C.C. Sabathia pitched a five-hitter and struck out 11 in the Cleveland Indians' major league-leading seventh shutout, a 2-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night. Sabathia (3-5) extended the scoreless streak of Indians starters to 43 1-3 innings since Friday. He tied his season high for strikeouts, walked two and won consecutive starts for the first time this season.
Sabathia pitched his sixth shutout, his first since a five-hitter last June 5. Cleveland became the first team to pitch five shutouts in an eight-game span since Oakland from July 12-19, 2002, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Grady Sizemore and Ryan Garko homered off Joe Blanton (2-6), who lost for the fourth time in five starts. (More baseball stories.)