GAME THREAD: AL: NY YANKEES (63-51) at CLEVELAND (65-50)

AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NY YANKEES (6) AT CLEVELAND (1) - HOW THEY SCORED
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NY YANKEES 2ND: A Rodriguez homered to center. H Matsui singled to left.
R Cano singled to center, H Matsui to second. W Betemit sacrificed to pitcher,
H Matsui to third, R Cano to second. J Molina grounded out to shortstop,
H Matsui scored. M Cabrera grounded out to first. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 2, CLEVELAND 0.

NY YANKEES 3RD: J Damon singled to center. D Jeter singled to center,
J Damon to third. B Abreu grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, J Damon
scored, D Jeter out at second. A Rodriguez walked, B Abreu to second.
H Matsui grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, A Rodriguez
out at second.(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, CLEVELAND 0.

NY YANKEES 5TH: M Cabrera singled to right. J Damon grounded out to first,
M Cabrera to second. D Jeter singled to center, M Cabrera scored. B Abreu
grounded into fielder's choice to first, D Jeter out at second. B Abreu caught
stealing second, catcher to second.(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 4,
CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 5TH: T Nixon popped out to third. J Michaels flied out to
center. J Barfield homered to center. G Sizemore flied out to center.
(1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 4, CLEVELAND 1.

NY YANKEES 8TH: A Fultz relieved F Carmona. J Damon flied out to left.
D Jeter doubled to deep right center. B Abreu tripled to right, D Jeter scored.
A Rodriguez intentionally walked. H Matsui grounded out to first, B Abreu
scored, A Rodriguez to second. R Cano flied out to center. (2 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) NY YANKEES 6, CLEVELAND 1.</div>

 

Hughes outduels Carmona as Yankees continue surge

<h3>NY YANKEES 6, CLEVELAND 1</h3>CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- The New York Yankees are out to provethey can beat the better half of the American League.

Alex Rodriguez hit his 501st career home run, Bobby Abreu hadtwo RBI and Phil Hughes provided a strong start as the Yankeesdefeated the Cleveland Indians, 6-1, on Friday night.

New York entered the All-Star Break with a 43-43 record, 10games behind the first place Boston Red Sox, but the Yankeestook advantage of a favorable schedule after the break, playing28 games against teams that had a sub .500 record at the break.

The Yankees went 20-8 and put themselves into the middle of theplayoff picture, but Friday night marked the beginning of a newstretch for the Yankees, one in which 17 of their next 20 gamesare against teams in the middle of the playoff hunt.

Rodriguez got the Yankees started on the right foot, leading offthe second with his major league-leading 37th homer.Rodriguez, who returned to the lineup after missing one gamewith a bruised shin, blasted Fausto Carmona's 1-0 pitch over thecenter field wall to give New York a 1-0 lead.


It was Rodriguez's only official at-bat in four plateappearances as he walked twice and was hit by a pitch.

The Yankees tacked on another run in the second on Jose Molina'sRBI groundout. Hideki Matsui and Robinson Cano followedRodriguez's home run with singles and Wilson Betemit moved themup with a sacrifice.


Abreu brought home another run in the third on a fielder'schoice and Derek Jeter, who had three hits, extended the Yankeeslead to 4-0 with an RBI single in the fifth.


The run support was more than enough for Hughes, whose secondstart since returning from the disabled list went much betterthan his first. Hughes failed to make it out of the fifth inhis last start against the Kansas City Royals, allowing six runson seven hits.


On Friday, Hughes (2-1) looked like the starter who carried ano-hitter into the seventh before straining his left hamstringMay 1 against the Texas Rangers. Hughes allowed only one run onfour hits in six innings while fanning six.


Hughes' only mistake came in the fifth as he gave up a two-outhome run to Josh Barfield as the Indians cut the Yankees lead to4-1.


New York added two more runs in the eighth on Abreu's RBI tripleand a Matsui RBI groundout.


Cleveland's offense failed to give Carmona any run support forthe fourth consecutive start. In Carmona's last four starts,Tribe hitters have scored only three runs. Carmona pitched wellenough to keep his team in the game, allowing four runs despitegiving up eight hits.


Carmona (13-7) benefited from the double-play ball as he inducedthree double-play grounders, two of them to end the inning, butit wasn't enough to prevent him from his third consecutivelosing decision.


Entering tonight's game, the Indians have batted only .226 sinceJuly 23 and have scored two runs or less in 10 of their last 18games. Things won't get any easier for Cleveland as sluggerTravis Hafner is likely to miss the rest of the series againstthe Yankees with a strained hamstring inflammation in his rightknee.

 

AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND

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NY YANKEES (6) AT CLEVELAND (1) - EVENT LOG
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Ny Yankees Starting Lineups -- J Damon DH, D Jeter SS, B Abreu RF, A Rodriguez 3B,
H Matsui LF, R Cano 2B, W Betemit 1B, J Molina C, M Cabrera CF, P Hughes RHP.

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

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

Gametime Weather: 76 degrees, Clear, wind left to right at 5 mph.


NY YANKEES 1ST: J Damon struck out looking. D Jeter grounded out to
shortstop. B Abreu grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 0, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore flied out to left. K Lofton flied out to right.
V Martinez doubled to deep right. R Garko walked. J Peralta struck out
looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 0, CLEVELAND 0.

NY YANKEES 2ND: A Rodriguez homered to center. H Matsui singled to left.
R Cano singled to center, H Matsui to second. W Betemit sacrificed to pitcher,
H Matsui to third, R Cano to second. J Molina grounded out to shortstop,
H Matsui scored. M Cabrera grounded out to first. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 2, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 2ND: C Blake lined out to first. T Nixon flied out to left.
J Michaels grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 2,
CLEVELAND 0.

NY YANKEES 3RD: J Damon singled to center. D Jeter singled to center,
J Damon to third. B Abreu grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, J Damon
scored, D Jeter out at second. A Rodriguez walked, B Abreu to second.
H Matsui grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, A Rodriguez
out at second.(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 3RD: J Barfield struck out swinging. G Sizemore grounded out to
first. K Lofton struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3,
CLEVELAND 0.

NY YANKEES 4TH: R Cano singled to center. W Betemit grounded into double
play, second to shortstop to first, R Cano out at second. J Molina grounded
out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 4TH: V Martinez struck out swinging. R Garko flied out to left.
J Peralta doubled to deep right center. C Blake struck out swinging. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, CLEVELAND 0.

NY YANKEES 5TH: M Cabrera singled to right. J Damon grounded out to first,
M Cabrera to second. D Jeter singled to center, M Cabrera scored. B Abreu
grounded into fielder's choice to first, D Jeter out at second. B Abreu caught
stealing second, catcher to second.(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 4,
CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 5TH: T Nixon popped out to third. J Michaels flied out to
center. J Barfield homered to center. G Sizemore flied out to center.
(1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 4, CLEVELAND 1.

NY YANKEES 6TH: A Rodriguez hit by pitch. H Matsui grounded into double
play, second to shortstop to first, A Rodriguez out at second. R Cano grounded
out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 4, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 6TH: K Lofton singled to right. V Martinez flied out to left.
R Garko flied out to center. J Peralta struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) NY YANKEES 4, CLEVELAND 1.

NY YANKEES 7TH: W Betemit grounded out to second. J Molina struck out
swinging. M Cabrera flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 4, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 7TH: A Phillips at first base. J Chamberlain relieved P Hughes.
C Blake grounded out to first. T Nixon struck out swinging. J Michaels lined
out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 4, CLEVELAND 1.

NY YANKEES 8TH: A Fultz relieved F Carmona. J Damon flied out to left.
D Jeter doubled to deep right center. B Abreu tripled to right, D Jeter
scored. A Rodriguez intentionally walked. H Matsui grounded out to first,
B Abreu scored, A Rodriguez to second. R Cano flied out to center. (2 Runs,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 6, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 8TH: J Barfield struck out swinging. G Sizemore struck out
swinging. K Lofton struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 6, CLEVELAND 1.

NY YANKEES 9TH: E Mujica relieved A Fultz. A Phillips grounded out to
shortstop. J Molina flied out to right. M Cabrera grounded out to second.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 6, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 9TH: M Rivera relieved J Chamberlain. V Martinez grounded out to
second. R Garko struck out swinging. J Peralta lined out to first. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 6, CLEVELAND 1.</div>

 

Hughes outduels Carmona as Yankees continue surge

<h3>NY YANKEES 6, CLEVELAND 1</h3>CLEVELAND (TICKER) -- The New York Yankees are out to provethey can beat the better half of the American League.

Alex Rodriguez hit his 501st career home run, Bobby Abreu hadtwo RBI and Phil Hughes provided a strong start as the Yankeesdefeated the Cleveland Indians, 6-1, on Friday night.

New York entered the All-Star Break with a 43-43 record, 10games behind the first-place Boston Red Sox, but the Yankeestook advantage of a favorable schedule after the break, playing28 games against teams that had a sub .500 record at the break.

The Yankees went 20-8 and put themselves into the middle of theplayoff picture, but Friday night marked the beginning of a newstretch for the Yankees, one in which 17 of their next 20 gamesare against teams in the middle of the playoff hunt.

"It was a big game for us," Hughes said. "Hopefully we can keepit going."


With the win the Yankees moved into a tie with Seattle, whichlost to the Chicago White Sox, for the lead in the AmericanLeague wild card race and now sit five games behind the Red Soxfor fist place in the AL East. Boston lost, 6-5, to Baltimore,on Friday.


"We feel like we have to win everyday," said Don Mattingly, whowas filling in as manager as Joe Torre sat out a one-gamesuspension.


Rodriguez got the Yankees started on the right foot, leading offthe second with his major league-leading 37th homer.

Rodriguez, who returned to the lineup after missing one gamewith a bruised shin, blasted Fausto Carmona's 1-0 pitch over thecenter field wall to give New York a 1-0 lead.


"He's been a big part of our success," Mattingly said.

It was Rodriguez's only official at-bat in four plateappearances as he walked twice and was hit by a pitch.

The Yankees tacked on another run in the second on Jose Molina'sRBI groundout. Hideki Matsui and Robinson Cano followedRodriguez's home run with singles and Wilson Betemit moved themup with a sacrifice.


Abreu brought home another run in the third on a fielder'schoice and Derek Jeter, who had three hits, extended the Yankeeslead to 4-0 with an RBI single in the fifth.


"We played good," Abreu said. "We attacked. We did a lot oflittle things to help us win the game."


The run support was more than enough for Hughes, whose secondstart since returning from the disabled list went much betterthan his first. Hughes failed to make it out of the fifth inhis last start against the Kansas City Royals, allowing six runson seven hits.


"I made a couple of mechanical adjustments and I wanted to stayaggressive the whole game," Hughes said. "I slid over on therubber a little more (towards the middle), to pitch on bothsides of the plate."


The adjustments paid off as Hughes (2-1) looked like the starterwho carried a no-hitter into the seventh before straining hisleft hamstring May 1 against the Texas Rangers. Hughes allowedonly one run on four hits in six innings while fanning six.

"(Hughes) came out and changed speeds," Mattingly said. "Hemixed speeds right away. He was using everything early and kept(Cleveland) off-balance."


Hughes' only mistake came in the fifth as he gave up a two-outhome run to Josh Barfield as the Indians cut the Yankees lead to4-1.


"Obviously, I think we could have done a little more," Indiansfirst baseman Ryan Garko said. "You never want to say you tipyour cap to someone. He did a good job, but we expect more outof ourselves."


New York added two more runs in the eighth on Abreu's RBI tripleand a Matsui RBI groundout.


Cleveland's offense failed to give Carmona any run support forthe fourth consecutive start. In Carmona's last four starts,Tribe hitters have scored only three runs. Carmona pitched wellenough to keep his team in the game, allowing four runs despitegiving up eight hits.


"He's nasty," Jeter said. "He's not fun to face. We werefortunate to get a few runs."


Carmona (13-7) benefited from the double-play ball as he inducedthree double-play grounders, two of them to end the inning, butit wasn't enough to prevent him from his third consecutivelosing decision.


"Fausto did a great job of limiting the damage," Indians managerEric Wedge said. "He got some big double play balls. Hepitched well, especially when we weren't doing anythingoffensively."


Entering tonight's game, the Indians have batted only .226 sinceJuly 23 and have scored two runs or less in 10 of their last 18games, but still remain 1 1/2 games ahead of Detroit in the ALCentral after the Tigers lost 16-10 on Friday to Oakland.

"I said the last couple of days that I saw signs of improvement,but today was probably a step back in that regard," Wedge said."It's been awhile since we've been consistent offensively."

Things won't get any easier for Cleveland as slugger TravisHafner is likely to miss the rest of the series against theYankees with a strained hamstring and inflammation in his rightknee.

 

Hughes outduels Carmona as Yankees continue surge

<h3>NY YANKEES 6, CLEVELAND 1</h3>By Todd Krepop
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


CLEVELAND (TICKER) -- The New York Yankees are out to provethey can beat the better half of the American League.

Alex Rodriguez hit his 501st career home run, Bobby Abreu hadtwo RBI and Phil Hughes provided a strong start as the Yankeesdefeated the Cleveland Indians, 6-1, on Friday night.

New York entered the All-Star Break with a 43-43 record, 10games behind the first-place Boston Red Sox, but the Yankeestook advantage of a favorable schedule after the break, playing28 games against teams that had a sub .500 record at the break.

The Yankees went 20-8 and put themselves into the middle of theplayoff picture, but Friday night marked the beginning of a newstretch for the Yankees, one in which 17 of their next 20 gamesare against teams in the middle of the playoff hunt.

"It was a big game for us," Hughes said. "Hopefully we can keepit going."


With the win the Yankees moved into a tie with Seattle, whichlost to the Chicago White Sox, for the lead in the AmericanLeague wild card race and now sit five games behind the Red Soxfor fist place in the AL East. Boston lost, 6-5, to Baltimore,on Friday.


"We feel like we have to win everyday," said Don Mattingly, whowas filling in as manager as Joe Torre sat out a one-gamesuspension.


Rodriguez got the Yankees started on the right foot, leading offthe second with his major league-leading 37th homer.

Rodriguez, who returned to the lineup after missing one gamewith a bruised shin, blasted Fausto Carmona's 1-0 pitch over thecenter field wall to give New York a 1-0 lead.


"He's been a big part of our success," Mattingly said.

It was Rodriguez's only official at-bat in four plateappearances as he walked twice and was hit by a pitch.

The Yankees tacked on another run in the second on Jose Molina'sRBI groundout. Hideki Matsui and Robinson Cano followedRodriguez's home run with singles and Wilson Betemit moved themup with a sacrifice.


Abreu brought home another run in the third on a fielder'schoice and Derek Jeter, who had three hits, extended the Yankeeslead to 4-0 with an RBI single in the fifth.


"We played good," Abreu said. "We attacked. We did a lot oflittle things to help us win the game."


The run support was more than enough for Hughes, whose secondstart since returning from the disabled list went much betterthan his first. Hughes failed to make it out of the fifth inhis last start against the Kansas City Royals, allowing six runson seven hits.


"I made a couple of mechanical adjustments and I wanted to stayaggressive the whole game," Hughes said. "I slid over on therubber a little more (towards the middle), to pitch on bothsides of the plate."


The adjustments paid off as Hughes (2-1) looked like the starterwho carried a no-hitter into the seventh before straining hisleft hamstring May 1 against the Texas Rangers. Hughes allowedonly one run on four hits in six innings while fanning six.

"(Hughes) came out and changed speeds," Mattingly said. "Hemixed speeds right away. He was using everything early and kept(Cleveland) off-balance."


Hughes' only mistake came in the fifth as he gave up a two-outhome run to Josh Barfield as the Indians cut the Yankees lead to4-1.


"Obviously, I think we could have done a little more," Indiansfirst baseman Ryan Garko said. "You never want to say you tipyour cap to someone. He did a good job, but we expect more outof ourselves."


New York added two more runs in the eighth on Abreu's RBI tripleand a Matsui RBI groundout.


Cleveland's offense failed to give Carmona any run support forthe fourth consecutive start. In Carmona's last four starts,Tribe hitters have scored only three runs. Carmona pitched wellenough to keep his team in the game, allowing four runs despitegiving up eight hits.


"He's nasty," Jeter said. "He's not fun to face. We werefortunate to get a few runs."


Carmona (13-7) benefited from the double-play ball as he inducedthree double-play grounders, two of them to end the inning, butit wasn't enough to prevent him from his third consecutivelosing decision.


"Fausto did a great job of limiting the damage," Indians managerEric Wedge said. "He got some big double play balls. Hepitched well, especially when we weren't doing anythingoffensively."


Entering tonight's game, the Indians have batted only .226 sinceJuly 23 and have scored two runs or less in 10 of their last 18games, but still remain 1 1/2 games ahead of Detroit in the ALCentral after the Tigers lost 16-10 on Friday to Oakland.

"I said the last couple of days that I saw signs of improvement,but today was probably a step back in that regard," Wedge said."It's been awhile since we've been consistent offensively."

Things won't get any easier for Cleveland as slugger TravisHafner is likely to miss the rest of the series against theYankees with a strained hamstring and inflammation in his rightknee.