Sowers Power: Indians lefty Jeremy Sowers holds Reds in check for 7-plus innings in 9-2 win

Sowers pitches Indians past Reds 9-2

CLEVELAND — Jeremy Sowers pitched into the eighth inning for his first win as a starter this season and Ryan Garko hit a two-run homer to lead the Cleveland Indians to just their second win in 10 games, 9-2 over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.

Sowers (2-5), who began the season at Triple-A Columbus, carried a one-hitter into the seventh before the Reds began to make solid contact.

He allowed two runs and six hits in his longest outing since Sept. 9, when he went eight in a win at Baltimore. The left-hander’s only previous win came on May 25, when he worked five shutout innings of relief as the Indians overcame a 10-0 deficit to beat Tampa Bay 11-10

Garko homered in the fourth off Aaron Harang (5-8) and Victor Martinez added a solo shot in the fifth as the Indians built a 9-0 lead.

Sowers’ deep effort allowed embattled Indians manager Eric Wedge to stay clear of his combustible bullpen until he absolutely needed. The Indians have blown 13 saves in 26 tries, and wasted leads of five runs or more three times in the past 12 games.

Even with a seven-run lead, Wedge couldn’t relax. Jensen Lewis walked the first two batters in the ninth and was lifted for Tony Sipp, who came in and struck out the side.

Garko’s homer made it 4-0, a relatively comfortable cushion in past years for the Indians but not in 2009 with a bullpen that can’t be trusted.

Jhonny Peralta singled with two outs before Garko, who had been limited to one start and three pinch-hitting appearances after spraining his ankle and wrist on June 17, pulled his seventh homer into the bleachers in left.

Martinez’s 14th homer with one out in the fifth made it 5-0, and the Indians scored two more in the inning to chase Harang. The right-hander was charged with five earned runs and 10 hits in 4 2-3 innings and remains winless since May 25.

Shin Soo-Choo singled with one out in the fifth, and one out later, Travis Hafner hit a high hopper to Gold Glove second baseman Brandon Phillips, who rushed his throw and skipped it past first baseman Joey Votto and down the steps into Cincinnati’s dugout.

Hafner was awarded second and scored on Peralta’s double.

Choo’s two-run single in the sixth off Jared Burton made it 9-0.

Phillips opened the seventh with a double — Cincinnati’s second hit off Sowers — and scored on Jonny Gomes’ single. The Reds added a run in the eighth on Willy Taveras’ RBI single.

The Indians took a 2-0 lead in the third on Grady Sizemore’s RBI double and a sacrifice fly by Martinez.

NOTES: Sowers was drafted by the Reds in the first round in 2001, but he went to Vanderbilt and was picked by Cleveland in the first round in 2004. … A few Reds watched videos of late pop star Michael Jackson in the clubhouse before the game. Jackson died Thursday. Occasionally, a player tried to imitate one of the performer’s dance moves. “He was an American icon,” RHP Nick Masset said. “We all grew up enjoying his music, his dancing, and the way he entertained.” … Indians 1B/OF Matt LaPorta, acquired last summer from Milwaukee in the deal for CC Sabathia, is batting .315 with nine homers and 30 RBIs in 48 games for Triple-A Columbus. … Reds manager Dusty Baker said RHP Homer Bailey will be recalled from Triple-A Louisville to start Saturday. It’ll be the sixth callup for the 22-year-old, a first-round pick in 2004. “He’s still ahead of schedule. It took me four or five times before I was up to stay,” said Baker, who made his debut at age 19 in 1968.