CLEVELAND: In case anyone was wondering, you have to travel all the way to Curacao in the southern Caribbean to find a pitcher so inept as to give up four runs to the Indians.

That fact and another bravura performance by Fausto Carmona lifted the Tribe back into a first-place tie with the Detroit Tigers in the Central Division after defeating them 5-2 Wednesday night at Jacobs Field.

Jair Jurrjens made his major-league debut Wednesday night and probably is under the impression he pitched relatively well.

''The guys competed their butts off,'' Indians manager Eric Wedge said, thankful of any offense that leads to a win. ''We're just trying to get back to our norm. That's not going to happen in one day, but this was a step in the right direction.''

Just how much did the Indians need a victory?

''On a scale of one to 10, probably a 12,'' said Joe Borowski, who earned the save. ''We've really been fighting ourselves.''

Jurrjens yielded only five hits and two walks in seven innings, but there were those four runs against his ledger. The Tribe had scored four runs against a single pitcher only once since Aug. 3, when Mark Buehrle started for the White Sox and was rocked for seven runs in four innings Aug. 9.

Then again, that's not bad company to be in. And seriously, folks, the kid has a live arm that unleashes 94-95 mph fastballs. Considering that he made his previous start for the Double-A Erie SeaWolves says something about his talent.

Erie, incidentally, plays in the same Eastern League as the Aeros. Jurrjens pitched against the Aeros six times this year, compiling a 3.51 ERA.

His ERA against the Indians stands at 5.14, giving the big-leaguers an edge. On the other hand, Jurrjens yielded 31 hits in 331/3 innings to the Aeros and five hits in seven innings to the Tribe. Hmmm. Well, never

mind about comparisons. Undoubtedly, the Indians' lineup would do at least a commendable job in the Eastern League.

Franklin Gutierrez got the Tribe on the scoreboard with a two-out homer after Travis Hafner had started the second inning with a double.

''Gutierrez got us going early,'' Wedge said. ''I thought that was a hell of an at-bat.''

Grady Sizemore's third-inning walk, a wild pitch and Victor Martinez's single accounted for the third run, and Hafner bounced into a sixth-inning double play to score Sizemore, who had tripled to lead off the inning.

Hafner has played the past two games with a hamstring strain near his left knee and has been told not to run with full intensity.

That was difficult advice to follow after he poked a drive off the wall (for the double) and tried to stay out of a double play. After that dash to first, he appeared to have reinjured the leg.

''It's doing pretty good,'' he said. ''I feel like I can be competitive and have good at-bats. I feel the strength back; I have my legs under me now.''

The Tribe didn't get many hits, but a couple of them were timely, to say the least.

Jurrjens was out of the game when the final run scored in the eighth on a rally only a Tribe partisan could love. With Bobby Seay on the mound, pinch-hitter Jason Michaels walked and Casey Blake doubled to put runners on second and third.

After Sizemore struck out, Martinez was walked intentionally to fill the bases, giving Hafner the option to bounce into another double play. But Seay couldn't find the plate and walked Hafner to force in a run.

Jason Grilli emerged from the bullpen to face pinch-hitter Chris Gomez, who promptly grounded into a double play.

Carmona (14-7, 3.16 ERA) as usual, was maddeningly effective, from the Tigers' perspective. In eight innings, he gave up two runs, but only one was earned. He yielded four hits and struck out a career-best 10.

''It was another outstanding performance by Fausto,'' Wedge said. ''He really dug in late in the game with a guy on third and the game getting a little tighter.

''When you talk about raising the level of your game in a key situation, he did it right there.''

With one run home, Curtis Granderson on third and nobody out in the eighth, Carmona escaped without allowing another run.

''After last night, I went home and thought that it's my job to get us a win tonight,'' said Carmona through his translator, first-base coach Luis Rivera. ''I needed to do something for the team to keep things going.'' noweb