by Dennis Manoloff, Plain Dealer Reporter , Plain Dealer

The Athletics contained Indians cleanup hitter Shin-Soo Choo on Saturday night, but they had no answers for No. 8 Luis Valbuena and No. 9 Ben Francisco.

Valbuena and Francisco combined for six hits in six at-bats, drove in three and scored three as the Tribe defeated the Athletics, 5-2, at Progressive Field.

The Indians (33-49) have won two in a row for the first time since June 11-12, when they beat Kansas City and St. Louis, respectively, at Progressive Field.

Oakland (33-46) has lost six straight to the Indians .

Right-hander Carl Pavano (7-7, 5.36) gave up the two runs on eight hits in 6 2/3 innings. He and three relievers benefited from one of the Tribe's best defensive performances this season, third baseman Jhonny Peralta leading the way.

"That was a good big-league Baseball game," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "We made plays defensively, our pitching staff made pitches and we did a pretty good job at the plate."

The Indians notched 10 hits. More importantly, they repeatedly put the ball in play. After striking out 624 times in the previous 81 games, they whiffed just once (Peralta).

"That means you're doing a good job with your approach," Wedge said. "It's a good sign."

In the series opener Friday night, Choo went 4-for-5 with two homers and seven RBI in a 15-3 victory. He was "held" to 1-for-3 with a double and hit-by-pitch Saturday.

"I like the depth of our lineup right now," Wedge said.

Second baseman Valbuena went 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs. Left fielder Francisco was 3-for-3 with a double, two-run homer and run.

Francisco had been 5-for-40 before going 3-for-4 on Friday. It is the second time in his career he has posted consecutive three-hit games. He is hitting .246 in 70 games.

"Benny's really been working hard to get himself squared away," Wedge said. "It's nice to see him get going again."

Valbuena entered the night 2-for-31. His is hitting .213 in 39 games.

"He's learning on the job," Wedge said. "I think it's going to continue to be a season for him where he's going to have good days and tough days, but he'll get better for it. I still like the way he competes."

The bottom third of the order stung Oakland right-hander Vin Mazzaro for three runs in the third to build a 3-1 advantage.

Ryan Garko hit a blooper to right that Travis Buck failed to hold secure after leaving his feet. Garko advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on Valbuena's single to center. Francisco followed with a homer to left.

The Indians made it 4-1 in the sixth on Grady Sizemore's homer to center.

After Oakland pulled within 4-2 in the seventh, Sizemore's RBI grounder in the bottom of the inning accounted for the final margin.

The Athletics took a 1-0 lead in the first. It could have been worse for Pavano if not for the leaping Peralta.

Adam Kennedy led off with a single and moved to third on Orlando Cabrera's single. Matt Holliday had a sacrifice fly to left.

Oakland eventually loaded the bases with two outs for Ryan Sweeney, who lined sharply toward third. Peralta elevated to snare it.

Pavano stranded two more in the second and one in the third. He gave up six hits through three.

"In the beginning, I was in some bad habits," Pavano said. "As the flow of the game went on, I got in a bit of a rhythm. And the guys made some great plays behind me."

Pavano has delivered back-to-back quality starts after a difficult three-start stretch. He snapped a three-game losing streak, winning for the first time since June 5.

"Carl did a great job," Wedge said. "He was getting on top of the ball, driving down."

Pavano retired 11 straight until Mark Ellis walked with one out in the seventh. Ellis scored on a two-out single by Cabrera to make it 4-2. After Holliday singled, Wedge summoned lefty Tony Sipp. Jason Giambi grounded to Valbuena, who was in short right as part of a shift.

Sipp and Joe Smith worked the eighth. Kerry Wood, starved for save opportunities, pitched a perfect ninth for his 10th save.

"It's nice to do the job, regardless of the situation," Wood said. "That's the way we'd all like to see it."

Indians designated hitter Travis Hafner went 0-for-4 with several hard-hit balls. He started his fifth straight team game for the first time since April.

Hafner failed to homer Saturday, which is news. He has six homers on July 4, leading all active players. Duke Snider is the all-time leader with nine.

Tribe catcher Victor Martinez went 0-for-4, extending his slump to 4-for-46.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: dmanoloff@plaind.com, 216-999-4664

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