Indians 2, Yankees 1
Cleveland took a commanding 2-0 series lead with a dominating pitching performance by youngster Fausto Carmona (9.0 IP, 3 hits, 1 run, 5 Ks) and some late inning heroics by Travis Hafner. With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 11th inning, Hafner lined the game-winning single off Yankees reliever Luis Vizcaino. Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com writes Hafner finally delivered on some of his enormous potential…Of course, Hafner might not have had the chance to knock in the game winning run if swarms of bugs didn’t attack Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain in a weird moment in the bottom of the eighth inning. Chamberlain, who gave up the tying run in the eighth, was obviously distracted by the pesky insects, but neither him nor NY Post columnist Joel Sherman are making any excuses for why the Yankees are on the brink of elimination.
Red Sox 6, Angels 3
With the score tied 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Angels decided to intentionally walk David Ortiz to get to Manny Ramirez. Bad idea – Manny hit a walk off three-run dinger to give the Sox a 6-3 victory and a 2-0 series lead. Bob Ryan of The Boston Globe writes that Ramirez’s ninth inning magic was just Manny being Manny…Bill Plaschke of The L.A. Times likens Ramirez’s dramatic home run to the Angels’ current mental state: crushed.
