GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: NY YANKEES (64-51) at CLEVELAND (65-51)

AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY JASON GIAMBI (8) TO RIGHT WITH 2 OUT IN
THE 9TH OFF EDWARD MUJICA.
CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 11, CLEVELAND 2

DUE UP FOR NY YANKEES: J MOLINA (.229, 3-FOR-4)</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
NY YANKEES 0 7 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 11 19 1
CLEVELAND 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 8 0 (BOT 9)

CURRENT PITCHERS: NYY - LUIS VIZCAINO
CLE - EDWARD MUJICA

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: C BLAKE (.264, 1-FOR-3)
T NIXON (.257, 2-FOR-3)
K SHOPPACH (.274, 0-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">NY YANKEES (11) VS CLEVELAND (2) - MID 9TH - IN PROGRESS

NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Damon lf 6 1 2 2 0 0 2 .258
D Jeter ss 6 1 3 0 0 2 5 .332
B Abreu rf 5 1 2 2 0 0 3 .285
A Rodriguez 3b 5 2 2 4 0 1 3 .301
H Matsui dh 5 2 2 0 0 0 0 .294
R Cano 2b 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 .311
M Cabrera cf 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 .301
A Phillips 1b 2 1 1 1 1 0 2 .290
a-J Giambi ph 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .265
J Molina c 5 1 4 0 0 0 2 .234

Totals 43 11 19 11 2 3 18

a-homered to right for A Phillips in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - R Cano (34, P Byrd); J Damon (18, P Byrd); J Molina (10, E
Mujica). HR - A Rodriguez 2 (39, 2nd inning off P Byrd 1 on, 2 Out, 8th inning
off E Mujica 1 on, 2 Out), J Giambi (8, 9th inning off E Mujica 0 on, 2 Out).
SF - A Phillips , M Cabrera. RBI - M Cabrera (50), J Damon 2 (44), B Abreu 2
(78), A Rodriguez 4 (114), A Phillips (20), J Giambi (24). 2-out RBI - B Abreu
2, A Rodriguez 4, J Giambi. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - D Jeter
1, A Rodriguez 1, B Abreu 1, J Molina 1. Team LOB - 9.

BASERUNNING: CS - A Phillips (1, 2nd base by A Fultz/K Shoppach).

FIELDING: E - A Rodriguez (9, throw). DP: 1 (R Cano-D Jeter-A Phillips).


CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 .275
a-F Gutierrez ph-cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .275
K Lofton lf 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 .296
V Martinez 1b 3 0 1 2 0 1 1 .302
R Garko dh 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .306
J Peralta ss 4 0 0 0 0 3 3 .277
C Blake 3b 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .264
T Nixon rf 3 0 2 0 0 1 1 .257
K Shoppach c 3 0 0 0 0 1 4 .274
J Barfield 2b 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .246
b-A Cabrera ph-2b 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .250

Totals 30 2 8 2 0 7 13

a-lined out to center for G Sizemore in the 8th; b-doubled to deep left center
for J Barfield in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - K Lofton (17, M Mussina); T Nixon (17, M Mussina); A Cabrera (1,
M Mussina); V Martinez (31, M Mussina). S - K Lofton. SF - V Martinez. RBI - V
Martinez 2 (82). 2-out RBI - V Martinez. Runners left in scoring position, 2
out - V Martinez 1, J Peralta 1, K Shoppach 2. GIDP - K Shoppach. Team LOB - 6.



----------------------------------------------------
NY YANKEES - 070 000 121 -- 11
CLEVELAND - 100 000 01 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------

NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era
M Mussina 7 2/3 8 2 2 0 6 0 4.50
L Vizcaino 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.94

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
P Byrd 2 7 7 7 1 1 1 4.53
T Mastny 3 2 0 0 0 2 0 4.30
A Fultz 2 5 1 1 1 0 0 3.28
E Mujica 2 5 3 3 0 0 2 8.53

WP - M Mussina. Pitches-strikes: M Mussina 89-69; L Vizcaino 8-5; P Byrd
56-35; T Mastny 35-25; A Fultz 27-20; E Mujica 34-19. Ground balls-fly balls: M
Mussina 6-11; L Vizcaino 0-0; P Byrd 1-4; T Mastny 2-5; A Fultz 2-3; E Mujica
2-4. Batters faced: M Mussina 30; L Vizcaino 2; P Byrd 14; T Mastny 11; A Fultz
11; E Mujica 11.

UMPIRES: HP--Paul Schrieber. 1B--Tim Mcclelland. 2B--Adam Dowdy. 3B--Fieldin
Culbreth.

Weather: 75 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, in from right.</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: S Duncan at first base.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 11
CLEVELAND 2 BOTTOM, 9TH

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: C Blake (.264, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND - PITCHING CHANGE
NYY: RON VILLONE (0-0, 3.56) STARTING THE 9TH
CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 11, CLEVELAND 2

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: C BLAKE (.264, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: R Villone relieved L Vizcaino.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 11
CLEVELAND 2 BOTTOM, 9TH

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: C Blake (.264, 1-FOR-3)</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 0 7 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 11 19 1
CLEVELAND 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 10 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: NYY - MIKE MUSSINA, LUIS VIZCAINO (8TH), RON VILLONE (9TH) AND JOSE
MOLINA

CLE - PAUL BYRD, TOM MASTNY (3RD), AARON FULTZ (6TH),
EDWARD MUJICA (8TH) AND KELLY SHOPPACH

HOME RUNS: NYY - ALEX RODRIGUEZ (38) OFF PAUL BYRD IN THE 2ND, 1 ON
ALEX RODRIGUEZ (39) OFF EDWARD MUJICA IN THE 8TH, 1 ON
JASON GIAMBI (8) OFF EDWARD MUJICA IN THE 9TH, 0 ON

CLE - NONE</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 0 7 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 11 19 1
CLEVELAND 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 10 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: NYY - MIKE MUSSINA, LUIS VIZCAINO (8TH), RON VILLONE (9TH) AND JOSE
MOLINA

CLE - PAUL BYRD, TOM MASTNY (3RD), AARON FULTZ (6TH),
EDWARD MUJICA (8TH) AND KELLY SHOPPACH


WP - MIKE MUSSINA (8-7)
LP - PAUL BYRD (10-5)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: NYY - ALEX RODRIGUEZ (38) OFF PAUL BYRD IN THE 2ND, 1 ON
ALEX RODRIGUEZ (39) OFF EDWARD MUJICA IN THE 8TH, 1 ON
JASON GIAMBI (8) OFF EDWARD MUJICA IN THE 9TH, 0 ON

CLE - NONE


TIME: 2:50 ATT: 41,977

PROBABLES: NYY - ANDY PETTITTE (8-7, 4.00)
CLE - JAKE WESTBROOK (3-6, 5.00)</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">NY YANKEES (11) VS CLEVELAND (2) - FINAL

NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Damon lf 6 1 2 2 0 0 2 .258
D Jeter ss 6 1 3 0 0 2 5 .332
B Abreu rf 5 1 2 2 0 0 3 .285
A Rodriguez 3b 5 2 2 4 0 1 3 .301
H Matsui dh 5 2 2 0 0 0 0 .294
R Cano 2b 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 .311
M Cabrera cf 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 .301
A Phillips 1b 2 1 1 1 1 0 2 .290
a-J Giambi ph 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .265
S Duncan 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .314
J Molina c 5 1 4 0 0 0 2 .234

Totals 43 11 19 11 2 3 18

a-homered to right for A Phillips in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - R Cano (34, P Byrd); J Damon (18, P Byrd); J Molina (10, E
Mujica). HR - A Rodriguez 2 (39, 2nd inning off P Byrd 1 on, 2 Out, 8th inning
off E Mujica 1 on, 2 Out), J Giambi (8, 9th inning off E Mujica 0 on, 2 Out).
SF - A Phillips , M Cabrera. RBI - M Cabrera (50), J Damon 2 (44), B Abreu 2
(78), A Rodriguez 4 (114), A Phillips (20), J Giambi (24). 2-out RBI - B Abreu
2, A Rodriguez 4, J Giambi. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - D Jeter
1, A Rodriguez 1, B Abreu 1, J Molina 1. Team LOB - 9.

BASERUNNING: CS - A Phillips (1, 2nd base by A Fultz/K Shoppach).

FIELDING: E - A Rodriguez (9, throw). DP: 2 (R Cano-D Jeter-A Phillips, A
Rodriguez-R Cano-S Duncan).


CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 .275
a-F Gutierrez ph-cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .275
K Lofton lf 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 .296
V Martinez 1b 3 0 1 2 0 1 1 .302
R Garko dh 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .306
J Peralta ss 4 0 0 0 0 3 3 .277
C Blake 3b 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 .266
T Nixon rf 4 0 3 0 0 1 1 .260
K Shoppach c 4 0 0 0 0 2 6 .271
J Barfield 2b 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .246
b-A Cabrera ph-2b 2 1 1 0 0 0 2 .200

Totals 34 2 10 2 0 8 17

a-lined out to center for G Sizemore in the 8th; b-doubled to deep left center
for J Barfield in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - K Lofton (17, M Mussina); T Nixon (17, M Mussina); A Cabrera (1,
M Mussina); V Martinez (31, M Mussina). S - K Lofton. SF - V Martinez. RBI - V
Martinez 2 (82). 2-out RBI - V Martinez. Runners left in scoring position, 2
out - V Martinez 1, J Peralta 1, K Shoppach 2. GIDP - K Shoppach, A Cabrera.
Team LOB - 7.


----------------------------------------------------
NY YANKEES - 070 000 121 -- 11
CLEVELAND - 100 000 010 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------

NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era
M Mussina (W, 8-7) 7 2/3 8 2 2 0 6 0 4.50
L Vizcaino 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.94
R Villone 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 3.45

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
P Byrd (L, 10-5) 2 7 7 7 1 1 1 4.53
T Mastny 3 2 0 0 0 2 0 4.30
A Fultz 2 5 1 1 1 0 0 3.28
E Mujica 2 5 3 3 0 0 2 8.53

WP - M Mussina. Pitches-strikes: M Mussina 89-69; L Vizcaino 8-5; R Villone
13-8; P Byrd 56-35; T Mastny 35-25; A Fultz 27-20; E Mujica 34-19. Ground
balls-fly balls: M Mussina 6-11; L Vizcaino 0-0; R Villone 2-0; P Byrd 1-4; T
Mastny 2-5; A Fultz 2-3; E Mujica 2-4. Batters faced: M Mussina 30; L Vizcaino
2; R Villone 4; P Byrd 14; T Mastny 11; A Fultz 11; E Mujica 11.

UMPIRES: HP--Paul Schrieber. 1B--Tim Mcclelland. 2B--Adam Dowdy. 3B--Fieldin
Culbreth.

T--2:50. Att--41,977.
Weather: 75 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, in
from right.</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
NY YANKEES 11
CLEVELAND 2 FINAL</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NY YANKEES (11) AT CLEVELAND (2) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore singled to center. K Lofton sacrificed to
catcher, G Sizemore to second. G Sizemore to third on wild pitch by M Mussina.
V Martinez hit sacrifice fly to center, G Sizemore scored. R Garko lined out
to left. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 0, CLEVELAND 1.

NY YANKEES 2ND: H Matsui singled to center. R Cano doubled to right,
H Matsui to third. M Cabrera hit sacrifice fly to left, H Matsui scored.
A Phillips walked. J Molina singled to center, R Cano to third, A Phillips to
second. J Damon doubled to right, R Cano and A Phillips scored, J Molina to
third. D Jeter struck out swinging. B Abreu singled to left, J Molina and
J Damon scored, B Abreu to second advancing on throw. A Rodriguez homered to
center, B Abreu scored. H Matsui grounded out to second. (7 Runs, 6 Hits,
0 Errors) NY YANKEES 7, CLEVELAND 1.

NY YANKEES 7TH: A Rodriguez popped out to first. H Matsui singled to
right. R Cano walked, H Matsui to second. M Cabrera reached on infield single
to third, H Matsui to third, R Cano to second. A Phillips hit sacrifice fly to
left, H Matsui scored. J Molina grounded out to pitcher. (1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) NY YANKEES 8, CLEVELAND 1.

NY YANKEES 8TH: E Mujica relieved A Fultz. J Damon flied out to left.
D Jeter singled to center. B Abreu grounded out to catcher, D Jeter to second.
A Rodriguez homered to right center, D Jeter scored. H Matsui flied out to
left. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 10, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 8TH: A Cabrera hit for J Barfield. A Cabrera doubled to deep left
center. F Gutierrez hit for G Sizemore. F Gutierrez lined out to center.
K Lofton struck out looking. V Martinez doubled to deep center, A Cabrera
scored. L Vizcaino relieved M Mussina. R Garko safe at first on throwing error
by third baseman A Rodriguez, V Martinez to third. J Peralta struck out
swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error) NY YANKEES 10, CLEVELAND 2.

NY YANKEES 9TH: F Gutierrez in center field. A Cabrera at second base.
R Cano flied out to left. M Cabrera grounded out to first. J Giambi hit for
A Phillips. J Giambi homered to right. J Molina doubled to deep right. J Damon
singled to right, J Molina to third. D Jeter flied out to center. (1 Run,
3 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 11, CLEVELAND 2.</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NY YANKEES (11) AT CLEVELAND (2) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ny Yankees Starting Lineups -- J Damon LF, D Jeter SS, B Abreu RF, A Rodriguez 3B,
H Matsui DH, R Cano 2B, M Cabrera CF, A Phillips 1B, J Molina C, M Mussina RHP.

Cleveland Starting Lineups -- G Sizemore CF, K Lofton LF, V Martinez 1B,
R Garko DH, J Peralta SS, C Blake 3B, T Nixon RF, K Shoppach C, J Barfield 2B,
P Byrd RHP.

Umpires -- Paul Schrieber (HP), Tim Mcclelland (1B), Adam Dowdy (2B),
Fieldin Culbreth (3B).

Gametime Weather: 75 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind in from right at 8 mph.


NY YANKEES 1ST: J Damon flied out to center. D Jeter reached on infield
single to shortstop. B Abreu flied out to center. A Rodriguez flied out to
right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 0, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore singled to center. K Lofton sacrificed to
catcher, G Sizemore to second. G Sizemore to third on wild pitch by M Mussina.
V Martinez hit sacrifice fly to center, G Sizemore scored. R Garko lined out
to left. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 0, CLEVELAND 1.

NY YANKEES 2ND: H Matsui singled to center. R Cano doubled to right,
H Matsui to third. M Cabrera hit sacrifice fly to left, H Matsui scored.
A Phillips walked. J Molina singled to center, R Cano to third, A Phillips to
second. J Damon doubled to right, R Cano and A Phillips scored, J Molina to
third. D Jeter struck out swinging. B Abreu singled to left, J Molina and
J Damon scored, B Abreu to second advancing on throw. A Rodriguez homered to
center, B Abreu scored. H Matsui grounded out to second. (7 Runs, 6 Hits,
0 Errors) NY YANKEES 7, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 2ND: J Peralta struck out swinging. C Blake flied out to right.
T Nixon singled to center. K Shoppach struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) NY YANKEES 7, CLEVELAND 1.

NY YANKEES 3RD: T Mastny relieved P Byrd. R Cano grounded out to first.
M Cabrera lined out to left. A Phillips flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) NY YANKEES 7, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 3RD: J Barfield flied out to center. G Sizemore flied out to
center. K Lofton doubled to deep right. V Martinez struck out swinging.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 7, CLEVELAND 1.

NY YANKEES 4TH: J Molina singled to right center. J Damon grounded into
fielder's choice to third, J Molina out at second. D Jeter struck out looking.
B Abreu singled to right, J Damon to third. A Rodriguez struck out looking.
(0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 7, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 4TH: R Garko reached on infield single to third. J Peralta flied
out to right. C Blake flied out to right. T Nixon doubled to right, R Garko
to third. K Shoppach grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 7, CLEVELAND 1.

NY YANKEES 5TH: H Matsui flied out to left. R Cano flied out to center.
M Cabrera flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 7,
CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 5TH: J Barfield popped out to second. G Sizemore grounded out to
first. K Lofton fouled out to catcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 7,
CLEVELAND 1.

NY YANKEES 6TH: A Fultz relieved T Mastny. A Phillips singled to center.
A Phillips caught stealing second, catcher to second. J Molina singled to right
center. J Damon flied out to left. D Jeter singled to left, J Molina to
second. B Abreu grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 7,
CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 6TH: V Martinez grounded out to second. R Garko flied out to
left. J Peralta struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 7,
CLEVELAND 1.

NY YANKEES 7TH: A Rodriguez popped out to first. H Matsui singled to
right. R Cano walked, H Matsui to second. M Cabrera reached on infield single
to third, H Matsui to third, R Cano to second. A Phillips hit sacrifice fly to
left, H Matsui scored. J Molina grounded out to pitcher. (1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) NY YANKEES 8, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 7TH: C Blake singled to left. T Nixon struck out swinging.
K Shoppach grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, C Blake out
at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 8, CLEVELAND 1.

NY YANKEES 8TH: E Mujica relieved A Fultz. J Damon flied out to left.
D Jeter singled to center. B Abreu grounded out to catcher, D Jeter to second.
A Rodriguez homered to right center, D Jeter scored. H Matsui flied out to
left. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 10, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 8TH: A Cabrera hit for J Barfield. A Cabrera doubled to deep left
center. F Gutierrez hit for G Sizemore. F Gutierrez lined out to center.
K Lofton struck out looking. V Martinez doubled to deep center, A Cabrera
scored. L Vizcaino relieved M Mussina. R Garko safe at first on throwing error
by third baseman A Rodriguez, V Martinez to third. J Peralta struck out
swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error) NY YANKEES 10, CLEVELAND 2.

NY YANKEES 9TH: F Gutierrez in center field. A Cabrera at second base.
R Cano flied out to left. M Cabrera grounded out to first. J Giambi hit for
A Phillips. J Giambi homered to right. J Molina doubled to deep right. J Damon
singled to right, J Molina to third. D Jeter flied out to center. (1 Run,
3 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 11, CLEVELAND 2.

CLEVELAND 9TH: S Duncan at first base. R Villone relieved L Vizcaino.
C Blake singled to center. T Nixon singled to center, C Blake to second.
K Shoppach struck out swinging. A Cabrera grounded into double play, third to
second to first, T Nixon out at second.(0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 11,
CLEVELAND 2.</div>

 

A-Rod homers twice as Yankees continue torrid hitting

<h3>NY YANKEES 11, CLEVELAND 2</h3>CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankeescontinued their second-half assault on the American League.

Rodriguez hit a pair of two-run homers and Mike Mussina becameonly the ninth player in major league history to win 100 gameswith two teams, as the New York Yankees pounded the ClevelandIndians, 11-2, on Saturday night.


The Yankees are 22-8 since the All-Star break, easily the bestrecord in the majors, and have trimmed the Red Sox lead from 10games to five. The win also allowed New York to remain in atleast a tie for the wild card lead in the AL as they improved toa season-best 14 games above .500 (65-51).


Rodriguez's first home run in the second inning capped off aseven-run inning after Cleveland had taken a 1-0 lead in thefirst.


Hideki Matsui led off the inning with a single and Robinson Canofollowed with a double down the right field line. After aMelky Cabrera sacrifice fly, Andy Phillips walked and JoseMolina single to load the bases.


Johnny Damon doubled home two runs and Bobby Abreu followed twobatters later with a two-out, two-run single to make the score5-1.


Rodriguez blasted Indians starter Paul Byrd's 2-2 pitch over thecenter field wall for his 502nd career home run.


The youngest player to reach 500 homers, Rodriguez has nowhomered in all five games against the Indians - all wins - thisseason. But he wasn't done yet.


With the Yankees leading 8-1, Rodriguez came to the plate with arunner on first and smacked Edward Mujica's pitch toright-center field for his 503rd career homer and sixth againstIndians pitching this season.


It was the fifth two-homer game of the season for Rodriguez and49th multi-homer game of his career.


Rodriguez's offensive outburst helped Mussina add anotherachievement to his already impressive resume.


Mussina, who is now 100-60 with New York, became the 16th playerin Yankees history to win 100 games and moved into a tie for45th place overall on the all-time victory list with Jack Quinnwith 247.


The 16-year veteran won 147 games with the Baltimore Oriolesbefore signing with the Yankees prior to the start of the 2001season.


Mussina went 6 2/3 innings, allowing only two runs whilescattering six hits. The righthander struck out six as heextended his winning streak to four.


Jason Giambi hit a pinch-hit solo home run in the ninth, hisfirst since returning from the disabled list on August 6.

While New York has surged in the second half, Cleveland has gonein the opposite direction, going 13-16 since the break.

The Indians also saw their lead closed to one-half game asDetroit defeated the Oakland A's, 3-2.


Byrd failed to capitalize off of the momentum from his laststart, which was a four-hit shutout of Minnesota on Monday. Hewas tagged for seven runs and seven hits in two innings.

Victor Martinez's sacrifice fly in the first snapped a streak of23 games in which Cleveland failed to score a run in the firstinning. Martinez also added an RBI double in the eighth, but itwasn't enough to stop the Indians home woes. Cleveland has nowlost 10 of their last 13 games at Jacobs Field.

 

A-Rod homers twice as Yankees continue torrid hitting

<h3>NY YANKEES 11, CLEVELAND 2</h3>CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankeescontinued their second-half assault on the American League.

Rodriguez hit a pair of two-run homers and Mike Mussina becameonly the ninth player in major league history to win 100 gameswith two teams, as the New York Yankees pounded the ClevelandIndians, 11-2, on Saturday night.


The Yankees are 22-8 since the All-Star break, easily the bestrecord in the majors, and have trimmed the Red Sox lead from 10games to five. The win also allowed New York (65-51) to remaintied for the wild card lead with Seattle (64-50), one game aheadof Detroit (64-52)as they improved to a season-best 14 games above .500.

"We knew we had to play well or that was it," Mussina said. "Wehad a stretch of games against teams under .500 where we had towin 20 of 27 or it would be tough. Now we are in a stretch ofplaying teams that are in the postseason and we have to play thesame way."


Rodriguez's first home run in the second inning capped off aseven-run inning after Cleveland had taken a 1-0 lead in thefirst.


Hideki Matsui led off the inning with a single and Robinson Canofollowed with a double down the right field line. After aMelky Cabrera sacrifice fly, Andy Phillips walked and JoseMolina singled to load the bases.


Johnny Damon doubled home two runs and Bobby Abreu followed twobatters later with a two-out, two-run single to make the score5-1.


"(Abreu) has got a lot of two-strike hits," Yankees manager JoeTorre said. "He's covering the plate well and going to theopposite field. That was a big hit for us, it allowed us to getthe game out of hand quickly."


Rodriguez blasted Indians starter Paul Byrd's 2-2 pitch over thecenter field wall for his 502nd career home run.


"One through nine, they're really, really good," Byrd said."People talk about A-Rod and people talk about Jeter, but youlook at their whole lineup and Cabrera and Cano are around .300too."


The youngest player to reach 500 homers, Rodriguez has nowhomered in all five games against the Indians - all wins - thisseason. But he wasn't done yet.


With the Yankees leading 8-1, Rodriguez came to the plate with arunner on first and smacked Edward Mujica's pitch toright-center field for his 503rd career homer and sixth againstIndians pitching this season.


"No question," Rodriguez said when asked if he's more relaxednow that 500 is out of the way. "It was good to get it out ofthe way so I could get back to playing real baseball."

It was the fifth two-homer game of the season for Rodriguez and49th multi-homer game of his career.


"What impressed me the most, is all three of his home runs herehave been to center field or right-center," Torre said. "That'shuge for us. It will make it tougher for teams to pitch tohim."


Rodriguez's offensive outburst helped Mussina add anotherachievement to his already impressive resume.


Mussina, who is now 100-60 with New York, became the 16th playerin Yankees history to win 100 games and moved into a tie for45th place overall on the all-time victory list with Jack Quinnwith 247.


"It's a lot of wins," Mussina said. "It's exciting. I'm glad I<div class="pre">had chance to come here and pitch long enough to accomplish</div>this. I probably won't win 200 (with the Yankees), so I amgoing to savor this one. Hopefully I will win a few more."

"You do something like that in this uniform, you have donesomething special," Torre said.


The 16-year veteran won 147 games with the Baltimore Oriolesbefore signing with the Yankees prior to the start of the 2001season.


Mussina went 6 2/3 innings, allowing only two runs whilescattering six hits. The righthander struck out six as heextended his winning streak to four.


"I had good breaking pitches," Mussina said. "Cleveland has beenstruggling to score runs, so I wanted to keep themoff-balance."


Jason Giambi hit a pinch-hit solo home run in the ninth, hisfirst since returning from the disabled list on August 6.

While New York has surged in the second half, Cleveland has gonein the opposite direction, going 13-16 since the break.

The Indians also saw their AL Central lead closed to one-halfgame as Detroit defeated the Oakland A's, 3-2.


Byrd failed to capitalize off of the momentum from his laststart, which was a four-hit shutout of Minnesota on Monday. Hewas tagged for seven runs and seven hits in two innings.

Victor Martinez's sacrifice fly in the first snapped a streak of23 games in which Cleveland failed to score a run in the firstinning. Martinez also added an RBI double in the eighth, but itwasn't enough to stop the Indians home woes. Cleveland has nowlost 10 of their last 13 games at Jacobs Field.


"We've had a tough spell the last couple of homestands," Indiansmanager Eric Wedge said. "It's baseball. There are some thingsthere are no answers for."