Helped by a freakish invasion of gnats that unsettled New York's rookie reliever Joba Chamberlain, Cleveland rallied to beat the Yankees 2-1 in 11 innings on Friday to take a 2-0 lead in their American League division series.
The best-of-five series will now move to Yankee Stadium for two matches, with the home side needing to win both to force a fifth game and retain hope of reaching the American League championship series.
New York went ahead in the second inning through Melky Cabrera's solo home run and held that advantage until Cleveland levelled off Chamberlain in the gnat-infested eighth.
PHOTO: AFP
In the bottom of the 11th, Kenny Lofton walked on four pitches against Luis Vizcaino and Franklin Gutierrez singled.
Casey Blake moved the runners up with a bunt before Grady Sizemore walked to load the bases.
Asdrubal Cabrera popped up in front of the plate to make it two outs before designated hitter Travis Hafner took a full count off Vizcaino before lining a shot to right-center to score the winning run.
A day after the Indians slugged their way to a 12-3 win, Fausto Carmona and the Yankees' Andy Pettitte put pitching back into the series.
Game 3 will see Jake Westbrook trying to pitch Cleveland to a sweep against veteran Roger Clemens.
Red Sox 6, Angels 3
In Boston, a Manny Ramirez home run with two outs in the ninth inning gave Boston a 6-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels and a 2-0 lead in their division series.
The Red Sox had earlier tied the game at 3-3 thanks to a front-row home fan who caught a tipped foul as it was falling into the glove of the scrambling Angels catcher Jeff Mathis. That prevented a third out in the fifth and Boston capitalized by getting the tying run later in the inning.
With that scoreline holding until the bottom of the ninth, Julio Lugo singled off losing pitcher Justin Speier and advanced to second as Dustin Pedroia grounded out at first.
Francisco Rodriguez relieved and struck out Kevin Youkilis, then intentionally walked David Ortiz -- his fourth walk of the game -- in the hope of retiring Ramirez and ending the inning.
"You've got pick your poison with those guys," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.
But Ramirez, who is coming off the worst offensive full season of his career, hit a 1-0 pitch over Fenway Park's Green Monster outfield wall and the seats behind it. It was his 21st postseason home run, one behind Bernie Williams' career record.
It was Boston's eighth consecutive postseason victory over the Angels, who blew a 3-1 lead in the 1986 AL championship series and got swept in the division series of 2004 when the Red Sox ended championship drought that had lasted 86 years.
Red Sox veteran Curt Schilling will face the Angels' Jered Weaver in Game 3 in Anaheim.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
UP IN SMOKE: More than half a dozen riders crashed out of the race, with Marquez’s title chances in doubt after driving off the track with flames flickering from his bike Jorge Martin yesterday won a crash-filled Indonesia MotoGP to extend his championship lead, while closest rival Francesco Bagnaia limited the damage by claiming the final podium place. The win leaves the Pramac Racing rider 21 points ahead of his Italian Ducati rival, who finished third behind Spaniard Pedro Acosta in sweltering conditions at the Mandalika International Street Circuit on Lombok island. In front of a crowd of 60,000 in motorbike-mad Indonesia, the 26-year-old put his tumble in Saturday’s sprint behind him, canceling out the gains his title rival Bagnaia made after securing victory in that race. “Thank you Indonesia. I am very happy.
RSS