Drought finally ends: Indians get first regular-season win over Yankees since 2006
Chris Assenheimer | The Chronicle-Telegram
CLEVELAND — The Indians had six tries and still couldn’t beat the Yankees during the 2007 regular season.
They needed only one this year.
Snapping an eight-game regular-season winless streak against New York that dated back to 2006, the Indians finally hung a pre-October beating on the Bronx Bombers with a 6-4 victory Friday night in front of 31,467 fans at Progressive Field — the largest crowd since the home opener.
The win, Cleveland’s season-high fourth straight and sixth in the last eight games, came courtesy of another improved offensive showing, which was backed by enough pitching to hold the majority of the powerful Yankee lineup in check.
The Indians, who entered the game as the second-worst hitting bunch in the American League, had nine hits, including their first back-to-back home runs of the season from Jhonny Peralta and Franklin Gutierrez in a four-run fifth inning that tipped the scales in their favor.
Cleveland, which hung a loss on Yankees starter Andy Pettitte, has scored 32 runs over its last four games.
“We’re starting to see some consistency with our guys,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said. “I thought we put up some good at-bats. Pettitte’s tough. It was good to see.”
It was the first meeting in Cleveland between the two teams since a well-documented matchup in Game 2 of the Division Series last year — an Indians’ win that was earmarked by a mass of midges that negatively affected the Yankees and pitcher Joba Chamberlain.
It was the teams’ first meeting overall since the Indians clinched the Division Series in Game 4, with Paul Byrd getting the decision at Yankee Stadium.
Byrd was back on the mound again, earning another win against New York, but with plenty of assistance. The veteran right-hander allowed four runs on six hits through 52/3 innings, getting a big lift from his batters and his bullpen.
“I just pitched OK,” said Byrd to a pool of reporters following the game. “I really have no business being interviewed right now. (Indians reliever) Rafael Perez is the man, holding the Yankees scoreless over (2 1/3 innings). Jhonny Peralta gave me a big boost. Our defense was excellent. All they way around, everybody helped.”
Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez returned to the lineup for the first time in four games, but it was first baseman Jason Giambi who stole the show for New York, hitting a pair of homers in his first two at-bats against Byrd.
Giambi, who entered the night hitting just .161, put the Yanks in front 3-1 in the fourth with his second long ball — a moon shot that traveled an estimated 455 feet to right-center.
“I thought our team could have folded right there,” Byrd said. “Andy Pettitte looked good, but we came back.”
With two outs in the fifth, the Indians refused to go quietly, getting consecutive singles off Pettitte from Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez, before Peralta hit his team-leading fifth homer to left-center to put Cleveland in front by a run. Gutierrez followed with his second homer — first since opening day — to put the Indians up 5-3.
All of the Indians’ runs came with two outs.
“Jhonny had a real big hit there,” Wedge said.
Perez took it from there, relieving Byrd to get the final out in the sixth after Hideki Matsui’s solo shot off Cleveland’s starter drew the Yanks within a run. Perez pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth before turning it over to closer Rafael Betancourt in the ninth. Betancourt retired the side in order to earn his second save in as many chances.
The relief duo combined to hold the Yankees scoreless over the final 3 1/3 innings, allowing just a walk along the way.
“Perez was real big for us,” Wedge said. “I didn’t expect him to take it that far.”
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.
TODAY
WHO: Cleveland vs. N.Y. Yankees
TIME: 3:55 p.m.
WHERE: Progressive Field
PITCHERS: Sowers (first start) vs. Kennedy (0-2, 9.64)
TV/RADIO: Channel 8; WEOL 930-AM, WTAM 1100-AM
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Filed by Chris Assenheimer | The Chronicle-Telegram April 26th, 2008 in Sports. Popularity: 4% |
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