Pitching, hitting come together as Cleveland Indians defeat Tampa Bay Rays

Jayson Nix hits his fifth homer in the past five games and Fausto Carmona pitches 6 2/3 innings as the Indians end Tampa Bay's six-game winning streak. Shelley Duncan and Jhonny Peralta hit homers of their own in the victory.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- All it took to end Tampa Bay's six-game winning streak was Fausto Carmona and the hammers.

Carmona prepared for his trip to the All-Star Game at Angel Stadium in Los Angeles by going six innings Friday night in the Indians' 9-3 victory over the Rays at Tropicana Field. He's made 18 starts in the first half of the season and 14 of them have been quality -- six or more innings, three or fewer earned runs.

Jayson Nix isn't swinging the hammer of Thor, but he's getting close. Nix hit his fifth homer in five games, a one-run shot down the left-field line off James Shields in the fifth for a 3-1 lead. It was Nix's sixth homer in 14 games since joining the Indians on June 24.

"I'm not going to think about this," said Nix of his hot streak. "That's how it happens in this game. It's one of those things you can't explain. I'm just going to enjoy it."

Nix has seven homers this season. The only one he didn't hit with the Indians was a grand slam for the Chicago White Sox. The pitcher he slammed? Tampa Bay's Shields.

"He's a good pitcher," said Nix. "I just happened to get the barrel on a couple of balls."

Shelley Duncan and Jhonny Peralta followed Nix's example in the seventh and eighth innings.

Duncan hit a leadoff homer in the seventh for a 4-2 lead. It was his fifth in 29 games.

Peralta delivered the finisher with a three-run homer in the eighth. For Peralta, who just missed a three-run homer Thursday night, it was his sixth of the season.

"Fausto was the key," said manager Manny Acta. "He did a nice job against a tough lineup. He kept us in the game until we hit those home runs. The rest was icing on the cake."

Carmona (8-7, 3.64 ERA) allowed two runs on five hits. He threw a season-high 116 pitches, walking four and striking out four.

He left with a 4-1 lead in the seventh, but Chris Perez endangered it. Perez relieved with two out and one on and proceeded to walk three straight batters to force home Carl Crawford, making it a 4-2 game. Perez ended the tension by striking out John Jaso.

"He made it interesting," said Acta, "but we trust him. He's been our best guy out of the bullpen in the first half. He made pitches when he had to."

The Indians responded with a four-run eighth. Carlos Santana hit a leadoff double, but Travis Hafner struck out. Andy Sonnanstine, who pitched at Kent State, relieved and the Tribe went to work. Austin Kearns singled and Peralta homered to left for a 7-2 lead.

Doubles by Matt LaPorta and Jason Donald accounted for the last run of the inning. LaPorta, back in the lineup for the first time since Monday because of a head injury, had three hits.

"It was great to see LaPorta back in the lineup and hitting like that," said Acta. "We need him. He's going to be a part of this lineup for a long time."

Kearns doubled home the Tribe's final run in the ninth. The Indians finished with 13 hits with Peralta and LaPorta leading the way with three each.

Shields (7-9, 4.87) is 0-4 lifetime against the Indians.

The Indians unnerved Shields with a 31-pitch second inning. He hit Hafner to open the inning and lost a 10-pitch duel to Peralta, who singled to left with one out. After LaPorta singled home Hafner for a 1-0 lead, Shields balked Peralta to third and LaPorta to second and threw a wild pitch as the hustling Peralta scored.

"That was a great at-bat by Peralta," said Acta. "Shields kept throwing him changeups, and Jhonny kept hanging in there until he got a big hit. When a batter has long at-bats like that, it can wear on a pitcher."

Shields allowed four runs on six hits in 6 1/3 innings. He struck out nine and walked one.

Carlos Pena hit a long homer run with two out in the ninth off Frank Herrmann for the Rays' final run.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: phoynes@plaind.com, 216-999-5158