ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- Three pitches turned a close game
into a one-sided affair.

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Karim Garcia hit his second career grand slam during a seven-run
fifth inning as the Cleveland Indians beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 9-5 Tuesday night.

Garcia made it 8-2 when he hit the first pitch off Tanyon Sturtze (1-13) into the right-field seats.

Lee Stevens had walked after taking two close pitches with two outs before Garcia connected for his first slam since Sept. 23, 1998.

``I thought I threw a couple good pitches to Stevens to get out of the inning,'' Sturtze said. ``Called balls and I ended up walking him. I don't think 3-2, but I think the 2-2 pitch was a strike. I just made a really bad pitch to Garcia.''

Garcia is 6-for-16 with two homers and seven RBI in four games against the Devil Rays. He has three hits in 16 at-bats and one RBI against everyone else since joining the Indians on Aug. 6.

``He was feeding me a lot of changeups my first two at-bats,'' Garcia said. ``I was trying to stay back and drive a changeup, and that's what he threw me.''

C.C. Sabathia (8-9) gave up three runs and six hits over seven innings. He has beaten Tampa Bay in consecutive starts.

It's always a boost to win two games in a week, but it's tough having back-to-back starts against the same team,'' Sabathia said. ``I feel like I'm starting to put things together. I was struggling there in July, and I was feeling good. I was just not putting things together.''

The left-hander was 0-3 with a 7.54 ERA in five starts last
month.

Mark Wohlers got two outs for his fifth save.

Cleveland's Ellis Burks moved with one hit of No. 2,000 when he
singled in the fifth. He was 1-for-5.

Sturtze allowed eight runs and seven hits in six innings. The right-hander has given up 200 hits and 74 walks over 165 2/3 innings this season. He is 0-5 in his last nine starts since his lone win over Toronto on June 26.

``I'm running out of things to tell you,'' Sturtze said. ``It's been the same all year.''

Tampa Bay, at 39-79, has the fewest wins after 118 games since
the 1991 Indians (38-80). The Devil Rays have dropped six of eight.

``Sometimes you don't get the call,'' Devil Rays manager Hal McRae said. ``It's about finding a way to get the out. Finding a way to get the win. Somehow you have to find a way to get out of a jam.''

Matt Lawton snapped an 0-for-10 slide with a two-run single in
the fifth that put Cleveland up 3-2.

Jim Thome got the Indians within 2-1 with a fourth-inning solo
homer. His 35th homer went an estimated 436 feet to center.

Thome has gone deep three times in four games against Tampa Bay this season.

Tampa Bay took a 2-0 lead in the second. Andy Sheets had an RBI
grounder and Chris Gomez added a run-scoring double.

Sheets has driven in 15 runs in 15 games since being called up from Triple-A Durham on June 20.

Tampa Bay's Jason Conti had an RBI single in the sixth to make it 8-3. Randy Winn added a two-run single in the ninth.

Game notes
Indians CF Milton Bradley was a late scratch with the stomach flu. ... Winn was back in the lineup after getting the past two games off. He was hitless in 18 at-bats before his ninth-inning single. ... Cleveland purchased the contract of RHP Dave Burba from Double-A Akron. ... Sturtze has allowed 14 homers in his past seven
starts. ... The Devil Rays are 5-16 this season, and 50-114
all-time, when the opposition starts a left-hander. ... Cleveland
SS Omar Vizquel batted leadoff for the second straight game and
went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. He has two hits in his past 37
at-bats. ... The Indians have won six straight at Tropicana Field.