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CLEVELAND -- Drew Stubbs knew he was taking a chance. Luckily for the Cleveland Indians, his gamble paid off. Stubbs slid home with the winning run on Jason Kipnis fielders choice ground ball in the ninth inning to give the Cleveland Indians a 2-1 win over the Washington Nationals on Friday night. "Going on contact is a chance you take, but fortunately, I was able to get under the tag," Stubbs said. With runners on second and third and one out, Kipnis sent a hard grounder to the right side. First baseman Adam LaRoche made a diving backhanded stop and fired to catcher Kurt Suzuki, but Stubbs beat the throw with a slide. Suzuki, who perhaps had the best view of the winning play, gave Stubbs all the credit. "He beat the throw. Its as simple as that," Suzuki said. "Stubbs is probably one of the fastest guys in the league, you know, and he just beat the throw." Clevelands speed, which also featured a perfect hit-and-run play earlier in the inning, played a big part in the rally as the Indians got back to .500 (33-33). "You have to respect the speed," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "It was a heck of a play by LaRoche, but fortunately, Stubbs went on contact, and his speed beat the throw." Stubbs one-out single off Fernando Abad (0-1) started the rally. As Stubbs broke off first, Michael Bourn punched a ground ball through the hole that opened when Steve Lombardozzi went to cover second base. Stubbs advanced to third before Bourn stole second. Joe Smith (3-0) retired the side in order in the ninth for the Indians. Cleveland has won three in a row since breaking an eight-game losing streak. "Losing eight or nine in a row is not the character of this team," Stubbs said. "We just needed a few breaks to go our way to turn things around." Cleveland starter Justin Masterson and Washingtons Gio Gonzalez both allowed one run in seven innings, but werent involved in the decision. Mastersons bases-loaded wild pitch in the third inning gave the Nationals their run. Gonzalez gave up a two-out homer to Ryan Raburn in the fourth. The Indians loaded the bases in the sixth and eighth innings but failed to score. Masterson, who held Washington to two hits, struck out 10 and walked four. He was removed from the game after throwing 113 pitches. The Indians managed only three hits off Gonzalez, who struck out eight and walked four. Three of the walks came with two outs in the sixth, but the left-hander retired Mark Reynolds on a popup to keep the game tied. Gonzalez, who threw a season-high 127 pitches, is 5-0 with a 0.81 ERA in six career starts against the Indians. He is 4-0 with a 0.82 ERA in five career starts in Cleveland. "(Gonzalez) was good, so was Masty," Francona said. "We saw (seven) pretty good innings of good pitching both ways." Masterson remained dominant at Progressive Field. The right-hander is 5-1 with a 2.23 ERA in eight home starts this season. "Hes a great pitcher," Masterson said of Gonzalez. "Hes their workhorse. Our guys kept saying, Wait him out, wait him out. And we finally got him out of the game." Walks to Suzuki and Roger Bernadina along with Lombardozzis single loaded the bases in the third. Masterson then bounced a 1-1 pitch in the dirt with Ryan Zimmerman batting to score Suzuki. Raburns two-out homer to right tied it in the fourth. Raburn, moved to the cleanup spot by Francona, is 7-for-13 with three home runs against Gonzalez. Ian Desmond was 0-for-3 with a walk, ending his 15-game hitting streak. The Indians were coming off a road trip in which they dropped the first seven games before winning the last two in Texas. Cleveland broke an eight-game losing streak on Tuesday. NOTES: Francona said RHP Chris Perez (shoulder tendinitis) will "more likely than not" begin a minor league rehab assignment Sunday. Perez, a two-time All-Star, threw a bullpen session Friday. The Indians closer hasnt pitched in a game since May 26. Perez and his wife pleaded not guilty Monday to misdemeanour possession charges after marijuana was mailed to their home in their dogs name. ... RHP Stephen Strasburg (strained right lat) is scheduled to come off the disabled list on Sunday to start against the Indians. ... Nationals manager Davey Johnson said OF Bryce Harper (left knee) might resume baseball activities next week. Harper was given a cortisone injection Monday and was told to rest the knee for a week. ... Francona said RHP Zach McAllister (sprained middle finger) might start playing catch in a few days. ... RHP Jordan Zimmerman (9-3) will start for Washington against LHP Scott Kazmir (3-4) on Saturday night. Andrew Cogliano Jersey . 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Ryan Kesler Jersey . -- The plastic that was taped across the lockers in Oaklands clubhouse came down and the champagne that was on ice went back into the cooler.HOUSTON -- Dwight Howard has a new team and catchy new nickname. "Hes not Superman anymore. Hes Rocket Man now," longtime Rockets broadcaster Bill Worrell said Saturday as he introduced the teams major free agent acquisition. As Howard took the stage and greeted several Houston officials including owner Leslie Alexander and coach Kevin McHale, a couple of his new teammates playfully repeated his new moniker -- Rocket Man, Rocket Man -- and were met with a huge, toothy smile from Howard. "It means a lot to me just to have a fresh start and have an opportunity to write my own story," Howard said. "I dont think people understood the fact that I got traded to L.A., and now I had a chance to really choose my own destiny, and this is the place where I chose and Im happy about it." The Rockets gave him a four-year deal worth about $88 million, a year less and far below the $118 million the Lakers could have offered. The centre was formally introduced in Houston on Saturday after spurning the Lakers to sign with the Rockets. He was greeted by some of the brightest stars in team history. Hall of Fame centre Hakeem Olajuwon and Yao Ming were among those on hand to celebrate Howards signing. Also joining the party were Ralph Sampson, Clyde Drexler and Elvin Hayes. He will be the latest in a storied line of centres to play for the Rockets. He has long worked with Olajuwon to improve his game, and "The Dream" was among the contingent that flew to Los Angeles to woo him into joining the Rockets. Olajuwon didnt shy away from raving about his student. "He is the missing piece where he can really bring the team to a championship contender," he said. Howard joins a team starring James Harden that reached the playoffs for the first time since 2009 and battled back from a 3-0 deficit before being eliminated by the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6. General manager Daryl Morey, who led the effort to land Howard, is excited about upgrading his team and knows this puts the Rockets among the preseason favourites to contend for a championship. "I think it absolutely gives us a chance," he said. "What you do this job for is to have a chance. The reality is five to seven teams have a chance any given year. The way it is in this league, youve got to have multiple All-Stars, you generally have to have dominant top players and we have two guys that we think are in the top 10 in the league in James and Dwight." Howard was traded from Orlando to the Lakers in a four-team trade that also included Philadelphia and Denver last year. He recovered from back surgery last season and averaged 17.1 points and 12.4 rebounds His one season in Los Angeles was filled with unrest, including an admission that there were times that he wasnt having fun and what many believed to be a less than positive relationship with Kobe Bryant The Rockets believve that will change in Houston.dddddddddddd "If you can be a great player and cant be happy, what difference does it make? Hell be very happy here," Alexander said. "Dwight recognizes that his boyhood dreams will come true as a Rocket." Yao made a call to Howard to help recruit the 27-year-old player to Houston. As the most recent star centre to play for the Rockets, Yao is eager to see Howard take the team to "the next level." "I feel so happy that he chose the Rockets and I feel the Rockets will be the best fitting team for him because we have such a great, rich history of big men," Yao said. Howard is perfectly happy dealing with lofty expectations from outsiders because he believes he should control the game every time he sets foot on the court. "Thats what Ive always expected out of myself," he said. "Before I got injured, thats what I did every night -- I dominated the game on both ends of the floor. Its not about putting up big numbers, none of that; the biggest thing is just going out there and having fun and dominating and thats what Im going to do." Of all the people the Rockets enlisted to help lure Howard to Houston, the star admitted that his new teammate Chandler Parsons made the biggest impact. "Chandler is probably the guy you should really thank," Howard said. "Hes been blowing my phone up every day. Hes been great." Howard couldnt pinpoint one thing Parsons said that helped sway his decision, but noted that they had numerous conversations about Houstons great team chemistry and the feeling of family. Parsons, a second-round pick in 2011 who has developed into a solid starter, said he tried to sell Howard on the idea of winning. "I just told him: Were going to be really good without you, were going to win games without you. Come make us great," he said. The Rockets also got a push in a rather random way. Howard was in Aspen, Colo., while mulling his options and prayed for a sign of what he should do. "I believe in signs ... and when I was in Aspen it seemed like everybody I met was from Houston," he said. "I just had a good feeling in my soul about everything, the direction of the team, and just had a great feeling about what they were trying to accomplish." Though his nickname got switched on Saturday, the Rockets unveiled a Superman-inspired marketing campaign this week that features a mans torso with hands ripping back a suit to reveal a red shirt that says Rockets, above their slogan A New Age. That picture along with several other shots flashed on a video screen above the stage during Saturdays introduction. After he was done speaking with reporters, Howard and the other Rockets stars made their way outside where the street in front of the Toyota Center was blocked off for a rally to allow fans to welcome him to Houston. ' ' '