Unassisted triple play highlights Indians' split

Cleveland Indians second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera turned the 14th unassisted triple play in major-league history, accomplishing the feat Monday night in the second game of a doubleheader against visiting Toronto.

Cabrera made a diving catch on a line drive by Lyle Overbay, touched second base and then tagged out Marco Scutaro to quickly end the fifth inning of Cleveland's 3-0 loss in 10 innings.

"I was trying to speed up the game," Overbay joked. "I get to go down in history. They can't take that away from me.

"It's not smart to hit a line drive on a hit-and-run. Only bad things can happen."

The only miscue by the 22-year-old Cabrera was that he didn't keep the ball.

"He flipped it into the stands and right as he did cried out, 'Oh, no!' " first-base coach Luis Rivera said, serving as the Venezuelan's interpreter.

"I knew it was pretty special," Cabrera said.

Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki made the last unassisted triple play in the majors, on April 29, 2007, against Atlanta. Oakland second baseman Randy Velarde last turned the trick in the AL, on May 29, 2000, against the Yankees.

This was the record third unassisted triple play by a Cleveland fielder.

Indians shortstop Neal Ball made the first one in history, in 1909. Cleveland second baseman Bill Wambsganss turned the only one in the World Series, in 1920 during a Game 5 win over Brooklyn.

The Indians also have been victimized three such times. The last player to pull an unassisted triple play against them -- Ron Hansen, in 1968 for Washington -- is now an advance scout for Philadelphia and was at Progressive Field to see Cabrera's feat.

"First one I've ever seen from the stands," Hansen said. "That kid is a real good fielder and has a great future.

"On a play like that, it's just reaction and he reacted right."

The game featured terrific pitching performances from Toronto's Shawn Marcum and Cleveland's Cliff Lee, who got a big assist from Cabrera's triple play.

Fausto Carmona (4-1) pitched a 5-hitter, and Cabrera hit a 2-run homer in Cleveland's 3-0 victory in the first game. A.J. Burnett (3-4) lost the opener.

Rays 7, Yankees 1: Matt Garza pitched 7 scoreless innings, and surging Tampa Bay beat Andy Pettitte and visiting New York for its fifth consecutive victory.

Garza (2-1) allowed five hits, walked one and struck out three. Only one baserunner, Alberto Gonzalez in the sixth, reached as far as second base against the right-hander.

Twins 7, Red Sox 3: Livan Hernandez (6-1) won again, Craig Monroe contributed another big hit, and host Minnesota beat Boston.

Manny Ramirez finally went deep, hitting career homer No. 498 in the first inning for the Red Sox. The 2-run shot was his second home run in 20 games.

National League

Brewers 8, Cardinals 3: Ryan Braun hit 2 home runs for the second game in a row, and St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina and manager Tony La Russa both were ejected from host Milwaukee's victory.

Braun followed up Sunday's 2-homer performance by hitting 2 more off stingy Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright (3-2), who had given up 4 runs or less in his first 7 starts and had a 2.25 ERA going into the game.

Brewers starter Dave Bush (1-4) gave up 1 run and 4 hits in 6 innings.

Pirates 5-1, Braves 0-8: Tim Hudson limited Pittsburgh to 2 hits and an unearned run over 7 innings, and Atlanta halted its seven-game road losing slide with a victory that concluded Monday's doubleheader in Pittsburgh.

In the opener, Freddy Sanchez hit a 3-run double, and Zach Duke pitched 6 shutout innings as the Pirates posted their sixth consecutive win.

With Mark Kotsay and Brian McCann driving in 3 runs each, Atlanta avoided its first four-game sweep by Pittsburgh since Sept. 1-3, 1978. The Pirates' winning streak was their longest since they won 10 straight from June 25-July 5, 2004.

Hudson (6-2) held the Pirates to a lone single over his final 6 innings, finishing with 5 strikeouts and 2 walks.

Reds 8, Marlins 7: Jeff Keppinger and Brandon Phillips hit 2-run homers in the seventh inning, breaking open a tied game and sending right-hander Aaron Harang to a long-awaited victory in host Cincinnati's win over Florida.

The Marlins arrived with a seven-game winning streak and the best record in the major leagues. Things looked good early, when they piled up 3 solo homers off Harang (2-5), including another one by Dan Uggla. Harang hadn't won since April 10, going 0-4 despite one solid performance after another.

Nationals 10, Mets 4: Making his ninth start without a victory, Odalis Perez had 3 hits and 2 RBI and pitched into the seventh inning to lead visiting Washington over New York.

On an unusually chilly night with winds gusting to more than 20 mph, Jesus Flores and Lastings Milledge each had 2-run doubles as the Nationals ended a three-game slide.