C.C. Sabathia to Start for Bisons on Thursday

Cleveland Indians pitcher C.C. Sabathia will start for the Buffalo Bisons when they face the Syracuse SkyChiefs on Thursday, April 27 at Dunn Tire Park (1:05 p.m.). Sabathia will join the Herd on Major League rehab and throw between 90-100 pitches.

Sabathia has been on the Tribe's disabled list since April 4 with a strained right oblique suffered in his first start of the season (April 2 at Chicago White Sox).

Sabathia, 25, is a two-time American League All-Star (2003, 2004), with a 69-45 record and a 4.10ERA in 157 starts with Cleveland. He went 17-5 as a rookie in 2001 and has won at least 11 games in each of his first five Major League seasons. He has made at least 30 starts in each of the last five years and was 15-10 with a 4.03ERA and 161 strikeouts in 31 starts in 2005.

Sabathia currently leads all Major League pitchers under the age of 26 with 69 career wins and has the seventh-most wins by any left-handed pitcher since the 2001 season.

Thursday's game will be Sabathia's debut with the Bisons. He made the Indians' roster in 2001 after going 6-9 with a 3.94ERA in 27 starts with Single-A Kinston and Double-A Akron the year before. Sabathia was the Cleveland Indians 1st round pick (20th overall) in the 1998 amateur draft.

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