NEW YORK – Once Grady Sizemore hit a leadoff home run, the Cleveland Indians were headed to the AL Championship Series while the New York Yankees were braced for a showdown with their boss.
Paul Byrd and the Indians bullpen closed out New York 6-4 in Game 4 on Monday night, completing the third straight first-round debacle for the Yankees, one that might cost manager Joe Torre his job.
“This team hasn’t had a championship in Cleveland for a long time,” said Kenny Lofton, the Indians’ veteran leader. “This is just an unbelievable feeling to be able just to start this process again.”
The Yankees came in streaking, overcoming a 21-29 start to win the AL wild card. But they were done in by poor pitching, an insect invasion and the latest October vanishing act by Alex Rodriguez, whose bat was quiet until a solo home run in the seventh inning.
The pesky Indians, who wasted a three- run lead in Game 3, chased Chien-Ming Wang in the second and burst ahead 4-0. Byrd kept wiggling out of trouble, and Victor Martinez’s two-run single made it 6-1 in the fourth against Mike Mussina.
A day after averting a sweep, New York put runners on in every inning except the eighth. But when it counted, its high-octane offense fell flat again, with late solo homers by Rodriguez, Robinson Cano and Bobby Abreu not enough.
“I got some big outs with guys on base,” said Byrd, who stranded two runners in the first and three in the second.
Cleveland moves on to its first ALCS since 1998, opening Friday night at Boston. The Indians were only 2-5 against the Red Sox this season, but they will have aces C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona fully rested for Fenway Park.
The Indians, 0-6 against the Yankees during the regular season, are seeking their first World Series title since 1948. The NLCS starts Thursday night with the Rockies at Arizona.
Bewildered New York opens yet another offseason of turmoil, another October over nearly as soon as it began. All eyes will be on owner George Steinbrenner, who said this weekend that he didn’t think he would keep Torre as manager if New York bowed with another early exit. While the Indians celebrated in the infield, A-Rod stood alongside teammates, one leg on the top step of the dugout, the other a step below.
Steinbrenner, looking grim, didn’t speak as he left the ballpark.
“Hopefully there will be some reconsideration, but the Boss does what he wants,” Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon said.
Torre managed the Yankees to four World Series titles in his first five years and reached the playoffs in all 12 of his seasons.
Yet, that might not be enough for Steinbrenner, impatient his team of multimillionaires has lost 13 of its past 17 postseason games and gone seven years in a row with no championship. If Torre does depart, Don Mattingly and Joe Girardi are the leading candidates to replace him.
“This has been a great 12 years. Whatever … happens from here on out, I’ll look back on these 12 years with great, great pleasure,” Torre said. “The 12 years just felt like they were 10 minutes long, to be honest with you.”
Fans chanted Torre’s name when he made two trips to the mound in the eighth inning, handing the ball to Mariano Rivera for perhaps the final time in an era that brought the Yankees success they had not enjoyed since the 1950s.
“These fans are very special,” Torre said. “You can feel their heartbeat.”
