Francisco’s homer wins it for Indians

Ben Francisco had a memorable debut for the Cleveland Indians.

Making his first start in the major leagues, he recorded his first career hit in the fourth and then led off the ninth with a home run off Tampa Bay’s Shawn Camp to give the Cleveland Indians a 2-1 victory.

“It was an awesome day,” he said. “I was just trying to get on base and I ended up doing something special.”

The homer came on a 2-and-2 pitch and landed in the left-field bleachers.

Francisco, who played left field, has spent most of the season at triple-A Buffalo, where he batted .329 with six homers and 34 runs batted in. He was with the Indians from May 1-3 and was called up again June 20. He was the Indians’ fifth-round draft choice in 2002 from UCLA.

“Ben had a great game,” Indians Manager Eric Wedge said. “It has to be some kind of thrill for that young man.”

The Devil Rays have lost five in a row and 12 of 16. They have scored 10 runs during the losing streak.

“We’ve got to get our offense started again,” Tampa Bay Manager Joe Maddon said. “The game was pretty much lost in the first inning. We have to get more runs in that situation.”