GAME THREAD: AL: NY YANKEES (65-51) at CLEVELAND (65-52)

AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">NY YANKEES (5) VS CLEVELAND (3) - FINAL

NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
M Cabrera cf 5 2 2 1 0 0 1 .302
D Jeter ss 5 0 1 1 0 1 1 .331
B Abreu rf 4 0 0 0 1 0 1 .282
A Rodriguez 3b 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .300
H Matsui lf 3 2 2 0 1 0 2 .296
J Giambi dh 4 1 2 2 0 0 0 .270
R Cano 2b 4 0 3 1 0 0 1 .315
A Phillips 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 .282
J Molina c 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .235

Totals 37 5 12 5 2 3 10

BATTING: 2B - J Molina (11, J Westbrook). HR - J Giambi (9, 4th inning off J
Westbrook 1 on, 2 Out), M Cabrera (8, 7th inning off J Westbrook 0 on, 1 Out).
RBI - J Giambi 2 (26), R Cano (69), M Cabrera (51), D Jeter (56). 2-out RBI - J
Giambi 2, R Cano, D Jeter. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A Phillips
1, R Cano 1, H Matsui 1. GIDP - D Jeter. Team LOB - 7.

BASERUNNING: SB - M Cabrera (10, 2nd base off R Betancourt/K Shoppach).

FIELDING: DP: 2 (A Rodriguez-R Cano-A Phillips, D Jeter-R Cano-A Phillips).



CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 4 0 1 0 1 2 3 .275
C Blake dh 5 0 1 0 0 0 5 .265
V Martinez c 4 1 2 1 0 0 1 .304
J Barfield pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .246
K Shoppach c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .271
R Garko 1b 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 .307
J Peralta ss 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 .275
J Michaels lf 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 .269
C Gomez 3b 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 .306
F Gutierrez rf 4 0 2 1 0 1 1 .282
A Cabrera 2b 4 1 1 0 0 2 4 .222

Totals 34 3 11 3 2 6 20

BATTING: 2B - F Gutierrez (5, M Rivera). SF - J Michaels. RBI - J Michaels
(34), V Martinez (83), F Gutierrez (17). 2-out RBI - V Martinez. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - C Gomez 1, C Blake 3, J Peralta 2, G Sizemore 1.
GIDP - R Garko, A Cabrera. Team LOB - 8.

BASERUNNING: SB - F Gutierrez (7, 2nd base off A Pettitte/J Molina), G
Sizemore (29, 2nd base off A Pettitte/J Molina). Picked Off - J Peralta (1st
base, A Pettitte).

FIELDING: DP: 2 (C Gomez-R Garko, J Peralta-A Cabrera-R Garko).


----------------------------------------------------
NY YANKEES - 000 201 101 -- 5
CLEVELAND - 000 000 111 -- 3
----------------------------------------------------

NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era
A Pettitte (W, 9-7) 7 1/3 7 2 2 2 4 0 3.93
L Vizcaino (H, 8) 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.92
M Rivera (S, 19) 1 1/3 3 1 1 0 2 0 2.88

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
J Westbrook (L, 3-7) 7 9 4 4 2 2 2 5.01
R Perez 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.77
R Betancourt 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 1.67

HBP - R Garko (by M Rivera). Pitches-strikes: A Pettitte 97-69; L Vizcaino
7-4; M Rivera 30-21; J Westbrook 118-78; R Perez 14-9; R Betancourt 20-15.
Ground balls-fly balls: A Pettitte 13-4; L Vizcaino 0-1; M Rivera 1-1; J
Westbrook 12-6; R Perez 2-0; R Betancourt 0-3. Batters faced: A Pettitte 28; L
Vizcaino 2; M Rivera 8; J Westbrook 30; R Perez 4; R Betancourt 5.

UMPIRES: HP--Tim Mcclelland. 1B--Adam Dowdy. 2B--Fieldin Culbreth. 3B--Paul
Schrieber.
EJECTIONS: NY YANKEES' Guidry by Mcclelland (8th).
T--3:10. Att--41,612.
Weather: 80 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 3 mph, left
to right.</div>

 

Yankees hold on to complete series sweep of reeling Indians

<h3>NY YANKEES 5, CLEVELAND 3</h3>By Todd Krepop
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Andy Pettitte and the New York Yankeeskept their second-half success going.


Pettitte had another solid start to lead the Yankees to a 5-3victory over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday.


New York completed a season sweep of the Indians, winning allsix games between the two clubs by a combined score of 49-16.

The Yankees, who improved to a season-high 15-games over .500(66-51), remained tied for the lead in the American League wildcard race and remain within striking distance of the first-placeBoston Red Sox.


Pettitte's second half has mirrored that of his team. Headinginto the All-Star break, Pettitte was 4-6; but the lefthanderhas gone 5-1 since the break as the Yankees have gone 23-8.

The 35-year-old Pettitte (9-7) allowed two runs and seven hitsin 7 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking two.

Pettitte was in control for most of the game, holding theIndians to only three hits before running into trouble in theseventh.


With the Yankees leading 4-0, Cleveland loaded the bases withnobody out. But Pettitte minimized the damage to only one run.

The big play came when Pettitte picked off Jhonny Peralta atfirst base to get the first out of the inning. First basemanAndy Phillips was playing behind Peralta but sprinted to first,where Pettitte delivered a perfect throw to record the out.

Jason Michaels followed with a sacrifice fly, but the pickoffdefused any momentum the Indians might have had.


Pettitte then turned it over to the bullpen after giving upback-to-back one-out singles in the eighth. Luis Vizcaino gaveup an RBI single to Victor Martinez, forcing Yankees manager JoeTorre to go to Mariano Rivera for a four-out save.

Rivera made it interesting by plunking Ryan Garko - the firstbatter he faced - before inducing Peralta to ground out to endthe inning.


Derek Jeter plated an insurance run in the ninth on an RBIsingle to extend the Yankees' lead to 5-2. It turned out to bea crucial run, as the Indians opened the bottom of the ninthwith two singles and drew within 5-3 on Franklin Gutierrez's RBIdouble.


But Rivera closed the door after that, recording a pair ofstrikeouts before retiring Casey Blake on a flyout for his 19thsave this season.


Jason Giambi's two-run homer in the fourth gave the Yankees a2-0 lead. Hideki Matsui started the rally with a two-out asingle, and Giambi followed by blasting Jake Westbrook's 1-0pitch into the right field seats.


It was the second homer for Giambi since returning from thedisabled list on Tuesday. Giambi, who missed nearly two monthswith plantar fasciitis in his left foot, also homered onSaturday night.


Robinson Cano added an RBI single in the sixth and Melky Cabrerahit a solo homer in the seventh off Westbrook to give theYankees a 4-0 advantage.


The home run extended Cabrera's hitting streak to a career-high17 games.


Westbrook (3-7) saw his modest two-game winning streak snapped.The righthander allowed four runs and nine hits in seveninnings. In his last three starts, Westbrook has an ERA of2.14.


The loss, combined with Detroit's win over Oakland, dropped theIndians into second place in the AL Central by one-half game.

Cleveland heads into a key divisional matchup with Detroitstarting Tuesday at Jacobs Field, which is good considering howthe Indians have fared against Boston and New York.

Cleveland went 2-11 against Boston and New York, being outscored81-41 by the top two teams in the AL East.


The Indians offense might need the day off to regroup.Cleveland's offense, which was considered by many to be one ofthe best in baseball, has been held to two runs or less in 12 oftheir last 20 games.

 

AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
NY YANKEES 5
CLEVELAND 3 FINAL</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NY YANKEES (5) AT CLEVELAND (3) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NY YANKEES 4TH: B Abreu flied out to left. A Rodriguez popped out to
shortstop. H Matsui singled to right. J Giambi homered to right, H Matsui
scored. R Cano singled to right. A Phillips grounded into fielder's choice to
shortstop, R Cano out at second. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 2,
CLEVELAND 0.

NY YANKEES 6TH: B Abreu flied out to center. A Rodriguez flied out to
right. H Matsui walked. J Giambi singled to left center, H Matsui to second.
R Cano singled to right, H Matsui scored, J Giambi to third. A Phillips
grounded into fielder's choice to third, R Cano out at second. (1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, CLEVELAND 0.

NY YANKEES 7TH: J Molina grounded out to pitcher. M Cabrera homered to
right. D Jeter grounded out to first. B Abreu flied out to left. (1 Run,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 4, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 7TH: V Martinez singled to center. R Garko singled to right,
V Martinez to second. J Peralta walked, V Martinez to third, R Garko to second.
J Peralta caught stealing second, pitcher to first. J Michaels hit sacrifice
fly to center, V Martinez scored. C Gomez grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 4, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 8TH: F Gutierrez struck out swinging. A Cabrera singled to
center. G Sizemore reached on infield single to third, A Cabrera to second.
L Vizcaino relieved A Pettitte. C Blake fouled out to catcher. V Martinez
singled to center, A Cabrera scored, G Sizemore to second. J Barfield ran for
V Martinez. M Rivera relieved L Vizcaino. R Garko hit by pitch, G Sizemore to
third, J Barfield to second. J Peralta grounded into fielder's choice to
second, R Garko out at second. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 4,
CLEVELAND 2.

NY YANKEES 9TH: K Shoppach catching. R Betancourt relieved R Perez.
A Phillips flied out to center. J Molina flied out to center. M Cabrera singled
to center. M Cabrera stole second. D Jeter singled to center, M Cabrera
scored. B Abreu popped out to third. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 5,
CLEVELAND 2.

CLEVELAND 9TH: J Michaels singled to right. C Gomez singled to left,
J Michaels to second. F Gutierrez doubled to deep left center, J Michaels
scored, C Gomez to third. A Cabrera struck out swinging. G Sizemore struck
out swinging. C Blake flied out to right. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 5, CLEVELAND 3.</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NY YANKEES (5) AT CLEVELAND (3) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

Cleveland Starting Lineups -- G Sizemore CF, C Blake DH, V Martinez C, R Garko 1B,
J Peralta SS, J Michaels LF, C Gomez 3B, F Gutierrez RF, A Cabrera 2B,
J Westbrook RHP.

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

Gametime Weather: 80 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind left to right at 3 mph.


NY YANKEES 1ST: M Cabrera grounded out to first. D Jeter struck out
swinging. B Abreu walked. A Rodriguez singled to left center, B Abreu to
second. H Matsui grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 0,
CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore flied out to left. C Blake grounded out to
shortstop. V Martinez popped out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 0, CLEVELAND 0.

NY YANKEES 2ND: J Giambi grounded out to second. R Cano singled to right.
A Phillips popped into double play, third to first, R Cano doubled off first.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 0, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 2ND: R Garko struck out looking. J Peralta grounded out to
shortstop. J Michaels grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 0, CLEVELAND 0.

NY YANKEES 3RD: J Molina struck out swinging. M Cabrera grounded out to
pitcher. D Jeter grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 0, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 3RD: C Gomez reached on infield single to shortstop. F Gutierrez
grounded into fielder's choice to third, C Gomez out at second. A Cabrera
struck out swinging, F Gutierrez stole second. G Sizemore struck out swinging.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 0, CLEVELAND 0.

NY YANKEES 4TH: B Abreu flied out to left. A Rodriguez popped out to
shortstop. H Matsui singled to right. J Giambi homered to right, H Matsui
scored. R Cano singled to right. A Phillips grounded into fielder's choice to
shortstop, R Cano out at second. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 2,
CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 4TH: C Blake singled to left center. V Martinez grounded into
fielder's choice to third, C Blake out at second. R Garko grounded into double
play, third to second to first, V Martinez out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) NY YANKEES 2, CLEVELAND 0.

NY YANKEES 5TH: J Molina doubled to left. M Cabrera bunted into fielder's
choice to pitcher, J Molina out at third. D Jeter grounded into double play,
shortstop to second to first, M Cabrera out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 2, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 5TH: J Peralta grounded out to shortstop. J Michaels flied out
to center. C Gomez grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 2, CLEVELAND 0.

NY YANKEES 6TH: B Abreu flied out to center. A Rodriguez flied out to
right. H Matsui walked. J Giambi singled to left center, H Matsui to second.
R Cano singled to right, H Matsui scored, J Giambi to third. A Phillips
grounded into fielder's choice to third, R Cano out at second. (1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 6TH: F Gutierrez singled to left. A Cabrera grounded into double
play, shortstop to second to first, F Gutierrez out at second. G Sizemore
walked. G Sizemore stole second. C Blake grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, CLEVELAND 0.

NY YANKEES 7TH: J Molina grounded out to pitcher. M Cabrera homered to
right. D Jeter grounded out to first. B Abreu flied out to left. (1 Run,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 4, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 7TH: V Martinez singled to center. R Garko singled to right,
V Martinez to second. J Peralta walked, V Martinez to third, R Garko to second.
J Peralta caught stealing second, pitcher to first. J Michaels hit sacrifice
fly to center, V Martinez scored. C Gomez grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 4, CLEVELAND 1.

NY YANKEES 8TH: R Perez relieved J Westbrook. NY Yankees's Coach R Guidry
ejected by T Mcclelland. A Rodriguez struck out swinging. H Matsui singled
to center. J Giambi grounded out to catcher, H Matsui to second. R Cano
grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 4, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 8TH: F Gutierrez struck out swinging. A Cabrera singled to
center. G Sizemore reached on infield single to third, A Cabrera to second.
L Vizcaino relieved A Pettitte. C Blake fouled out to catcher. V Martinez
singled to center, A Cabrera scored, G Sizemore to second. J Barfield ran for
V Martinez. M Rivera relieved L Vizcaino. R Garko hit by pitch, G Sizemore to
third, J Barfield to second. J Peralta grounded into fielder's choice to
second, R Garko out at second. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 4,
CLEVELAND 2.

NY YANKEES 9TH: K Shoppach catching. R Betancourt relieved R Perez.
A Phillips flied out to center. J Molina flied out to center. M Cabrera singled
to center. M Cabrera stole second. D Jeter singled to center, M Cabrera
scored. B Abreu popped out to third. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 5,
CLEVELAND 2.

CLEVELAND 9TH: J Michaels singled to right. C Gomez singled to left, J
Michaels to second. F Gutierrez doubled to deep left center, J Michaels
scored, C Gomez to third. A Cabrera struck out swinging. G Sizemore struck
out swinging. C Blake flied out to right. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) NY
YANKEES 5, CLEVELAND 3.</div>

 

Yankees hold on to complete series sweep of reeling Indians

<h3>NY YANKEES 5, CLEVELAND 3</h3>By Todd Krepop
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Andy Pettitte and the New York Yankeeskept their second-half success going.


Pettitte had another solid start to lead the Yankees to a 5-3victory over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday.


New York completed a season sweep of the Indians, winning allsix games between the two clubs by a combined score of 49-16.

"To beat this team in this ballpark is really special," Yankeesmanager Joe Torre said.


The Yankees, who improved to a season-high 15-games over .500(66-51), remained tied for the lead in the American League wildcard race and drew within four games of the first-place BostonRed Sox (70-47) in the AL East.


"I feel like we are the team," Pettitte said. "I'll beextremely disappointed if this team doesn't make the playoffs."

Pettitte's second half has mirrored that of his team. Headinginto the All-Star break, Pettitte was 4-6; but the lefthanderhas gone 5-1 since the break as the Yankees have gone 23-8.

"You feel great about it," Pettitte said. "How can you not feelgood about the way we are playing right now?"


The 35-year-old Pettitte (9-7) allowed two runs and seven hitsin 7 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking two.

Pettitte was in control for most of the game, holding theIndians to only three hits before running into trouble in theseventh.


With the Yankees leading 4-0, Cleveland loaded the bases withnobody out. But Pettitte minimized the damage to only one run.

The big play came when Pettitte picked off Jhonny Peralta atfirst base to get the first out of the inning. First basemanAndy Phillips was playing behind Peralta but sprinted to first,where Pettitte delivered a perfect throw to record the out.

"We've talked about it a lot," Pettitte said. "But we have beenholding off on using it. We were waiting for the right time."

Jason Michaels followed with a sacrifice fly, but the pickoffdefused any momentum the Indians might have had.


"That was a big letdown for them," Torre said. "You get thepickoff and then the sacrifice fly. Then you make your pitchand it's only one run."


Pettitte then turned it over to the bullpen after giving upback-to-back one-out singles in the eighth. Luis Vizcaino gaveup an RBI single to Victor Martinez, forcing Torre to go toMariano Rivera for a four-out save.


"I was cruising up until the seventh and eighth," Pettitte said.

Rivera made it interesting by plunking Ryan Garko - the firstbatter he faced - before inducing Peralta to ground out to endthe inning.


Derek Jeter plated an insurance run in the ninth on an RBIsingle to extend the Yankees' lead to 5-2. It turned out to bea crucial run, as the Indians opened the bottom of the ninthwith two singles and drew within 5-3 on Franklin Gutierrez's RBIdouble.


But Rivera closed the door after that, recording a pair ofstrikeouts before retiring Casey Blake on a flyout for his 19thsave this season.


"They weren't bad pitches, (Cleveland) was just putting the ballin play," Rivera said. "Nothing you can do after they get on.You just take a deep breath and go after them."


Jason Giambi's two-run homer in the fourth gave the Yankees a2-0 lead. Hideki Matsui started the rally with a two-out asingle, and Giambi followed by blasting Jake Westbrook's 1-0pitch into the right field seats.


It was the second homer for Giambi since returning from thedisabled list on Tuesday. Giambi, who missed nearly two monthswith plantar fasciitis in his left foot, also homered onSaturday night.


"It was nice to be able to contribute," Giambi said. "(Theteam) is playing well right now, and I just want to help uswin."


Robinson Cano added an RBI single in the sixth and Melky Cabrerahit a solo homer in the seventh off Westbrook to give theYankees a 4-0 advantage.


The home run extended Cabrera's hitting streak to a career-high17 games.


Westbrook (3-7) saw his modest two-game winning streak snapped.The righthander allowed four runs and nine hits in seveninnings. In his last three starts, Westbrook has an ERA of2.14.


"I made some mistakes that hurt us," Westbrook said. "Against ateam like the Yankees, you can't afford to make mistakes."

The loss, combined with Detroit 's win over Oakland , droppedthe Indians into second place in the AL Central by one-halfgame.


"Right now it's tough," Blake said. "Confidence is a big partof this game and the guys in this clubhouse don't have a lot ofconfidence right now. When things aren't going your way, it'stough to maintain that edge."


Cleveland heads into a key divisional matchup with Detroitstarting Tuesday at Jacobs Field, which is good considering howthe Indians have fared against Boston and New York .

Cleveland went 2-11 against Boston and New York , beingoutscored 81-41 by the top two teams in the AL East.

The Indians offense might need the day off to regroup.Cleveland's offense, which was considered by many to be one ofthe best in baseball, has been held to two runs or less in 12of their last 20 games.


"We can't feel sorry for ourselves," Indians manager Eric Wedgesaid. "We can't pout about it. All teams go through stretcheslike this. That's just part of it. We can't dwell on it.We're not happy about it, but we have to move on."