GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: BOSTON (1-1) at CLEVELAND (1-1)

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND - PITCHING CHANGE
BOS: HIDEKI OKAJIMA (0-0, 0.00) STARTING THE 7TH
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 2, CLEVELAND 4

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: C BLAKE (.273, 1-FOR-2)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: H Okajima relieved M Timlin.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 2
CLEVELAND 4 BOTTOM, 7TH

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: C Blake (.273, 1-FOR-2)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
BOSTON 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 7 0
CLEVELAND 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 4 6 1 (TOP 8)

CURRENT PITCHERS: BOS - HIDEKI OKAJIMA
CLE - JENSEN LEWIS

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: K YOUKILIS (.400, 1-FOR-2, BB)
D ORTIZ (.500, 1-FOR-2, BB)
M RAMIREZ (.500, 1-FOR-2, BB)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">BOSTON (2) VS CLEVELAND (4) - END 7TH - IN PROGRESS

BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D Pedroia 2b 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .167
K Youkilis 1b 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 .400
D Ortiz dh 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 .500
M Ramirez lf 2 0 1 0 1 0 2 .500
M Lowell 3b 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .364
J Drew rf 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 .300
J Varitek c 3 1 1 2 0 0 3 .154
C Crisp cf 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 .250
J Lugo ss 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .182

Totals 25 2 7 2 3 3 11

BATTING: 2B - D Ortiz (2, J Westbrook). HR - J Varitek (1, 7th inning off J
Westbrook 1 on, 1 Out). RBI - J Varitek 2 (4). Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - J Drew 1. GIDP - D Ortiz, C Crisp, M Ramirez. Team LOB - 5.



CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 .231
A Cabrera 2b 4 0 2 1 0 1 0 .333
T Hafner dh 2 0 0 1 1 1 1 .300
V Martinez c 3 0 1 0 0 1 2 .364
R Garko 1b 3 1 1 0 0 1 2 .364
J Peralta ss 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 .333
K Lofton lf 3 1 1 2 0 1 0 .308
T Nixon rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .250
F Gutierrez rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .100
C Blake 3b 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 .250

Totals 27 4 6 4 2 8 6

BATTING: HR - K Lofton (1, 2nd inning off D Matsuzaka 1 on, 2 Out). RBI - K
Lofton 2 (2), A Cabrera (3), T Hafner (2). 2-out RBI - K Lofton 2. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - V Martinez 1, R Garko 1. Team LOB - 4.

FIELDING: E - R Garko (1, ground ball). DP: 3 (A Cabrera-C Blake-R Garko, J
Peralta-R Garko, J Peralta-A Cabrera-R Garko).


----------------------------------------------------
BOSTON - 000 000 2 -- 2
CLEVELAND - 020 020 0 -- 4
----------------------------------------------------

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
D Matsuzaka 4 2/3 6 4 4 2 6 1 7.71
M Timlin 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00
H Okajima 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
J Westbrook 6 2/3 7 2 2 3 2 1 2.70
J Lewis 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.40

WP - D Matsuzaka. Pitches-strikes: D Matsuzaka 101-59; M Timlin 20-11; H
Okajima 12-10; J Westbrook 104-66; J Lewis 8-6. Ground balls-fly balls: D
Matsuzaka 6-2; M Timlin 2-0; H Okajima 1-2; J Westbrook 14-3; J Lewis 0-0.
Batters faced: D Matsuzaka 22; M Timlin 4; H Okajima 3; J Westbrook 27; J Lewis
1.

UMPIRES: HP--Brian Gorman. 1B--Paul Emmel. 2B--Gary Cederstrom. 3B--Dana
Demuth. LF--Randy Marsh. RF--Kerwin Danley.

Weather: 69 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 5 mph, right to left.</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND - PITCHING CHANGE
CLE: RAFAEL BETANCOURT (0-0, 0.00) STARTING THE 8TH
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 2, CLEVELAND 4

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: K YOUKILIS (.400, 1-FOR-2)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON 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: BOSTON 2
CLEVELAND 4 TOP, 8TH

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: K Youkilis (.400, 1-FOR-2)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
BOSTON 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 7 0
CLEVELAND 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 4 6 1 (BOT 8)

CURRENT PITCHERS: BOS - HIDEKI OKAJIMA
CLE - RAFAEL BETANCOURT

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: T HAFNER (.300, 0-FOR-2, BB, RBI)
V MARTINEZ (.364, 1-FOR-3)
R GARKO (.364, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">BOSTON (2) VS CLEVELAND (4) - MID 8TH - IN PROGRESS

BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D Pedroia 2b 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .167
K Youkilis 1b 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 .364
D Ortiz dh 3 0 1 0 1 0 1 .444
M Ramirez lf 3 0 1 0 1 0 2 .444
M Lowell 3b 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .364
J Drew rf 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 .300
J Varitek c 3 1 1 2 0 0 3 .154
C Crisp cf 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 .250
J Lugo ss 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .182

Totals 28 2 7 2 3 4 11

BATTING: 2B - D Ortiz (2, J Westbrook). HR - J Varitek (1, 7th inning off J
Westbrook 1 on, 1 Out). RBI - J Varitek 2 (4). Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - J Drew 1. GIDP - D Ortiz, C Crisp, M Ramirez. Team LOB - 5.



CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 .231
A Cabrera 2b 4 0 2 1 0 1 0 .333
T Hafner dh 2 0 0 1 1 1 1 .300
V Martinez c 3 0 1 0 0 1 2 .364
R Garko 1b 3 1 1 0 0 1 2 .364
J Peralta ss 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 .333
K Lofton lf 3 1 1 2 0 1 0 .308
T Nixon rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .250
F Gutierrez rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .100
C Blake 3b 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 .250

Totals 27 4 6 4 2 8 6

BATTING: HR - K Lofton (1, 2nd inning off D Matsuzaka 1 on, 2 Out). RBI - K
Lofton 2 (2), A Cabrera (3), T Hafner (2). 2-out RBI - K Lofton 2. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - V Martinez 1, R Garko 1. Team LOB - 4.

FIELDING: E - R Garko (1, ground ball). DP: 3 (A Cabrera-C Blake-R Garko, J
Peralta-R Garko, J Peralta-A Cabrera-R Garko).


----------------------------------------------------
BOSTON - 000 000 20 -- 2
CLEVELAND - 020 020 0 -- 4
----------------------------------------------------

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
D Matsuzaka 4 2/3 6 4 4 2 6 1 7.71
M Timlin 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00
H Okajima 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
J Westbrook 6 2/3 7 2 2 3 2 1 2.70
J Lewis 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.40
R Betancourt 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00

WP - D Matsuzaka. Pitches-strikes: D Matsuzaka 101-59; M Timlin 20-11; H
Okajima 12-10; J Westbrook 104-66; J Lewis 8-6; R Betancourt 13-11. Ground
balls-fly balls: D Matsuzaka 6-2; M Timlin 2-0; H Okajima 1-2; J Westbrook
14-3; J Lewis 0-0; R Betancourt 0-2. Batters faced: D Matsuzaka 22; M Timlin 4;
H Okajima 3; J Westbrook 27; J Lewis 1; R Betancourt 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Brian Gorman. 1B--Paul Emmel. 2B--Gary Cederstrom. 3B--Dana
Demuth. LF--Randy Marsh. RF--Kerwin Danley.

Weather: 69 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 5 mph, right to left.</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND - PITCHING CHANGE
BOS: MANNY DELCARMEN (0-0, 13.50) IN THE 8TH
SITUATION: NO RUNS IN, V MARTINEZ ON FIRST, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 2, CLEVELAND 4

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: R GARKO (.364, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: M Delcarmen relieved H Okajima.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, V MARTINEZ ON FIRST, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 2
CLEVELAND 4 BOTTOM, 8TH

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: R Garko (.364, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
BOSTON 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 7 0
CLEVELAND 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 4 6 1 (TOP 9)

CURRENT PITCHERS: BOS - MANNY DELCARMEN
CLE - RAFAEL BETANCOURT

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: M LOWELL (.364, 1-FOR-3)
J DREW (.300, 1-FOR-3)
J VARITEK (.154, 1-FOR-3, HR, 2 RBI)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">BOSTON (2) VS CLEVELAND (4) - END 8TH - IN PROGRESS

BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D Pedroia 2b 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .167
K Youkilis 1b 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 .364
D Ortiz dh 3 0 1 0 1 0 1 .444
M Ramirez lf 3 0 1 0 1 0 2 .444
M Lowell 3b 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .364
J Drew rf 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 .300
J Varitek c 3 1 1 2 0 0 3 .154
C Crisp cf 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 .250
J Lugo ss 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .182

Totals 28 2 7 2 3 4 11

BATTING: 2B - D Ortiz (2, J Westbrook). HR - J Varitek (1, 7th inning off J
Westbrook 1 on, 1 Out). RBI - J Varitek 2 (4). Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - J Drew 1. GIDP - D Ortiz, C Crisp, M Ramirez. Team LOB - 5.



CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 .231
A Cabrera 2b 4 0 2 1 0 1 0 .333
T Hafner dh 3 0 0 1 1 1 1 .273
V Martinez c 3 0 1 0 1 1 2 .364
R Garko 1b 4 1 1 0 0 2 3 .333
J Peralta ss 4 0 0 0 0 3 2 .308
K Lofton lf 3 1 1 2 0 1 0 .308
T Nixon rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .250
F Gutierrez rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .100
C Blake 3b 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 .250

Totals 30 4 6 4 3 10 8

BATTING: HR - K Lofton (1, 2nd inning off D Matsuzaka 1 on, 2 Out). RBI - K
Lofton 2 (2), A Cabrera (3), T Hafner (2). 2-out RBI - K Lofton 2. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - V Martinez 1, R Garko 1. Team LOB - 5.

FIELDING: E - R Garko (1, ground ball). DP: 3 (A Cabrera-C Blake-R Garko, J
Peralta-R Garko, J Peralta-A Cabrera-R Garko).


----------------------------------------------------
BOSTON - 000 000 20 -- 2
CLEVELAND - 020 020 00 -- 4
----------------------------------------------------

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
D Matsuzaka 4 2/3 6 4 4 2 6 1 7.71
M Timlin 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00
H Okajima 1 1/3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.00
M Delcarmen 2/3 0 0 0 0 2 0 6.75

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
J Westbrook 6 2/3 7 2 2 3 2 1 2.70
J Lewis 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.40
R Betancourt 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00

WP - D Matsuzaka. Pitches-strikes: D Matsuzaka 101-59; M Timlin 20-11; H
Okajima 20-13; M Delcarmen 7-6; J Westbrook 104-66; J Lewis 8-6; R Betancourt
13-11. Ground balls-fly balls: D Matsuzaka 6-2; M Timlin 2-0; H Okajima 2-2; M
Delcarmen 0-0; J Westbrook 14-3; J Lewis 0-0; R Betancourt 0-2. Batters faced:
D Matsuzaka 22; M Timlin 4; H Okajima 5; M Delcarmen 2; J Westbrook 27; J Lewis
1; R Betancourt 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Brian Gorman. 1B--Paul Emmel. 2B--Gary Cederstrom. 3B--Dana
Demuth. LF--Randy Marsh. RF--Kerwin Danley.

Weather: 69 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 5 mph, right to left.</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND - PITCHING CHANGE
CLE: JOE BOROWSKI (0-0, 0.00) STARTING THE 9TH
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 2, CLEVELAND 4

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: M LOWELL (.364, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: J Borowski relieved R Betancourt.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 2
CLEVELAND 4 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: M Lowell (.364, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
BOSTON 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 7 0
CLEVELAND 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 x 4 6 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: BOS - DAISUKE MATSUZAKA, MIKE TIMLIN (5TH), HIDEKI OKAJIMA (7TH),
MANNY DELCARMEN (8TH) AND JASON VARITEK

CLE - JAKE WESTBROOK, JENSEN LEWIS (7TH), RAFAEL
BETANCOURT (8TH), JOE BOROWSKI (9TH) AND VICTOR MARTINEZ

HOME RUNS: BOS - JASON VARITEK (1) OFF JAKE WESTBROOK IN THE 7TH, 1 ON

CLE - KENNY LOFTON (1) OFF DAISUKE MATSUZAKA IN THE 2ND, 1 ON</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
BOSTON 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 7 0
CLEVELAND 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 x 4 6 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: BOS - DAISUKE MATSUZAKA, MIKE TIMLIN (5TH), HIDEKI OKAJIMA (7TH),
MANNY DELCARMEN (8TH) AND JASON VARITEK

CLE - JAKE WESTBROOK, JENSEN LEWIS (7TH), RAFAEL
BETANCOURT (8TH), JOE BOROWSKI (9TH) AND VICTOR MARTINEZ


WP - JAKE WESTBROOK (1-0)
LP - DAISUKE MATSUZAKA (0-1)
SAVE - JOE BOROWSKI (1)

HOME RUNS: BOS - JASON VARITEK (1) OFF JAKE WESTBROOK IN THE 7TH, 1 ON

CLE - KENNY LOFTON (1) OFF DAISUKE MATSUZAKA IN THE 2ND, 1 ON


TIME: 3:28 ATT: 44,402

PROBABLES: BOS - TIM WAKEFIELD (NR)
CLE - PAUL BYRD (NR)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">BOSTON (2) VS CLEVELAND (4) - FINAL

BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D Pedroia 2b 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .167
K Youkilis 1b 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 .364
D Ortiz dh 3 0 1 0 1 0 1 .444
M Ramirez lf 3 0 1 0 1 0 2 .444
M Lowell 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .333
J Drew rf 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .273
J Varitek c 4 1 1 2 0 0 3 .143
C Crisp cf 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 .250
J Lugo ss 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .182

Totals 31 2 7 2 3 4 11

BATTING: 2B - D Ortiz (2, J Westbrook). HR - J Varitek (1, 7th inning off J
Westbrook 1 on, 1 Out). RBI - J Varitek 2 (4). Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - J Drew 1. GIDP - D Ortiz, C Crisp, M Ramirez. Team LOB - 5.



CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 .231
A Cabrera 2b 4 0 2 1 0 1 0 .333
T Hafner dh 3 0 0 1 1 1 1 .273
V Martinez c 3 0 1 0 1 1 2 .364
R Garko 1b 4 1 1 0 0 2 3 .333
J Peralta ss 4 0 0 0 0 3 2 .308
K Lofton lf 3 1 1 2 0 1 0 .308
T Nixon rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .250
F Gutierrez rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .100
C Blake 3b 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 .250

Totals 30 4 6 4 3 10 8

BATTING: HR - K Lofton (1, 2nd inning off D Matsuzaka 1 on, 2 Out). RBI - K
Lofton 2 (2), A Cabrera (3), T Hafner (2). 2-out RBI - K Lofton 2. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - V Martinez 1, R Garko 1. Team LOB - 5.

FIELDING: E - R Garko (1, ground ball). DP: 3 (A Cabrera-C Blake-R Garko, J
Peralta-R Garko, J Peralta-A Cabrera-R Garko).


----------------------------------------------------
BOSTON - 000 000 200 -- 2
CLEVELAND - 020 020 00x -- 4
----------------------------------------------------

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
D Matsuzaka (L, 0-1) 4 2/3 6 4 4 2 6 1 7.71
M Timlin 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00
H Okajima 1 1/3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.00
M Delcarmen 2/3 0 0 0 0 2 0 6.75

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
J Westbrook (W, 1-0) 6 2/3 7 2 2 3 2 1 2.70
J Lewis (H, 1) 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.40
R Betancourt (H, 1) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
J Borowski (S, 1) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00

WP - D Matsuzaka. Pitches-strikes: D Matsuzaka 101-59; M Timlin 20-11; H
Okajima 20-13; M Delcarmen 7-6; J Westbrook 104-66; J Lewis 8-6; R Betancourt
13-11; J Borowski 17-12. Ground balls-fly balls: D Matsuzaka 6-2; M Timlin 2-0;
H Okajima 2-2; M Delcarmen 0-0; J Westbrook 14-3; J Lewis 0-0; R Betancourt
0-2; J Borowski 0-3. Batters faced: D Matsuzaka 22; M Timlin 4; H Okajima 5; M
Delcarmen 2; J Westbrook 27; J Lewis 1; R Betancourt 3; J Borowski 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Brian Gorman. 1B--Paul Emmel. 2B--Gary Cederstrom. 3B--Dana
Demuth. LF--Randy Marsh. RF--Kerwin Danley.

T--3:28. Att--44,402.
Weather: 69 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 5 mph, right to
left.</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
BOSTON 2
CLEVELAND 4 FINAL</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOSTON (2) AT CLEVELAND (4) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CLEVELAND 2ND: V Martinez grounded out to second. R Garko singled to
center. J Peralta struck out looking. K Lofton homered to right, R Garko
scored. T Nixon grounded out to shortstop. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0,
CLEVELAND 2.

CLEVELAND 5TH: T Nixon struck out swinging. C Blake singled to shallow
left. C Blake to second on wild pitch by D Matsuzaka. G Sizemore walked.
A Cabrera singled to center, C Blake scored, G Sizemore to third. T Hafner
grounded into fielder's choice to second, G Sizemore scored, A Cabrera out at
second. V Martinez singled to left, T Hafner to second. M Timlin relieved
D Matsuzaka. R Garko struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0,
CLEVELAND 4.

BOSTON 7TH: F Gutierrez in right field. M Lowell popped out to second.
J Drew singled to center. J Varitek homered to center, J Drew scored. C Crisp
struck out swinging. J Lugo reached on infield single to shortstop. J Lewis
relieved J Westbrook. D Pedroia struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
BOSTON 2, CLEVELAND 4.</div>

 

Westbrook, Lofton lead Indians past Red Sox in ALCS

<h3>CLEVELAND 4, BOSTON 2</h3>CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- The Cleveland Indians have been searchingfor a shut-down starting pitcher during the American LeagueChampionship Series. Surprisingly, Jake Westbrook turned out tobe the guy.


Westbrook pitched 6 2/3 strong innings and Kenny Lofton providedsome offensive fireworks as the Indians earned a 4-2 victoryover the Boston Red Sox on Monday in Game Three of the ALCS.

Rookie Asdrubal Cabrera had two hits and drove in a run forCleveland, which took a two games to one lead in thebest-of-seven series and hosts Game Four here on Tuesday.

The Indians entered the series with two of the top five startersin the AL going in Games One and Two in C.C. Sabathia and<div class="pre">Fausto Carmona. When neither 19-game winner was able to</div>complete five innings, Cleveland was left searching for ananswer in the rotation.


Westbrook (1-0), who suffered the Indians lone ALDS loss to theNew York Yankees, was an unlikely choice to shut down a Bostonoffense that had scored 35 runs in five postseason games andboasted the formidable duo of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez inthe middle of the order. But Westbrook stepped up to thechallenge, pounding the strike zone early in at-bats and gettingahead of the Red Sox hitters to set up his trademark sinker.

The righthander started the first 11 hitters he faced withstrikes and threw first-pitch strikes to 21 of the 27 batters hefaced. He induced 14 ground-ball outs and allowed two runs andseven hits while walking three and striking out two to earn hisfirst career postseason win.


Lofton staked his pitcher to an early lead when he got to Bostonstarter Daisuke Matsuzaka in the second for a two-run blast.With Ryan Garko aboard following a one-out single, Lofton drovethe first pitch he saw from Matsuzaka just over the right fieldwall for a 2-0 advantage.


Lofton's blast was his first since beginning his third tour ofduty with the Indians on July 27, and marked his seventh careerpostseason homer - the first since taking Curt Schilling deep inGame One of the 2004 ALCS when he was with the Yankees.

The two-run homer came one-half inning after the Red Sox failedto score after loading the bases with no outs in the top of thesecond. Westbrook walked Manny Ramirez and allowed a single toMike Lowell before J.D. Drew reached on an error.


The veteran sinkerballer recovered to retire Jason Varitek on apopup to short left field before inducing a double play grounderfrom Coco Crisp.


For the second game in a row in the ALCS the Indians bullpencame up huge, with three relievers combining to toss 2 1/3innings of hitless baseball. Embattled closer Joe Borowskinotched the final three outs for the save.


Matsuzaka (0-1) struggled for the second straight time in thepostseason, allowing four runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings tosuffer the loss. The Japanese righthander walked two and struckout six while throwing 101 pitches in less than five frames.

Cleveland knocked Matsuzaka out with a two-run rally in thefifth, getting RBI from Cabrera and Travis Hafner to extend thelead to 4-0.


The Red sox cut the lead in half in the seventh when Varitekclubbed a two-run homer off Westbrook, but failed to getanything else going in the late innings against the Indians'bullpen.