Sabathia, Sizemore rise to the occasion
They both wore No. 42 to honor Jackie Robinson, and then C.C. Sabathia and Grady Sizemore did themselves proud.
Sabathia pitched eight overpowering innings yesterday and Sizemore hit a leadoff double in the first -- Cleveland's only hit -- as the Indians downed the visiting Chicago White Sox, 2-1.
Out of his customary No. 52 jersey on the 60th anniversary of Robinson's debut, Sabathia hit another significant number: 3-0. On four previous occasions, the lefthander had opened a season 2-0 only to lose his next start. Pitching with a strong wind at his back, Sabathia allowed five hits, struck out 10, walked three, and improved to 14-3 -- 2-0 this season -- in 22 starts against Chicago.
The Indians didn't fare much better in the bitter conditions against Chicago starter Jose Contreras (1-2) and three relievers, who combined to no-hit Cleveland after Sizemore's double.
Cleveland took advantage of three Chicago errors and some walks to take two of three against the White Sox.
Cardinals 10, Brewers 2 -- Albert Pujols broke out of an April drought with two home runs and five RBIs and Chris Duncan was 4 for 5 with a homer, helping host St. Louis rout Milwaukee.
Pujols, who hit a major league-record 14 homers last April, has three this month after lining a 2-0 Ben Sheets fastball into the Brewers' bullpen to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead in the first inning and then connecting off Elmer Dessens leading off the eighth. Pujols entered the game batting .158 with two RBIs.
Mariners 14, Rangers 6 -- Jose Vidro homered to right in his first two at-bats, and Ichiro Suzuki had four hits in host Seattle's win over Texas.
Suzuki led off with his 21st career home run and one out later Vidro connected for a solo shot, quickly erasing a 2-0 deficit. Vidro then hit a three-run homer in the four-run second inning. It was the 26th career four-hit game for Suzuki, who snapped an 0-for-13 slump Saturday.
Dodgers 9, Padres 3 -- Andre Ethier homered and drove in four runs, leading Los Angeles past San Diego as all the Dodger players wore No. 42 to honor Jackie Robinson.
Devil Rays 6, Twins 4 -- Dioner Navarro hit a tiebreaking double off Joe Nathan in the ninth and visiting Tampa Bay handed the Minnesota closer his first loss since Sept. 6, 2005, and gained a split of their four-game series.
Blue Jays 2, Tigers 1 -- John McDonald drove in the winning run with a seventh-inning single and Josh Towers recovered from a shaky outing with seven-plus strong innings to win his first start since May 14, 2006, leading host Toronto past Detroit.
Braves 8, Marlins 4 -- Chipper Jones hit a three-run homer, Andruw Jones added a two-run shot, and Tim Hudson improved to 2-0 and dropped his ERA to 0.86, leading visiting Atlanta past Florida.
Reds 1, Cubs 0 -- Kyle Lohse outpitched Ted Lilly, allowing four hits and striking out a career-high 12 batters in eight innings and Jeff Conine singled in the lone run to lead Cincinnati over Chicago at Wrigley Field.
Diamondbacks 6, Rockies 4 -- Tony Clark drove in three runs with two homers and host Arizona beat Colorado.
Storms wiped out several games, including a doubleheader in Pittsburgh between the Pirates and Giants. Also called were games at Baltimore against Kansas City; at Shea Stadium in New York against Washington; and at Philadelphia against Houston. No makeup dates were set.
