AL: CLEVELAND at NY YANKEES <div class="pre">CLEVELAND (4) VS NY YANKEES (8) - END 8TH - IN PROGRESS CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg G Sizemore cf 4 0 1 0 0 2 0 .333 A Cabrera 2b 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .167 T Hafner dh 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 .250 V Martinez c 4 0 1 0 0 1 4 .333 R Garko 1b 4 0 1 1 0 1 3 .364 J Peralta ss 3 1 2 1 1 0 2 .364 K Lofton lf 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .545 T Nixon rf 4 1 2 2 0 1 1 .500 F Gutierrez pr-rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 C Blake 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .083 Totals 33 4 9 4 3 7 16 BATTING: 2B - J Peralta (3, P Hughes); T Nixon (1, J Chamberlain). HR - T Nixon (1, 2nd inning off R Clemens 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - R Garko (3), T Nixon 2 (2), J Peralta (1). 2-out RBI - R Garko, J Peralta, T Nixon. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - K Lofton 1, C Blake 2, J Peralta 1, A Cabrera 1. GIDP - R Garko. Team LOB - 8. BASERUNNING: SB - G Sizemore (1, 2nd base off R Clemens/J Posada). FIELDING: E - T Nixon (1, bobble). DP: 3 (J Peralta-R Garko, J Peralta-A Cabrera-R Garko, C Blake-A Cabrera-R Garko). NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg J Damon lf 4 1 3 4 0 1 1 .308 D Jeter ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .083 B Abreu rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 .200 A Rodriguez 3b 4 1 2 0 0 1 0 .200 J Posada c 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 .100 J Giambi 1b 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .333 a-D Mientkiewicz ph-1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 H Matsui dh 2 3 2 0 2 0 0 .222 R Cano 2b 4 1 2 1 0 0 2 .273 M Cabrera cf 4 1 1 1 0 0 3 .167 Totals 32 8 11 6 3 5 11 a-sacrificed to third for J Giambi in the 6th. BATTING: 2B - R Cano (1, J Westbrook). HR - J Damon (2, 5th inning off J Westbrook 2 on, 1 Out). S - D Mientkiewicz. RBI - J Damon 4 (5), M Cabrera (2), R Cano (2). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Damon 1, M Cabrera 1. GIDP - D Jeter 2, J Posada. Team LOB - 4. FIELDING: E - R Cano (1, ground ball). DP: 1 (D Jeter-R Cano-D Mientkiewicz). ---------------------------------------------------- CLEVELAND - 111 000 01 -- 4 NY YANKEES - 001 043 00 -- 8 ---------------------------------------------------- CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era J Westbrook 5 9 6 6 0 1 1 10.80 A Fultz 1 2 2 0 1 1 0 0.00 J Lewis 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0.00 J Borowski 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0.00 NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era R Clemens 2 1/3 4 3 3 2 1 1 11.57 P Hughes 3 2/3 2 0 0 0 4 0 1.59 J Chamberlain 2 3 1 1 1 2 0 4.91 J Westbrook pitched to 1 batter in the 6th. WP - P Hughes. IBB - H Matsui (by A Fultz). Pitches-strikes: J Westbrook 79-48; A Fultz 18-10; J Lewis 16-10; J Borowski 20-11; R Clemens 59-33; P Hughes 63-43; J Chamberlain 38-23. Ground balls-fly balls: J Westbrook 12-3; A Fultz 2-0; J Lewis 0-0; J Borowski 0-3; R Clemens 3-3; P Hughes 1-6; J Chamberlain 2-2. Batters faced: J Westbrook 22; A Fultz 6; J Lewis 3; J Borowski 5; R Clemens 13; P Hughes 14; J Chamberlain 9. UMPIRES: HP--Ron Kulpa. 1B--Fieldin Culbreth. 2B--Gerry Davis. 3B--Jim Wolf. LF--Bruce Froemming. RF--Laz Diaz. Weather: 71 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 7 mph, right to left.</div>
AL: CLEVELAND at NY YANKEES <div class="pre">AL AT NY YANKEES - PITCHING CHANGE NYY: MARIANO RIVERA (0-0, 0.00) STARTING THE 9TH CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 4, NY YANKEES 8 DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: G SIZEMORE (.333, 1-FOR-4)</div>
AL: CLEVELAND at NY YANKEES <div class="pre">AL AT NY YANKEES - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: M Rivera relieved J Chamberlain. SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 4 NY YANKEES 8 TOP, 9TH DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: G Sizemore (.333, 1-FOR-4)</div>
AL: CLEVELAND at NY YANKEES <div class="pre">AL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - CLEVELAND 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 9 1 NY YANKEES 0 0 1 0 4 3 0 0 x 8 11 1 (FINAL) BATTERIES: CLE - JAKE WESTBROOK, AARON FULTZ (6TH), JENSEN LEWIS (7TH), JOE BOROWSKI (8TH) AND VICTOR MARTINEZ NYY - ROGER CLEMENS, PHIL HUGHES (3RD), JOBA CHAMBERLAIN (7TH), MARIANO RIVERA (9TH) AND JORGE POSADA HOME RUNS: CLE - TROT NIXON (1) OFF ROGER CLEMENS IN THE 2ND, 0 ON NYY - JOHNNY DAMON (2) OFF JAKE WESTBROOK IN THE 5TH, 2 ON</div>
AL: CLEVELAND at NY YANKEES <div class="pre">AL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - CLEVELAND 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 9 1 NY YANKEES 0 0 1 0 4 3 0 0 x 8 11 1 (FINAL) BATTERIES: CLE - JAKE WESTBROOK, AARON FULTZ (6TH), JENSEN LEWIS (7TH), JOE BOROWSKI (8TH) AND VICTOR MARTINEZ NYY - ROGER CLEMENS, PHIL HUGHES (3RD), JOBA CHAMBERLAIN (7TH), MARIANO RIVERA (9TH) AND JORGE POSADA WP - PHIL HUGHES (1-0) LP - JAKE WESTBROOK (0-1) SAVE - NONE HOME RUNS: CLE - TROT NIXON (1) OFF ROGER CLEMENS IN THE 2ND, 0 ON NYY - JOHNNY DAMON (2) OFF JAKE WESTBROOK IN THE 5TH, 2 ON TIME: 3:38 ATT: 56,358 PROBABLES:</div>
AL: CLEVELAND at NY YANKEES <div class="pre">CLEVELAND (4) VS NY YANKEES (8) - FINAL CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg G Sizemore cf 5 0 1 0 0 2 0 .308 A Cabrera 2b 5 1 1 0 0 2 1 .154 T Hafner dh 3 1 0 0 2 1 0 .231 V Martinez c 4 0 1 0 0 1 4 .333 R Garko 1b 4 0 1 1 0 1 3 .364 J Peralta ss 3 1 2 1 1 0 2 .364 K Lofton lf 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .545 T Nixon rf 4 1 2 2 0 1 1 .500 F Gutierrez pr-rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 C Blake 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .083 Totals 36 4 9 4 3 9 16 BATTING: 2B - J Peralta (3, P Hughes); T Nixon (1, J Chamberlain). HR - T Nixon (1, 2nd inning off R Clemens 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - R Garko (3), T Nixon 2 (2), J Peralta (1). 2-out RBI - R Garko, J Peralta, T Nixon. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - K Lofton 1, C Blake 2, J Peralta 1, A Cabrera 1. GIDP - R Garko. Team LOB - 8. BASERUNNING: SB - G Sizemore (1, 2nd base off R Clemens/J Posada). FIELDING: E - T Nixon (1, bobble). DP: 3 (J Peralta-R Garko, J Peralta-A Cabrera-R Garko, C Blake-A Cabrera-R Garko). NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg J Damon lf 4 1 3 4 0 1 1 .308 D Jeter ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .083 B Abreu rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 .200 A Rodriguez 3b 4 1 2 0 0 1 0 .200 J Posada c 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 .100 J Giambi 1b 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .333 a-D Mientkiewicz ph-1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 H Matsui dh 2 3 2 0 2 0 0 .222 R Cano 2b 4 1 2 1 0 0 2 .273 M Cabrera cf 4 1 1 1 0 0 3 .167 Totals 32 8 11 6 3 5 11 a-sacrificed to third for J Giambi in the 6th. BATTING: 2B - R Cano (1, J Westbrook). HR - J Damon (2, 5th inning off J Westbrook 2 on, 1 Out). S - D Mientkiewicz. RBI - J Damon 4 (5), M Cabrera (2), R Cano (2). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Damon 1, M Cabrera 1. GIDP - D Jeter 2, J Posada. Team LOB - 4. FIELDING: E - R Cano (1, ground ball). DP: 1 (D Jeter-R Cano-D Mientkiewicz). ---------------------------------------------------- CLEVELAND - 111 000 010 -- 4 NY YANKEES - 001 043 00x -- 8 ---------------------------------------------------- CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era J Westbrook (L, 0-1) 5 9 6 6 0 1 1 10.80 A Fultz 1 2 2 0 1 1 0 0.00 J Lewis 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0.00 J Borowski 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0.00 NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era R Clemens 2 1/3 4 3 3 2 1 1 11.57 P Hughes (W, 1-0) 3 2/3 2 0 0 0 4 0 1.59 J Chamberlain 2 3 1 1 1 2 0 4.91 M Rivera 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 J Westbrook pitched to 1 batter in the 6th. WP - P Hughes. IBB - H Matsui (by A Fultz). Pitches-strikes: J Westbrook 79-48; A Fultz 18-10; J Lewis 16-10; J Borowski 20-11; R Clemens 59-33; P Hughes 63-43; J Chamberlain 38-23; M Rivera 10-8. Ground balls-fly balls: J Westbrook 12-3; A Fultz 2-0; J Lewis 0-0; J Borowski 0-3; R Clemens 3-3; P Hughes 1-6; J Chamberlain 2-2; M Rivera 0-1. Batters faced: J Westbrook 22; A Fultz 6; J Lewis 3; J Borowski 5; R Clemens 13; P Hughes 14; J Chamberlain 9; M Rivera 3. UMPIRES: HP--Ron Kulpa. 1B--Fieldin Culbreth. 2B--Gerry Davis. 3B--Jim Wolf. LF--Bruce Froemming. RF--Laz Diaz. T--3:38. Att--56,358. Weather: 71 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 7 mph, right to left.</div>
AL: CLEVELAND at NY YANKEES <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CLEVELAND (4) AT NY YANKEES (8) - HOW THEY SCORED ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore grounded out to second. A Cabrera reached on infield single to shortstop. T Hafner walked, A Cabrera to second. V Martinez lined out to left. R Garko singled to center, A Cabrera scored, T Hafner to second. J Peralta grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, R Garko out at second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 1, NY YANKEES 0. CLEVELAND 2ND: K Lofton popped out to shortstop. T Nixon homered to right. C Blake grounded out to second. G Sizemore singled to right. G Sizemore stole second. A Cabrera flied out to center. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, NY YANKEES 0. CLEVELAND 3RD: T Hafner walked. V Martinez struck out swinging. P Hughes relieved R Clemens. T Hafner to second on wild pitch by P Hughes. R Garko grounded out to shortstop. J Peralta doubled to right, T Hafner scored. K Lofton flied out to left. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, NY YANKEES 0. NY YANKEES 3RD: H Matsui reached on infield single to second. R Cano grounded out to first, H Matsui to second. M Cabrera grounded into fielder's choice to catcher, H Matsui to third. J Damon singled to right, H Matsui scored, M Cabrera to second. D Jeter grounded into double play, third to second to first, J Damon out at second.(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, NY YANKEES 1. NY YANKEES 5TH: J Giambi struck out swinging. H Matsui singled to left center. R Cano doubled to left, H Matsui to third. M Cabrera singled to left center, H Matsui scored, R Cano to third. J Damon homered to right, R Cano and M Cabrera scored. D Jeter lined out to center. B Abreu popped out to shortstop. (4 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, NY YANKEES 5. NY YANKEES 6TH: A Rodriguez reached on infield single to shortstop. A Fultz relieved J Westbrook. J Posada singled to left, A Rodriguez to second. D Mientkiewicz hit for J Giambi. D Mientkiewicz sacrificed to third, A Rodriguez to third, J Posada to second. H Matsui intentionally walked. R Cano singled to right center, A Rodriguez scored, J Posada to third, H Matsui to second, J Posada and H Matsui scored, R Cano to third on error by right fielder T Nixon. M Cabrera grounded out to third. J Damon struck out swinging. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) CLEVELAND 3, NY YANKEES 8. CLEVELAND 8TH: V Martinez singled to right center. R Garko grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, V Martinez out at second. J Peralta walked. K Lofton singled to left, J Peralta to second. T Nixon doubled to left center, J Peralta scored, K Lofton to third. F Gutierrez ran for T Nixon. C Blake flied out to right. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, NY YANKEES 8.</div>
AL: CLEVELAND at NY YANKEES <div class="pre">AL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - CLEVELAND 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 9 1 NY YANKEES 0 0 1 0 4 3 0 0 x 8 11 1 (FINAL) BATTERIES: CLE - JAKE WESTBROOK, AARON FULTZ (6TH), JENSEN LEWIS (7TH), JOE BOROWSKI (8TH) AND VICTOR MARTINEZ NYY - ROGER CLEMENS, PHIL HUGHES (3RD), JOBA CHAMBERLAIN (7TH), MARIANO RIVERA (9TH) AND JORGE POSADA WP - PHIL HUGHES (1-0) LP - JAKE WESTBROOK (0-1) SAVE - NONE HOME RUNS: CLE - TROT NIXON (1) OFF ROGER CLEMENS IN THE 2ND, 0 ON NYY - JOHNNY DAMON (2) OFF JAKE WESTBROOK IN THE 5TH, 2 ON TIME: 3:38 ATT: 56,358</div>
AL: CLEVELAND at NY YANKEES <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CLEVELAND (4) AT NY YANKEES (8) - EVENT LOG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cleveland Starting Lineups -- G Sizemore CF, A Cabrera 2B, T Hafner DH, V Martinez C, R Garko 1B, J Peralta SS, K Lofton LF, T Nixon RF, C Blake 3B, J Westbrook RHP. Ny Yankees Starting Lineups -- J Damon LF, D Jeter SS, B Abreu RF, A Rodriguez 3B, J Posada C, J Giambi 1B, H Matsui DH, R Cano 2B, M Cabrera CF, R Clemens RHP. Umpires -- Ron Kulpa (HP), Fieldin Culbreth (1B), Gerry Davis (2B), Jim Wolf (3B), Bruce Froemming (LF), Laz Diaz (RF). Gametime Weather: 71 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind right to left at 7 mph. CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore grounded out to second. A Cabrera reached on infield single to shortstop. T Hafner walked, A Cabrera to second. V Martinez lined out to left. R Garko singled to center, A Cabrera scored, T Hafner to second. J Peralta grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, R Garko out at second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 1, NY YANKEES 0. NY YANKEES 1ST: J Damon singled to left. D Jeter grounded into double play, shortstop to first, J Damon out at second. B Abreu grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 1, NY YANKEES 0. CLEVELAND 2ND: K Lofton popped out to shortstop. T Nixon homered to right. C Blake grounded out to second. G Sizemore singled to right. G Sizemore stole second. A Cabrera flied out to center. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, NY YANKEES 0. NY YANKEES 2ND: A Rodriguez singled to left center. J Posada grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, A Rodriguez out at second. J Giambi grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, NY YANKEES 0. CLEVELAND 3RD: T Hafner walked. V Martinez struck out swinging. P Hughes relieved R Clemens. T Hafner to second on wild pitch by P Hughes. R Garko grounded out to shortstop. J Peralta doubled to right, T Hafner scored. K Lofton flied out to left. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, NY YANKEES 0. NY YANKEES 3RD: H Matsui reached on infield single to second. R Cano grounded out to first, H Matsui to second. M Cabrera grounded into fielder's choice to catcher, H Matsui to third. J Damon singled to right, H Matsui scored, M Cabrera to second. D Jeter grounded into double play, third to second to first, J Damon out at second.(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, NY YANKEES 1. CLEVELAND 4TH: T Nixon struck out swinging. C Blake flied out to center. G Sizemore struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, NY YANKEES 1. NY YANKEES 4TH: B Abreu grounded out to pitcher. A Rodriguez flied out to left. J Posada grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, NY YANKEES 1. CLEVELAND 5TH: A Cabrera flied out to left. T Hafner safe at first on error by second baseman R Cano. V Martinez flied out to center. R Garko struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) CLEVELAND 3, NY YANKEES 1. NY YANKEES 5TH: J Giambi struck out swinging. H Matsui singled to left center. R Cano doubled to left, H Matsui to third. M Cabrera singled to left center, H Matsui scored, R Cano to third. J Damon homered to right, R Cano and M Cabrera scored. D Jeter lined out to center. B Abreu popped out to shortstop. (4 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, NY YANKEES 5. CLEVELAND 6TH: J Peralta singled to left. K Lofton struck out swinging. T Nixon flied out to left. C Blake lined out to right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, NY YANKEES 5. NY YANKEES 6TH: A Rodriguez reached on infield single to shortstop. A Fultz relieved J Westbrook. J Posada singled to left, A Rodriguez to second. D Mientkiewicz hit for J Giambi. D Mientkiewicz sacrificed to third, A Rodriguez to third, J Posada to second. H Matsui intentionally walked. R Cano singled to right center, A Rodriguez scored, J Posada to third, H Matsui to second, J Posada and H Matsui scored, R Cano to third on error by right fielder T Nixon. M Cabrera grounded out to third. J Damon struck out swinging. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) CLEVELAND 3, NY YANKEES 8. CLEVELAND 7TH: D Mientkiewicz at first base. J Chamberlain relieved P Hughes. G Sizemore struck out swinging. A Cabrera struck out swinging. T Hafner flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, NY YANKEES 8. NY YANKEES 7TH: J Lewis relieved A Fultz. D Jeter struck out swinging. B Abreu struck out swinging. A Rodriguez struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, NY YANKEES 8. CLEVELAND 8TH: V Martinez singled to right center. R Garko grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, V Martinez out at second. J Peralta walked. K Lofton singled to left, J Peralta to second. T Nixon doubled to left center, J Peralta scored, K Lofton to third. F Gutierrez ran for T Nixon. C Blake flied out to right. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, NY YANKEES 8. NY YANKEES 8TH: F Gutierrez in right field. J Borowski relieved J Lewis. J Posada walked. D Mientkiewicz flied out to center. H Matsui walked, J Posada to second. R Cano flied out to center. M Cabrera flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, NY YANKEES 8. CLEVELAND 9TH: M Rivera relieved J Chamberlain. G Sizemore flied out to left. A Cabrera struck out swinging. T Hafner struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, NY YANKEES 8.</div>
Yankees keep their season alive, beat Indians <h3>NY YANKEES 8, CLEVELAND 4</h3>By Larry Fleisher PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer BRONX, New York (Ticker) - Once Jake Westbrook's sinkerballstopped working, the New York Yankees were on their way savingtheir season and manager's job for at least one more day. Johnny Damon hit a three-run home run with one out in the bottomof the fifth inning and the Yankees overcame an early deficitto stave off elimination with a 8-4 victory over the ClevelandIndians in Game Three of the American League Division Series onSunday. Rookie Phil Hughes (1-0) allowed two hits in 3 2/3 innings ofrelief after starter Roger Clemens was forced to leave with astrained left hamstring, and New York tacked on three runs inthe sixth to put the game out of reach and keep the seriesalive. Before the Yankees even had a chance to get settled at YankeeStadium on Sunday afternoon, rumors about manager Joe Torre'sjob security were swirling. A report in the Bergen Record inNew Jersey had comments from owner George Steinbrenner thatindicated Torre's 12-year tenure was going to end with a thirdstraight loss in the division series. While that may still happen, it did not take place Monday.Instead, Game Four will be here Monday and the Yankees willattempt to take the series back to Jacobs Field. For four innings it looked like Torre was managing his finalgame as the Yankees struggled against Westbrook's sinker. Theyhit into three double plays through the first three innings andfaced a 3-1 deficit. Captain Derek Jeter bounced into doubleplays in the first and third while Jorge Posada hit into one inthe second. In the fifth, the Yankees' fortunes began to change as they puttogether four consecutive one-out hits. None of those hits wereon the ground as Westbrook began to struggle with his command,and the Yankees cut their deficit to one when Melky Cabrera lineda single to left-center. Two pitches later, the Yankees grabbed the lead when Damon hit a2-0 pitch from Westbrook over the right field fence for athree-run homer and a 5-3 advantage. The two run lead would have been plenty for Hughes and fellowrelievers Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera, but the Yankeesscored three in the sixth when Robinson Cano singled to rightcenter and Trot Nixon overran the ball, allowing Alex Rodriguez,Posada and Hideki Matsui to score. The lone black mark on an otherwise uplifting night for New Yorkwas the injury to Clemens, who had not pitched in three weeksdue to the injured hamstring and elbow and blister problems. The 45-year-old looked uncomfortable from the start and lastedjust 2 1/3 innings. The seven-time Cy Young Award winnerallowed three runs and four hits before Hughes came on. Clemens gave up an RBI single to Ryan Garko in the first, and asolo home run to Trot Nixon in the second. He departed afterissuing a leadoff walk to Travis Hafner and striking out VictorMartinez. Hughes came on and allowed Hafner to advance on a wild pitch andgave up a two-out RBI double to Jhonny Peralta. But afterPeralta's hit, the 21-year-old righthander retired 10 of thenext 12 hitters. Joba Chamberlain pitched the seventh and eighth and had afive-run lead to work with. The hard-throwing phenom struck outtwo while allowing one run and three hits. Rivera got his first work of the series and turned in a perfectninth inning in a non-save situation. The veteran closerentered the game with the lowest postseason ERA in history amongall pitchers with at least 30 innings and struck out two tonail down the victory. Westbrook (0-1), who started when the Indians clinched theirfirst division title in six years two weeks ago, lastedfive-plus innings and allowed six runs and nine hits.
Yankees keep their season alive, beat Indians <h3>NY YANKEES 8, CLEVELAND 4</h3>By Larry Fleisher PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer BRONX, New York (Ticker) - Once Jake Westbrook's sinkerballstopped working, the New York Yankees were on their way savingtheir season and manager's job for at least one more day. Johnny Damon hit a three-run home run with one out in the bottomof the fifth inning and the Yankees overcame an early deficitto stave off elimination with an 8-4 victory over the ClevelandIndians in Game Three of the American League Division Series onSunday. Rookie Phil Hughes (1-0) allowed two hits in 3 2/3 innings ofrelief after starter Roger Clemens was forced to leave with astrained left hamstring, and New York tacked on three runs inthe sixth to put the game out of reach and keep the seriesalive. Before the Yankees even had a chance to get settled at YankeeStadium on Sunday afternoon, rumors about manager Joe Torre'sjob security were swirling. A report in the Bergen Record inNew Jersey had comments from owner George Steinbrenner thatindicated Torre's 12-year tenure was going to end with a thirdstraight loss in the division series. "As far as the comments from Mr. Steinbrenner, I don't want tosay you ever get used to it. But you work here, you understandthe pressure everybody's under to win all the time. The onlything I try to do is allow my players to roll the dice out thereand play, because everytime we go to the postseason, there'snothing that's going to satisfy anybody unless you win the WorldSeries and that's very difficult." Steinbrenner's comments came after the Yankees had batted just.121 and scored four runs combined in the first two games of theseries in Cleveland. When responding to questioning aboutthem, Torre reiterated how difficult winning 11 games in Octoberis and his players continued their support for him. "I understand the requirements here, but the players are humanbeings and it's not machinery here," Torre said. "Even thoughthey get paid a lot of money, it's still blood that runs throughtheir veins and my job is try to be the players they are byallowing them to understand that the best effort you can give isall you can do." "We've battled through adversity all through the season andright now is another time," Damon said. "We all love Joe Torreand we'd love for him to win another championship. I think JoeTorre is a guy who commands a lot of respect. He's meant so muchto the Yankee organization and we get to play for him at leastanother day, and hopefully longer." While that may still happen, it will not take place Monday.Instead, Game Four will be here Monday and the Yankees willattempt to take the series back to Jacobs Field by pitchingChien Ming-Wang on three days rest. For four innings it looked like Torre was managing his finalgame as the Yankees struggled against Westbrook's sinker. Theyhit into three double plays through the first three innings andfaced a 3-1 deficit. Captain Derek Jeter bounced into doubleplays in the first and third while Jorge Posada hit into one inthe second. In the fifth, the Yankees' fortunes began to change as they puttogether four consecutive one-out hits. None of those hits wereon the ground as Westbrook began to struggle with his command,and the Yankees cut their deficit to one when Melky Cabreralined a single to left-center. "We had some good at-bats that inning," Jeter said. "Westbrookwas pretty good in terms of he was keeping the ball down, a lotof ground balls. I think we had three hits going into thatinning and those three hits were all on the ground. That inninghe left a couple of balls up and Johnny hit that big home run." Two pitches later, the Yankees grabbed the lead when Damon hit a2-0 pitch from Westbrook over the right field fence for athree-run homer and a 5-3 advantage. "I was hoping the ball would leave the ballpark," Damon said."Hitting the ball straight up in the air, I didn't quite get itthe way I wanted to. But having the count in my favor, I wasjust hoping to put a nice level swing on it." "Johnny is such a good pressure guy," Torre added. "He's sogood. He lays and waits and I watched that very familiar swingfrom 2004 when he did it against us with the bases loaded." The two-run lead would have been plenty for Hughes and fellowrelievers Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera, but the Yankeesscored three in the sixth when Robinson Cano singled to rightcenter and Nixon overran the ball, allowing Alex Rodriguez,Posada and Hideki Matsui to score. The lone black mark on an otherwise uplifting night for New Yorkwas the injury to Clemens, who had not pitched in three weeksdue to the injured hamstring and elbow and blister problems. The 45-year-old looked uncomfortable from the start and lastedjust 2 1/3 innings. The seven-time Cy Young Award winnerallowed three runs and four hits before Hughes came on. Clemens gave up an RBI single to Ryan Garko in the first, and asolo home run to Nixon in the second. He departed after issuinga leadoff walk to Travis Hafner and striking out VictorMartinez. "I (aggravated) it (the hamstring) the at-bat against Lofton inthe second," Clemens said. "And then there was a ball to myleft I don't know how many pitches later it locked up. It lockedup from that point." Hughes came on and allowed Hafner to advance on a wild pitch andgave up a two-out RBI double to Jhonny Peralta. But afterPeralta's hit, the 21-year-old righthander retired 10 of thenext 12 hitters. "They told me beforehand just to be ready because you never knowwhat's going to happen," Hughes said. "He hadn't pitched in awhile. Obviously I was needed tonight, so I just try to staymentally prepared for that." "That kid Hughes, came in and he's got a live fastball, toughbreaking ball, started mixing in a changeup a little bit,"Indians manager Phil Hughes said. "If you talk about thedifference between Roger and him and just the way they pitch,(it) threw us off a little bit. But the kid showed a lot ofpoise. He did a good job." Joba Chamberlain pitched the seventh and eighth and had afive-run lead to work with. The hard-throwing phenom struck outtwo while allowing one run and three hits. Rivera got his first work of the series and turned in a perfectninth inning in a non-save situation. The veteran closerentered the game with the lowest postseason ERA in history amongall pitchers with at least 30 innings and struck out two tonail down the victory. Westbrook (0-1), who started when the Indians clinched theirfirst division title in six years two weeks ago, lastedfive-plus innings and allowed six runs and nine hits. "The frustrating thing about it was I felt great, I feltstrong," Westbrook said. "They came out with a differentapproach and I didn't mix it up like I was supposed to and itcost us. You got to stay away from the big inning, especiallyagainst these guys in the playoffs."
Yankees keep their season alive, beat Indians <h3>NY YANKEES 8, CLEVELAND 4</h3>By Larry Fleisher PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer BRONX, New York (Ticker) - Once Jake Westbrook's sinkerballstopped working, the New York Yankees were on their way tosaving their season and manager's job for at least one more day. Johnny Damon hit a three-run home run with one out in the bottomof the fifth inning and the Yankees overcame an early deficitto stave off elimination with an 8-4 victory over the ClevelandIndians in Game Three of the American League Division Series onSunday. Rookie Phil Hughes (1-0) allowed two hits in 3 2/3 innings ofrelief after starter Roger Clemens was forced to leave with astrained left hamstring, and New York tacked on three runs inthe sixth to put the game out of reach and keep the seriesalive. Before the Yankees even had a chance to get settled at YankeeStadium on Sunday afternoon, rumors about manager Joe Torre'sjob security were swirling. A report in the Bergen Record inNew Jersey had comments from owner George Steinbrenner thatindicated Torre's 12-year tenure was going to end with a thirdstraight loss in the division series. "As far as the comments from Mr. Steinbrenner, I don't want tosay you ever get used to it. But you work here, you understandthe pressure everybody's under to win all the time. The onlything I try to do is allow my players to roll the dice out thereand play, because everytime we go to the postseason, there'snothing that's going to satisfy anybody unless you win the WorldSeries and that's very difficult." Steinbrenner's comments came after the Yankees had batted just.121 and scored four runs combined in the first two games of theseries in Cleveland. When responding to questioning aboutthem, Torre reiterated how difficult winning 11 games in Octoberis and his players continued their support for him. "I understand the requirements here, but the players are humanbeings and it's not machinery here," Torre said. "Even thoughthey get paid a lot of money, it's still blood that runs throughtheir veins and my job is try to be the players they are byallowing them to understand that the best effort you can give isall you can do." "We've battled through adversity all through the season andright now is another time," Damon said. "We all love Joe Torreand we'd love for him to win another championship. I think JoeTorre is a guy who commands a lot of respect. He's meant so muchto the Yankee organization and we get to play for him at leastanother day, and hopefully longer." While that may still happen, it will not take place Monday.Instead, Game Four will be here Monday and the Yankees willattempt to take the series back to Jacobs Field by pitchingChien Ming-Wang on three days rest. For four innings it looked like Torre was managing his finalgame as the Yankees struggled against Westbrook's sinker. Theyhit into three double plays through the first three innings andfaced a 3-1 deficit. Captain Derek Jeter bounced into doubleplays in the first and third while Jorge Posada hit into one inthe second. In the fifth, the Yankees' fortunes began to change as they puttogether four consecutive one-out hits. None of those hits wereon the ground as Westbrook began to struggle with his command,and the Yankees cut their deficit to one when Melky Cabreralined a single to left-center. "We had some good at-bats that inning," Jeter said. "Westbrookwas pretty good in terms of he was keeping the ball down, a lotof ground balls. I think we had three hits going into thatinning and those three hits were all on the ground. That inninghe left a couple of balls up and Johnny hit that big home run." Two pitches later, the Yankees grabbed the lead when Damon hit a2-0 pitch from Westbrook over the right field fence for athree-run homer and a 5-3 advantage. "I was hoping the ball would leave the ballpark," Damon said."Hitting the ball straight up in the air, I didn't quite get itthe way I wanted to. But having the count in my favor, I wasjust hoping to put a nice level swing on it." "Johnny is such a good pressure guy," Torre added. "He's sogood. He lays and waits and I watched that very familiar swingfrom 2004 when he did it against us with the bases loaded." The two-run lead would have been plenty for Hughes and fellowrelievers Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera, but the Yankeesscored three in the sixth when Robinson Cano singled to rightcenter and Nixon overran the ball, allowing Alex Rodriguez,Posada and Hideki Matsui to score. The lone black mark on an otherwise uplifting night for New Yorkwas the injury to Clemens, who had not pitched in three weeksdue to the injured hamstring and elbow and blister problems. The 45-year-old looked uncomfortable from the start and lastedjust 2 1/3 innings. The seven-time Cy Young Award winnerallowed three runs and four hits before Hughes came on. Clemens gave up an RBI single to Ryan Garko in the first, and asolo home run to Nixon in the second. He departed after issuinga leadoff walk to Travis Hafner and striking out VictorMartinez. "I (aggravated) it (the hamstring) the at-bat against Lofton inthe second," Clemens said. "And then there was a ball to myleft I don't know how many pitches later it locked up. It lockedup from that point." Hughes came on and allowed Hafner to advance on a wild pitch andgave up a two-out RBI double to Jhonny Peralta. But afterPeralta's hit, the 21-year-old righthander retired 10 of thenext 12 hitters. "They told me beforehand just to be ready because you never knowwhat's going to happen," Hughes said. "He hadn't pitched in awhile. Obviously I was needed tonight, so I just try to staymentally prepared for that." "That kid Hughes, came in and he's got a live fastball, toughbreaking ball, started mixing in a changeup a little bit,"Indians manager Phil Hughes said. "If you talk about thedifference between Roger and him and just the way they pitch,(it) threw us off a little bit. But the kid showed a lot ofpoise. He did a good job." Joba Chamberlain pitched the seventh and eighth and had afive-run lead to work with. The hard-throwing phenom struck outtwo while allowing one run and three hits. Rivera got his first work of the series and turned in a perfectninth inning in a non-save situation. The veteran closerentered the game with the lowest postseason ERA in history amongall pitchers with at least 30 innings and struck out two tonail down the victory. Westbrook (0-1), who started when the Indians clinched theirfirst division title in six years two weeks ago, lastedfive-plus innings and allowed six runs and nine hits. "The frustrating thing about it was I felt great, I feltstrong," Westbrook said. "They came out with a differentapproach and I didn't mix it up like I was supposed to and itcost us. You got to stay away from the big inning, especiallyagainst these guys in the playoffs."
