It's August Deja Vu For Tribe's Cabrera

Asdrubal Cabrera hasn't been handed a "Mr. August" nickname -- yet. For the second night in a row, the young infielder drove in the go-ahead run to help the Indians to victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Cabrera's eighth-inning RBI single put Cleveland ahead and the Indians went on to a 7-5 win on Tuesday night. On Monday, Cabrera's seventh-inning double put Cleveland ahead in a 13-8 triumph.

"He's been playing good baseball," Indians manager Eric Wedge said of Cabrera.

Two months ago, that couldn't have been said. The switch-hitting infielder batted only .184 before being banished to Buffalo, where he promptly went on a hitting tear, worked on other aspects of his game and gained a call back to Cleveland on July 18.

A year ago, Cabrera was called up to the majors for the first time. A shortstop by trade, he replaced Josh Barfield at second base and hit .283 in August while making several fine defensive plays to give the Indians a spark -- and help them win the AL Central Division.

This year, the rejuvenated Cabrera has helped Cleveland to a modest five-game winning streak that has catapulted them out of last place and past Kansas City.

"It feels good to help my team win games," said Cabrera, who has hit .353 (18-for-51) in his last 15 games.

He had three hits Tuesday for his third consecutive multi-hit game.

Indians starter Jeremy Sowers fell behind 2-0 in the first inning, but a few minutes later had a two-run lead. Jhonny Peralta, Ryan Garko, Franklin Gutierrez and Andy Marte all hit two-out RBI singles in the bottom of the first.

Cleveland led 5-3 before Baltimore rallied to tie it in the seventh.

Shin-Soo Choo, pinch-hitting for Franklin Gutierrez to start the eighth took one for the team to get the Indians going. Choo was hit by a pitch, bunted over to second by Marte, and scored when Cabrera grounded a hard shot between pitcher Jim Johnson's legs for an RBI single and 6-5 lead. Cabrera later scored on a single by Ben Francisco.

Rafael Perez (2-2) got the win in relief, working 1 2-3 innings. Jensen Lewis struck out two in a perfect ninth inning for his second save.

"You want a guy to come in and throw strikes," Wedge said. "The key was the first batter. The count got to 3-and-2 and Jensen was aggressive and challenged the hitter. He got him to pop out and then threw some more strikes. He did a good job."

Before the game, the Indians traded veteran Paul Byrd to the Boston Red Sox in a deal that essentially was made to clear room on the roster and money off the payroll.

The deal was announced as the Indians receiving cash and a player to be named, but general manager Mark Shapiro said not to hold your breath expecting a name player if the Tribe even gets one.

"This deal was about creating an opportunity for some others in the organization, to give Paul a chance with a contender, and about payroll relief," Shapiro said.

The Red Sox needed a starter in their efforts to hold off the third-place New York Yankees and overtake the AL East leading Tampa Bay Rays. Byrd is expected to make his debut for Boston on Friday night against Toronto.

The Indians will call up a pitcher from Buffalo on Wednesday to take Byrd's spot. It will either be left-hander Aaron Laffey rejoining the Tribe or Zach Jackson being called up to his new team. Jackson, also a lefty, was one of the players acquired from Milwaukee when Cleveland traded ace CC Sabathia to the Brewers on July 7.