AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND <div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND PLAYOFFS - SCORING UPDATE SOLO HOME RUN BY RYAN GARKO (1) TO RIGHT WITH 2 OUT IN THE 8TH OFF PHIL HUGHES. CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 3, CLEVELAND 12 DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: J PERALTA (.333, 1-FOR-3, BB)</div>
AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND <div class="pre">AL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - NY YANKEES 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 3 4 0 CLEVELAND 3 0 1 0 5 2 0 1 12 14 0 (TOP 9) CURRENT PITCHERS: NYY - PHIL HUGHES CLE - JENSEN LEWIS DUE UP FOR NY YANKEES: R CANO (.500, 1-FOR-2, BB, HR, RBI) M CABRERA (.000, 0-FOR-3) S DUNCAN (.500, 1-FOR-2)</div>
AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND <div class="pre">NY YANKEES (3) VS CLEVELAND (12) - END 8TH - IN PROGRESS NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg J Damon lf 3 1 1 1 1 2 0 .333 D Jeter ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000 B Abreu rf 2 0 1 1 2 1 0 .500 A Rodriguez 3b 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 .000 J Posada c 4 0 0 0 0 2 5 .000 H Matsui dh 4 0 0 0 0 2 5 .000 R Cano 2b 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 .500 M Cabrera cf 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 D Mientkiewicz 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 a-S Duncan ph-1b 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 .500 Totals 27 3 4 3 6 10 15 a-singled to right for D Mientkiewicz in the 5th. BATTING: 2B - B Abreu (1, C Sabathia). HR - J Damon (1, 1st inning off C Sabathia 0 on, 0 Out), R Cano (1, 4th inning off C Sabathia 0 on, 2 Out). RBI - J Damon (1), R Cano (1), B Abreu (1). 2-out RBI - R Cano. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - H Matsui 3. Team LOB - 6. BASERUNNING: CS - R Cano (1, 2nd base by C Sabathia/V Martinez). FIELDING: Outfield assists - M Cabrera (J Peralta at 3rd base). DP: 1 (D Jeter-D Mientkiewicz). CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg G Sizemore cf 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .250 A Cabrera 2b 4 2 1 1 1 1 1 .250 T Hafner dh 4 2 1 1 1 0 1 .250 V Martinez c 5 2 3 2 0 0 0 .600 R Garko 1b 4 3 3 2 0 0 0 .750 J Peralta ss 4 1 1 0 1 0 3 .250 K Lofton lf 4 1 3 4 0 0 1 .750 F Gutierrez rf 2 1 0 0 2 0 2 .000 C Blake 3b 4 0 1 2 0 2 1 .250 Totals 35 12 14 12 5 4 11 BATTING: 2B - J Peralta (1, C Wang); C Blake (1, R Ohlendorf); V Martinez (1, R Ohlendorf); K Lofton (1, R Ohlendorf). HR - A Cabrera (1, 3rd inning off C Wang 0 on, 0 Out), V Martinez (1, 5th inning off C Wang 1 on, 1 Out), T Hafner (1, 6th inning off R Ohlendorf 0 on, 1 Out), R Garko (1, 8th inning off P Hughes 0 on, 2 Out). RBI - R Garko 2 (2), K Lofton 4 (4), A Cabrera (1), V Martinez 2 (2), C Blake 2 (2), T Hafner (1). 2-out RBI - R Garko 2, K Lofton 4, C Blake 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - F Gutierrez 2, G Sizemore 1. GIDP - A Cabrera. Team LOB - 6. BASERUNNING: SB - K Lofton (1, 2nd base off R Ohlendorf/J Posada). CS - G Sizemore (1, 2nd base by C Wang/J Posada). ---------------------------------------------------- NY YANKEES - 100 110 00 -- 3 CLEVELAND - 301 052 01 -- 12 ---------------------------------------------------- NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era C Wang 4 2/3 9 8 8 4 2 2 15.43 R Ohlendorf 1 4 3 3 1 0 1 27.00 J Veras 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 P Hughes 2 1 1 1 0 2 1 4.50 CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era C Sabathia 5 4 3 3 6 5 2 5.40 R Perez 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 0.00 J Lewis 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 IBB - A Rodriguez (by C Sabathia). HBP - G Sizemore (by C Wang); R Garko (by R Ohlendorf). Pitches-strikes: C Wang 94-58; R Ohlendorf 28-17; J Veras 4-2; P Hughes 31-24; C Sabathia 114-62; R Perez 31-21; J Lewis 8-7. Ground balls-fly balls: C Wang 5-5; R Ohlendorf 2-1; J Veras 0-1; P Hughes 0-4; C Sabathia 1-8; R Perez 1-1; J Lewis 0-2. Batters faced: C Wang 25; R Ohlendorf 9; J Veras 1; P Hughes 7; C Sabathia 24; R Perez 6; J Lewis 3. UMPIRES: HP--Bruce Froemming. 1B--Laz Diaz. 2B--Ron Kulpa. 3B--Fieldin Culbreth. LF--Gerry Davis. RF--Jim Wolf. Weather: 73 degrees, clear. Wind: 10 mph, out to right.</div>
AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND <div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND - PITCHING CHANGE CLE: RAFAEL BETANCOURT (NO RECORD) STARTING THE 9TH CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 3, CLEVELAND 12 DUE UP FOR NYYANKEES: R CANO (.500, 1-FOR-2, HR, RBI)</div>
AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND <div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: R Betancourt relieved J Lewis. SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 3 CLEVELAND 12 TOP, 9TH DUE UP FOR NY YANKEES: R Cano (.500, 1-FOR-2, HR, RBI)</div>
AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND <div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: J Giambi hit for S Duncan. SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 2 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 3 CLEVELAND 12 TOP, 9TH DUE UP FOR NY YANKEES: J Giambi (.000, 0 HR, 0 RBI)</div>
AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND <div class="pre">AL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - NY YANKEES 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 5 0 CLEVELAND 3 0 1 0 5 2 0 1 x 12 14 0 (FINAL) BATTERIES: NYY - CHIEN-MING WANG, ROSS OHLENDORF (5TH), JOSE VERAS (6TH), PHIL HUGHES (7TH) AND JORGE POSADA CLE - C.C. SABATHIA, RAFAEL PEREZ (6TH), JENSEN LEWIS (8TH), RAFAEL BETANCOURT (9TH) AND VICTOR MARTINEZ HOME RUNS: NYY - JOHNNY DAMON (1) OFF C.C. SABATHIA IN THE 1ST, 0 ON ROBINSON CANO (1) OFF C.C. SABATHIA IN THE 4TH, 0 ON CLE - ASDRUBAL CABRERA (1) OFF CHIEN-MING WANG IN THE 3RD, 0 ON VICTOR MARTINEZ (1) OFF CHIEN-MING WANG IN THE 5TH, 1 ON TRAVIS HAFNER (1) OFF ROSS OHLENDORF IN THE 6TH, 0 ON RYAN GARKO (1) OFF PHIL HUGHES IN THE 8TH, 0 ON</div>
AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND <div class="pre">AL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - NY YANKEES 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 5 0 CLEVELAND 3 0 1 0 5 2 0 1 x 12 14 0 (FINAL) BATTERIES: NYY - CHIEN-MING WANG, ROSS OHLENDORF (5TH), JOSE VERAS (6TH), PHIL HUGHES (7TH) AND JORGE POSADA CLE - C.C. SABATHIA, RAFAEL PEREZ (6TH), JENSEN LEWIS (8TH), RAFAEL BETANCOURT (9TH) AND VICTOR MARTINEZ WP - C.C. SABATHIA (1-0) LP - CHIEN-MING WANG (0-1) SAVE - NONE HOME RUNS: NYY - JOHNNY DAMON (1) OFF C.C. SABATHIA IN THE 1ST, 0 ON ROBINSON CANO (1) OFF C.C. SABATHIA IN THE 4TH, 0 ON CLE - ASDRUBAL CABRERA (1) OFF CHIEN-MING WANG IN THE 3RD, 0 ON VICTOR MARTINEZ (1) OFF CHIEN-MING WANG IN THE 5TH, 1 ON TRAVIS HAFNER (1) OFF ROSS OHLENDORF IN THE 6TH, 0 ON RYAN GARKO (1) OFF PHIL HUGHES IN THE 8TH, 0 ON TIME: 3:44 ATT: 44,608 PROBABLES: NYY - ANDY PETTITTE (NR) CLE - FAUSTO CARMONA (NR)</div>
AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND <div class="pre">NY YANKEES (3) VS CLEVELAND (12) - FINAL NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg J Damon lf 4 1 1 1 1 2 1 .250 D Jeter ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000 B Abreu rf 2 0 1 1 2 1 0 .500 A Rodriguez 3b 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 .000 J Posada c 4 0 0 0 0 2 5 .000 H Matsui dh 4 0 0 0 0 2 5 .000 R Cano 2b 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 .333 M Cabrera cf 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 D Mientkiewicz 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 a-S Duncan ph-1b 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 .500 b-J Giambi ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.000 Totals 31 3 5 3 6 11 16 a-singled to right for D Mientkiewicz in the 5th; b-singled to right for S Duncan in the 9th. BATTING: 2B - B Abreu (1, C Sabathia). HR - J Damon (1, 1st inning off C Sabathia 0 on, 0 Out), R Cano (1, 4th inning off C Sabathia 0 on, 2 Out). RBI - J Damon (1), R Cano (1), B Abreu (1). 2-out RBI - R Cano. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - H Matsui 3. Team LOB - 7. BASERUNNING: CS - R Cano (1, 2nd base by C Sabathia/V Martinez). FIELDING: Outfield assists - M Cabrera (J Peralta at 3rd base). DP: 1 (D Jeter-D Mientkiewicz). CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg G Sizemore cf 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .250 A Cabrera 2b 4 2 1 1 1 1 1 .250 T Hafner dh 4 2 1 1 1 0 1 .250 V Martinez c 5 2 3 2 0 0 0 .600 R Garko 1b 4 3 3 2 0 0 0 .750 J Peralta ss 4 1 1 0 1 0 3 .250 K Lofton lf 4 1 3 4 0 0 1 .750 F Gutierrez rf 2 1 0 0 2 0 2 .000 C Blake 3b 4 0 1 2 0 2 1 .250 Totals 35 12 14 12 5 4 11 BATTING: 2B - J Peralta (1, C Wang); C Blake (1, R Ohlendorf); V Martinez (1, R Ohlendorf); K Lofton (1, R Ohlendorf). HR - A Cabrera (1, 3rd inning off C Wang 0 on, 0 Out), V Martinez (1, 5th inning off C Wang 1 on, 1 Out), T Hafner (1, 6th inning off R Ohlendorf 0 on, 1 Out), R Garko (1, 8th inning off P Hughes 0 on, 2 Out). RBI - R Garko 2 (2), K Lofton 4 (4), A Cabrera (1), V Martinez 2 (2), C Blake 2 (2), T Hafner (1). 2-out RBI - R Garko 2, K Lofton 4, C Blake 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - F Gutierrez 2, G Sizemore 1. GIDP - A Cabrera. Team LOB - 6. BASERUNNING: SB - K Lofton (1, 2nd base off R Ohlendorf/J Posada). CS - G Sizemore (1, 2nd base by C Wang/J Posada). ---------------------------------------------------- NY YANKEES - 100 110 000 -- 3 CLEVELAND - 301 052 01x -- 12 ---------------------------------------------------- NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era C Wang (L, 0-1) 4 2/3 9 8 8 4 2 2 15.43 R Ohlendorf 1 4 3 3 1 0 1 27.00 J Veras 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 P Hughes 2 1 1 1 0 2 1 4.50 CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era C Sabathia (W, 1-0) 5 4 3 3 6 5 2 5.40 R Perez 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 0.00 J Lewis 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 R Betancourt 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 IBB - A Rodriguez (by C Sabathia). HBP - G Sizemore (by C Wang); R Garko (by R Ohlendorf). Pitches-strikes: C Wang 94-58; R Ohlendorf 28-17; J Veras 4-2; P Hughes 31-24; C Sabathia 114-62; R Perez 31-21; J Lewis 8-7; R Betancourt 22-15. Ground balls-fly balls: C Wang 5-5; R Ohlendorf 2-1; J Veras 0-1; P Hughes 0-4; C Sabathia 1-8; R Perez 1-1; J Lewis 0-2; R Betancourt 0-2. Batters faced: C Wang 25; R Ohlendorf 9; J Veras 1; P Hughes 7; C Sabathia 24; R Perez 6; J Lewis 3; R Betancourt 4. UMPIRES: HP--Bruce Froemming. 1B--Laz Diaz. 2B--Ron Kulpa. 3B--Fieldin Culbreth. LF--Gerry Davis. RF--Jim Wolf. T--3:44. Att--44,608. Weather: 73 degrees, clear. Wind: 10 mph, out to right.</div>
AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND <div class="pre">** CONFIRMED ** AL NY YANKEES 3 CLEVELAND 12 FINAL</div>
Lofton drives in four; Indians club four homers in rout of Yankees <h3>CLEVELAND 12, NY YANKEES 3</h3>By Todd Krepop PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- August 12 is nothing but a distant memoryto the Cleveland Indians. Kenny Lofton had four RBI and C.C. Sabathia got the outs when heneeded to as the Indians defeated the New York Yankees, 12-3,in Game One of the American League Division Series on Thursdaynight. Rookie Asdrubal Cabrera, Travis Hafner and Ryan Garko each hitsolo home runs and Victor Martinez added a two-run blast as theIndians pounded New York starter Chin-Mieng Wang and returned tothe postseason with a bang. The Indians host Game Two on Friday. Alex Rodriguez's postseason misery along with the Yankeescontinued as the All-Star third baseman went 0-for-2 with twowalks and has only four hits in his last 50 postseason at-bats. Meanwhile New York has had their own problems in the postseason,as New York has lost their last four games in the playoffs andhaven't won a playoff series since 2004. On August 12, the Yankees had just completed a three-game sweepof the Indians at Jacobs Field. New York won all six gamesbetween the two teams this season - outscoring the Tribe 49-17 -but the team they had just swept isn't the team New York isplaying in the ALDS. Since that point the Indians finished the season on a 31-13 tear- the best mark in baseball since August 13 - to return to thepostseason for the first time since 2001. While much has been made about the Indians lack of postseasonexperience against the Yankees, it was the player with the mostexperience on the team leading the way. Lofton, who was acquired at the end of July from the TexasRangers, was a central figure on the Indians powerhouse teams ofthe 1990s. However, instead of scoring the runs, Lofton wasdriving them in on Thursday. Lofton put the Indians in front 3-1 with a two-run, two-outsingle in the first. It was a lead the Indians neverrelinquished as Sabathia pitched just well enough to get hissecond postseason victory. Sabathia, who was making his first start against the Yankeessince 2004, labored through five innings, throwing 114 pitches -62 for strikes. Sabathia, who averaged 1.4 walks every nineinnings during the regular season, walked six batters - the mostsince 2005 - but none scored. He struck out five and allowedthree runs on four hits. Sabathia and a trio of relievers heldNew York to just five hits, including just one from the Nos. twothrough six hitters in the lineup. Despite the ugly numbers Sabathia (1-0) was able to minimize thedamage, constantly working out of jams - none bigger than thefifth. The Yankees had just whittled the Indians three-run leaddown to 4-3 after Bobby Abreu's RBI double. With runners on second and third and one out, Sabathiaintentionally walked Rodriguez to load the bases. The movedlooked like it was going to backfire as Sabathia fell behindJorge Posada 3-0, but but the AL Cy Young candidate fought backand struck out Posada on a 96 miles-per-hour fastball. Sabathia then induced Hideki Matsui to popout to short on a 2-0pitch to end the threat. As he walked off the mound, Sabathiadouble-pumped his fist. The momentum carried over to the Indians half of the inning asthey scored five runs in the fifth while sending nine men to theplate. Cabrera led off the inning with a walk and two batters later,Martinez hit a two-run homer off of Yankees starter Wang (0-1)to extend the Indians lead to 6-3. Cleveland tacked on another run on Lofton's two-out RBI singleto chase Wang from the game. The Yankees' 19-game winner allowed eight runs on nine hits in 42/3 innings. Wang also had trouble with home plate umpireBruce Froemming's strike zone - giving up four walks. It wasthe second shortest outing of Wang's season and the two homersand walks tied a season high. Reliever Ross Ohlendorf walked the first man he faced then gaveup a back-breaking double to Casey Blake as the Indians tookcommand with a 9-3 lead. Hafner homered in the sixth, Lofton added another RBI singlelater in the inning and Garko homered in the eighth to cap offthe Indians scoring. The game didn't start off smoothly for Sabathia and the Indiansas Johnny Damon led off the game with a home run. Damon blasted Sabathia's 3-1 pitch down the line and over thewall. Right field umpire Jim Wolf called it a foul ball,prompting Joe Torre to come out of the Yankees dugout to argue. The umpires conferred around the second base area, and after abrief discussion overturned Wolf's original call, giving Damonhis sixth-career leadoff homer in the postseason. Sabathia struggled with his control the rest of the inning,<div class="pre">walking Abreu and Rodriguez with one out, but the burly</div>lefthander escaped further damage by striking out Posada andgetting Matsui to ground out, but not before throwing 33pitches. Wang was unable to hold the lead though as he gave up a two-outRBI single to Garko to tie the game at 1-1. Cabrera homered off Wang in the third to give the Indians a 4-1lead.
AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NY YANKEES (3) AT CLEVELAND (12) - HOW THEY SCORED ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NY YANKEES 1ST: J Damon homered to right. D Jeter popped out to second. B Abreu walked. A Rodriguez walked, B Abreu to second. J Posada struck out swinging. H Matsui grounded out to second. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 1, CLEVELAND 0. CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore hit by pitch. A Cabrera grounded into double play, shortstop to first, G Sizemore out at second. T Hafner walked. V Martinez singled to right, T Hafner to second. R Garko singled to center, T Hafner scored, V Martinez to second. J Peralta walked, V Martinez to third, R Garko to second. K Lofton singled to center, V Martinez and R Garko scored, J Peralta out at third. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 1, CLEVELAND 3. CLEVELAND 3RD: A Cabrera homered to right center. T Hafner grounded out to second. V Martinez flied out to center. R Garko singled to right. J Peralta flied out to right. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 1, CLEVELAND 4. NY YANKEES 4TH: J Posada lined out to right. H Matsui struck out swinging. R Cano homered to right. M Cabrera popped out to second. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 2, CLEVELAND 4. NY YANKEES 5TH: S Duncan hit for D Mientkiewicz. S Duncan singled to right. J Damon walked, S Duncan to second. D Jeter flied out to right. B Abreu doubled to left, S Duncan scored, J Damon to third. A Rodriguez intentionally walked. J Posada struck out swinging. H Matsui popped out to shortstop. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, CLEVELAND 4. CLEVELAND 5TH: S Duncan at first base. A Cabrera walked. T Hafner flied out to center. V Martinez homered to center, A Cabrera scored. R Garko grounded out to second. J Peralta doubled to right. K Lofton singled to center, J Peralta scored. R Ohlendorf relieved C Wang. K Lofton stole second. F Gutierrez walked. C Blake doubled to right, K Lofton and F Gutierrez scored. G Sizemore flied out to center. (5 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, CLEVELAND 9. CLEVELAND 6TH: A Cabrera grounded out to second. T Hafner homered to right center. V Martinez doubled to left. R Garko hit by pitch. J Peralta grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, V Martinez out at third, R Garko to second. K Lofton doubled to right center, R Garko scored, J Peralta to third. J Veras relieved R Ohlendorf. F Gutierrez fouled out to first. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, CLEVELAND 11. CLEVELAND 8TH: T Hafner flied out to center. V Martinez flied out to left. R Garko homered to right. J Peralta flied out to right. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, CLEVELAND 12.</div>
AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NY YANKEES (3) AT CLEVELAND (12) - EVENT LOG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ny Yankees Starting Lineups -- J Damon LF, D Jeter SS, B Abreu RF, A Rodriguez 3B, J Posada C, H Matsui DH, R Cano 2B, M Cabrera CF, D Mientkiewicz 1B, C Wang RHP. Cleveland Starting Lineups -- G Sizemore CF, A Cabrera 2B, T Hafner DH, V Martinez C, R Garko 1B, J Peralta SS, K Lofton LF, F Gutierrez RF, C Blake 3B, C Sabathia LHP. Umpires -- Bruce Froemming (HP), Laz Diaz (1B), Ron Kulpa (2B), Fieldin Culbreth (3B), Gerry Davis (LF), Jim Wolf (RF). Gametime Weather: 73 degrees, Clear, wind out to right at 10 mph. NY YANKEES 1ST: J Damon homered to right. D Jeter popped out to second. B Abreu walked. A Rodriguez walked, B Abreu to second. J Posada struck out swinging. H Matsui grounded out to second. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 1, CLEVELAND 0. CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore hit by pitch. A Cabrera grounded into double play, shortstop to first, G Sizemore out at second. T Hafner walked. V Martinez singled to right, T Hafner to second. R Garko singled to center, T Hafner scored, V Martinez to second. J Peralta walked, V Martinez to third, R Garko to second. K Lofton singled to center, V Martinez and R Garko scored, J Peralta out at third. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 1, CLEVELAND 3. NY YANKEES 2ND: R Cano walked. M Cabrera fouled out to first. D Mientkiewicz popped out to shortstop. R Cano caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop.(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 1, CLEVELAND 3. CLEVELAND 2ND: F Gutierrez popped out to third. C Blake struck out swinging. G Sizemore singled to right. G Sizemore caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 1, CLEVELAND 3. NY YANKEES 3RD: J Damon struck out swinging. D Jeter struck out swinging. B Abreu walked. A Rodriguez popped out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 1, CLEVELAND 3. CLEVELAND 3RD: A Cabrera homered to right center. T Hafner grounded out to second. V Martinez flied out to center. R Garko singled to right. J Peralta flied out to right. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 1, CLEVELAND 4. NY YANKEES 4TH: J Posada lined out to right. H Matsui struck out swinging. R Cano homered to right. M Cabrera popped out to second. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 2, CLEVELAND 4. CLEVELAND 4TH: K Lofton popped out to second. F Gutierrez walked. C Blake grounded into fielder's choice to third, F Gutierrez out at second. G Sizemore struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 2, CLEVELAND 4. NY YANKEES 5TH: S Duncan hit for D Mientkiewicz. S Duncan singled to right. J Damon walked, S Duncan to second. D Jeter flied out to right. B Abreu doubled to left, S Duncan scored, J Damon to third. A Rodriguez intentionally walked. J Posada struck out swinging. H Matsui popped out to shortstop. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, CLEVELAND 4. CLEVELAND 5TH: S Duncan at first base. A Cabrera walked. T Hafner flied out to center. V Martinez homered to center, A Cabrera scored. R Garko grounded out to second. J Peralta doubled to right. K Lofton singled to center, J Peralta scored. R Ohlendorf relieved C Wang. K Lofton stole second. F Gutierrez walked. C Blake doubled to right, K Lofton and F Gutierrez scored. G Sizemore flied out to center. (5 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, CLEVELAND 9. NY YANKEES 6TH: R Perez relieved C Sabathia. R Cano grounded out to shortstop. M Cabrera struck out swinging. S Duncan struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, CLEVELAND 9. CLEVELAND 6TH: A Cabrera grounded out to second. T Hafner homered to right center. V Martinez doubled to left. R Garko hit by pitch. J Peralta grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, V Martinez out at third, R Garko to second. K Lofton doubled to right center, R Garko scored, J Peralta to third. J Veras relieved R Ohlendorf. F Gutierrez fouled out to first. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, CLEVELAND 11. NY YANKEES 7TH: J Damon struck out swinging. D Jeter lined out to right. B Abreu struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, CLEVELAND 11. CLEVELAND 7TH: P Hughes relieved J Veras. C Blake struck out swinging. G Sizemore popped out to shortstop. A Cabrera struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, CLEVELAND 11. NY YANKEES 8TH: J Lewis relieved R Perez. A Rodriguez popped out to second. J Posada flied out to left. H Matsui struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, CLEVELAND 11. CLEVELAND 8TH: T Hafner flied out to center. V Martinez flied out to left. R Garko homered to right. J Peralta flied out to right. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, CLEVELAND 12. NY YANKEES 9TH: R Betancourt relieved J Lewis. R Cano struck out looking. M Cabrera fouled out to left. J Giambi hit for S Duncan. J Giambi singled to right. J Damon lined out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, CLEVELAND 12.</div>
Lofton drives in four; Indians club four homers in rout of Yankees <h3>CLEVELAND 12, NY YANKEES 3</h3>By Todd Krepop PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- August 12 is nothing but a distant memoryto the Cleveland Indians. Kenny Lofton had four RBI and C.C. Sabathia got the outs when heneeded to as the Indians defeated the New York Yankees, 12-3,in Game One of the American League Division Series on Thursdaynight. Rookie Asdrubal Cabrera, Travis Hafner and Ryan Garko each hitsolo home runs and Victor Martinez added a two-run blast as theIndians pounded New York starter Chien-Ming Wang and returned tothe postseason with a bang. "When somebody beats us up, you tip your cap to them and comeback the next day," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "In a shortseries, you've got to battle every game. Five-game series' iscertainly scary, no question." The Indians host Game Two on Friday. Alex Rodriguez's postseason misery along with the Yankeescontinued as the All-Star third baseman went 0-for-2 with twowalks and has only four hits in his last 50 postseason at-bats. Meanwhile New York has had their own problems in the postseason,as New York has lost their last four games in the playoffs andhaven't won a playoff series since 2004. On August 12, the Yankees had just completed a three-game sweepof the Indians at Jacobs Field. New York won all six gamesbetween the two teams this season - outscoring the Tribe 49-17 -but the team they had just swept isn't the team New York isplaying in the ALDS. Since that point the Indians finished the season on a 31-13 tear- the best mark in baseball since August 13 - to return to thepostseason for the first time since 2001. While much has been made about the Indians lack of postseasonexperience against the Yankees, it was the player with the mostexperience on the team leading the way. Lofton, who was acquired at the end of July from the TexasRangers, was a central figure on the Indians powerhouse teams ofthe 1990s. However, instead of scoring the runs, Lofton wasdriving them in on Thursday. Lofton put the Indians in front 3-1 with a two-run, two-outsingle in the first. It was a lead the Indians neverrelinquished as Sabathia pitched just well enough to get hissecond postseason victory. "Kenny's been a good player and he did a helluva job tonight,"Torre said. Sabathia, who was making his first start against the Yankeessince 2004, labored through five innings, throwing 114 pitches -62 for strikes. Sabathia, who averaged 1.4 walks every nineinnings during the regular season, walked six batters - the mostsince 2005 - but none scored. He threw 114 pitches. "We were running up pitch counts on Sabathia," Torre said. "Gotto give him credit, he bent but he didn't break." He struck out five and allowed three runs on four hits. Sabathiaand a trio of relievers held New York to just five hits,including just one from the Nos. two through six hitters in thelineup. Despite the ugly numbers Sabathia (1-0) was able to minimize thedamage, constantly working out of jams - none bigger than thefifth. The Yankees had just whittled the Indians three-run leaddown to 4-3 after Bobby Abreu's RBI double. With runners on second and third and one out, Sabathiaintentionally walked Rodriguez to load the bases. The movedlooked like it was going to backfire as Sabathia fell behindJorge Posada 3-0, but but the AL Cy Young candidate fought backand struck out Posada on a 96 miles-per-hour fastball. Sabathia then induced Hideki Matsui to popout to short on a 2-0pitch to end the threat. As he walked off the mound, Sabathiadouble-pumped his fist. The momentum carried over to the Indians half of the inning asthey scored five runs in the fifth while sending nine men to theplate. Cabrera led off the inning with a walk and two batters later,Martinez hit a two-run homer off of Yankees starter Wang (0-1)to extend the Indians lead to 6-3. Cleveland tacked on another run on Lofton's two-out RBI singleto chase Wang from the game. "In the fifth inning, we cut it to one and they extended it,"Torre said. "That was the game." The Yankees' 19-game winner allowed eight runs on nine hits in 42/3 innings. Wang also had trouble with home plate umpireBruce Froemming's strike zone - giving up four walks. It wasthe second shortest outing of Wang's season and the two homersand walks tied a season high. "(Wang) needs to be down, if he's not, he's flirting withdanger," Torre said. Reliever Ross Ohlendorf walked the first man he faced then gaveup a back-breaking double to Casey Blake as the Indians tookcommand with a 9-3 lead. Hafner homered in the sixth, Lofton added another RBI singlelater in the inning and Garko homered in the eighth to cap offthe Indians scoring. The game didn't start off smoothly for Sabathia and the Indiansas Johnny Damon led off the game with a home run. Damon blasted Sabathia's 3-1 pitch down the line and over thewall. Right field umpire Jim Wolf called it a foul ball,prompting Joe Torre to come out of the Yankees dugout to argue. The umpires conferred around the second base area, and after abrief discussion overturned Wolf's original call, giving Damonhis sixth-career leadoff homer in the postseason. Sabathia struggled with his control the rest of the inning,<div class="pre">walking Abreu and Rodriguez with one out, but the burly</div>lefthander escaped further damage by striking out Posada andgetting Matsui to ground out, but not before throwing 33pitches. Wang was unable to hold the lead though as he gave up a two-outRBI single to Garko to tie the game at 1-1. Cabrera homered off Wang in the third to give the Indians a 4-1lead.
AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND <div class="pre">NY YANKEES (3) VS CLEVELAND (12) - FINAL NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg J Damon lf 4 1 1 1 1 2 1 .250 D Jeter ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000 B Abreu rf 2 0 1 1 2 1 0 .500 A Rodriguez 3b 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 .000 J Posada c 4 0 0 0 0 2 5 .000 H Matsui dh 4 0 0 0 0 2 5 .000 R Cano 2b 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 .333 M Cabrera cf 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 D Mientkiewicz 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 a-S Duncan ph-1b 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 .500 b-J Giambi ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.000 Totals 31 3 5 3 6 11 16 a-singled to right for D Mientkiewicz in the 5th; b-singled to right for S Duncan in the 9th. BATTING: 2B - B Abreu (1, C Sabathia). HR - J Damon (1, 1st inning off C Sabathia 0 on, 0 Out), R Cano (1, 4th inning off C Sabathia 0 on, 2 Out). RBI - J Damon (1), R Cano (1), B Abreu (1). 2-out RBI - R Cano. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - H Matsui 3. Team LOB - 7. BASERUNNING: CS - R Cano (1, 2nd base by C Sabathia/V Martinez). FIELDING: Outfield assists - M Cabrera (J Peralta at 3rd base). DP: 1 (D Jeter-D Mientkiewicz). CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg G Sizemore cf 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .250 A Cabrera 2b 4 2 1 1 1 1 1 .250 T Hafner dh 4 2 1 1 1 0 1 .250 V Martinez c 5 2 3 2 0 0 0 .600 R Garko 1b 4 3 3 2 0 0 0 .750 J Peralta ss 4 1 1 0 1 0 3 .250 K Lofton lf 4 1 3 4 0 0 1 .750 F Gutierrez rf 2 1 0 0 2 0 2 .000 C Blake 3b 4 0 1 2 0 2 1 .250 Totals 35 12 14 12 5 4 11 BATTING: 2B - J Peralta (1, C Wang); C Blake (1, R Ohlendorf); V Martinez (1, R Ohlendorf); K Lofton (1, R Ohlendorf). HR - A Cabrera (1, 3rd inning off C Wang 0 on, 0 Out), V Martinez (1, 5th inning off C Wang 1 on, 1 Out), T Hafner (1, 6th inning off R Ohlendorf 0 on, 1 Out), R Garko (1, 8th inning off P Hughes 0 on, 2 Out). RBI - R Garko 2 (2), K Lofton 4 (4), A Cabrera (1), V Martinez 2 (2), C Blake 2 (2), T Hafner (1). 2-out RBI - R Garko 2, K Lofton 4, C Blake 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - F Gutierrez 2, G Sizemore 1. GIDP - A Cabrera. Team LOB - 6. BASERUNNING: SB - K Lofton (1, 2nd base off R Ohlendorf/J Posada). CS - G Sizemore (1, 2nd base by C Wang/J Posada). ---------------------------------------------------- NY YANKEES - 100 110 000 -- 3 CLEVELAND - 301 052 01x -- 12 ---------------------------------------------------- NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era C Wang (L, 0-1) 4 2/3 9 8 8 4 2 2 15.43 R Ohlendorf 1 4 3 3 1 0 1 27.00 J Veras 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 P Hughes 2 1 1 1 0 2 1 4.50 CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era C Sabathia (W, 1-0) 5 4 3 3 6 5 2 5.40 R Perez 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 0.00 J Lewis 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 R Betancourt 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 IBB - A Rodriguez (by C Sabathia). HBP - G Sizemore (by C Wang); R Garko (by R Ohlendorf). Pitches-strikes: C Wang 94-58; R Ohlendorf 28-17; J Veras 4-2; P Hughes 31-24; C Sabathia 114-62; R Perez 31-21; J Lewis 8-7; R Betancourt 22-15. Ground balls-fly balls: C Wang 5-5; R Ohlendorf 2-1; J Veras 0-1; P Hughes 0-4; C Sabathia 1-8; R Perez 1-1; J Lewis 0-2; R Betancourt 0-2. Batters faced: C Wang 25; R Ohlendorf 9; J Veras 1; P Hughes 7; C Sabathia 24; R Perez 6; J Lewis 3; R Betancourt 4. UMPIRES: HP--Bruce Froemming. 1B--Laz Diaz. 2B--Ron Kulpa. 3B--Fieldin Culbreth. LF--Gerry Davis. RF--Jim Wolf. T--3:44. Att--44,608. Weather: 73 degrees, clear. Wind: 10 mph, in from right.</div>
Lofton drives in four; Indians club four homers in rout of Yankees <h3>CLEVELAND 12, NY YANKEES 3</h3>By Todd Krepop PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- August 12 is nothing but a distant memoryto the Cleveland Indians. Kenny Lofton had four RBI and C.C. Sabathia got the outs when heneeded to as the Indians defeated the New York Yankees, 12-3,in Game One of the American League Division Series on Thursdaynight. Rookie Asdrubal Cabrera, Travis Hafner and Ryan Garko each hitsolo home runs and Victor Martinez added a two-run blast as theIndians pounded New York starter Chien-Ming Wang and returned tothe postseason with a bang. "When somebody beats us up, you tip your cap to them and comeback the next day," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "In a shortseries, you've got to battle every game. Five-game series' iscertainly scary, no question." The Indians host Game Two on Friday. Alex Rodriguez's postseason misery along with the Yankeescontinued as the All-Star third baseman went 0-for-2 with twowalks and has only four hits in his last 50 postseason at-bats. "We didn't swing it like we wanted," Rodriguez said. "Sabathiareally shut us down at the key point." Meanwhile New York has had their own problems in the postseason,as New York has lost their last four games in the playoffs andhaven't won a playoff series since 2004. On August 12, the Yankees had just completed a three-game sweepof the Indians at Jacobs Field. New York won all six gamesbetween the two teams this season - outscoring the Tribe 49-17 -but the team they had just swept isn't the team New York isplaying in the ALDS. "The playoffs is a whole different atmosphere," Lofton said."Now you start from scratch. You start from day one. And welook today as day one and we've got this win out." "We have a lot of respect for (New York)," Martinez said. Wejust needed to make sure we played hard. We were ready to playtoday." Since that point the Indians finished the season on a 31-13 tear- the best mark in baseball since August 13 - to return to thepostseason for the first time since 2001. "Anything can happen," Martinez said. "It is a brand newballgame." While much has been made about the Indians lack of postseasonexperience against the Yankees, it was the player with the mostexperience on the team leading the way. Lofton, who was acquired at the end of July from the TexasRangers, was a central figure on the Indians powerhouse teams ofthe 1990s. However, instead of scoring the runs, Lofton wasdriving them in on Thursday. "It was kind of exciting," Lofton said. "It was just the factthat I was trying to tell these guys that in '95 how excitingthe crowd was. I said if we start winning and doing things, thecrowd is going to get excited. Now they are back in that modeagain, so it's going to be fun." "He stepped up for us tonight, driving in the runs," Indiansthird baseman Casey Blake said. "He has been doing this foryears." Lofton put the Indians in front 3-1 with a two-run, two-outsingle in the first. "Kenny is a big-game player and he has given us a boost in thebottom of the lineup," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "Certainplayers have that within him and Kenny most definitely does.He's done it his entire career. He has been a postseason playerthroughout." It was a lead the Indians never relinquished as Sabathia pitchedjust well enough to get his second postseason victory. Sabathia, who was making his first start against the Yankeessince 2004, labored through five innings, throwing 114 pitches -62 for strikes. Sabathia, who averaged 1.4 walks every nineinnings during the regular season, walked six batters - the mostsince 2005 - but none scored. "We were running up pitch counts on Sabathia," Torre said. "Gotto give him credit, he bent but he didn't break." He struck out five and allowed three runs on four hits.Sabathia and a trio of relievers held New York to just fivehits, including just one from the Nos. two through six hittersin the lineup. "I was trying to change speeds, making sure I had command ofboth sides of the plate," Sabathia said. "I think that was thebiggest thing is just making sure I established it with (theYankees) and having them think about it." Despite the ugly numbers Sabathia (1-0) was able to minimize thedamage, constantly working out of jams - none bigger than thefifth. The Yankees had just whittled the Indians three-run leaddown to 4-3 after Bobby Abreu's RBI double. With runners on second and third and one out, Sabathiaintentionally walked Rodriguez to load the bases. The movedlooked like it was going to backfire as Sabathia fell behindJorge Posada 3-0, but the AL Cy Young candidate fought back andstruck out Posada on a 96 miles-per-hour fastball. "I got the green light on 3-and-0 and fouled it," Posada said."Then I swung at pitches up in the zone and that's where C.C. istough. The best pitch I got was 3-and-0 and it was tough tolay off the others." "That at-bat changed the whole inning," Martinez said."(Sabathia) didn't have his best stuff, but he didn't give upand he battled." Sabathia then induced Hideki Matsui to popout to short on a 2-0pitch to end the threat. As he walked off the mound, Sabathiadouble-pumped his fist. "That was a big spot in the game, I felt," Sabathia said. "I wasjust thinking myself, 'Just try to make sure we end this inningwith the lead.' I was able to work out of it. Posada helpedme out a little bit by swinging at the 3-and-0 pitch." The momentum carried over to the Indians half of the inning asthey scored five runs in the fifth while sending nine men to theplate. Cabrera led off the inning with a walk and two batters later,Martinez hit a two-run homer off of Yankees starter Wang (0-1)to extend the Indians lead to 6-3. Cleveland tacked on another run on Lofton's two-out RBI singleto chase Wang from the game. The Yankees' 19-game winner allowed eight runs on nine hits in 42/3 innings. Wang also had trouble with home plate umpireBruce Froemming's strike zone - giving up four walks. It wasthe second shortest outing of Wang's season and the two homersand walks tied a season high. "(Wang) needs to be down, if he's not, he's flirting withdanger," Torre said.
