Cleveland Indians trade closer Kerry Wood to Yankees after trading Jake Westbrook to St. Louis.
Josh Tomlin allowed one run while working into the sixth inning on short rest Saturday, as the Indians had just enough offense to take a 2-1 victory over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.Updated: 4:58 p.m.
TORONTO -- Josh Tomlin's second start in the big leagues came sooner than he expected.
Scheduled to start Sunday, Tomlin made an emergency start Saturday after Jake Westbrook was traded to St. Louis as part of a three-way deal with San Diego. Tomlin went 5 1/3 solid inning on three days rest as the Indians beat Toronto, 2-1, at Rogers Centre.
As the game neared a conclusion, the Indians traded closer Kerry Wood to the Yankees. Wood was activated before the game after being on the disabled list with a blister on his right index finger.
The deal was made for a player to be named, but the big part of it was cash relief for the Indians. They saved an estimated $1.5 million to $2 million on the $3.73 million that remained on Wood's $10.5 million contract for this year.
The Yankees must assume $1.5 million of the remaining contract. The could assume another $500,000 depending on how healthy Wood stays. He's been on the disabled list twice this year and 14 times in his career.
The deadline for making non-waiver deals was 4 p.m. EDT.
Tomlin didn't get the victory, but he held the Blue Jays to one run on four hits. He pitched much like he did in his big-league debut Tuesday against the Yankees. He was under control and threw strikes.
He left with the score tied, 1-1, with two on and one out in the sixth. Jensen Lewis relieved and ended the inning when Adam Lind lined into a double play at first.
The Indians broke the 1-1 tie in the seventh against former Indian Brian Tallet (1-4). After Asdrubal Cabrera walked, Choo blooped a double down the left-field line. Cabrera, running all the way, scored from first for a 2-1 lead.
The win went the the much-traveled Jensen Lewis (3-2), who joined the Indians on Friday from Class AAA Columbus for the fourth time this season.
The Indians took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when Jason Donald drew a bases-loaded walk off Brett Cecil. Jose Molina tied the score for the Blue Jays with a homer in the fifth off Tomlin.
Chris Perez, with one out and the bases loaded, struck out Edwin Encarnacion and pinch-hitter Travis Snider for his 11th save. Needless to say, Perez is the Tribe's new closer.