 1-2 against them this season.