Category: MLB (Page 390 of 448)

Indians 6, Yankees 4
They had to survive a monstrous solo home run by Bobby Abreu in the bottom of the ninth, but Cleveland hung on to beat the Yankees 6-4 and advance to the American League Championship Series against the Red Sox. The Indians lit up Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang for four runs on five hits, chasing him after only one inning of work. Mike Mussina didn’t have much luck against the Tribe either, yielding two runs on four hits in 4.2 innings of work. Offensively, Cleveland leaned on leadoff hitter Grady Sizemore, who connected for a home run in the first inning and finished 2 for 3 with two runs and one RBI. The Cleveland Plain Dealer lauded Indians starter Paul Byrd’s pitching performance…Due to the loss and owner George Steinbrenner’s threats, The NY Post wonders if Yankees manager Joe Torre will get his walking papers.

Red Sox 9, Angels 1
Boston got huge contributions from David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and Curt Shilling to wrap up a 3-0 series sweep of the Angels Sunday. Ortiz and Ramirez each hit home runs, while Shilling pitched seven strong innings, yielding just six hits and no runs. Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy writes that Shilling is once again the toast of the town again…T.J. Simers of The L.A. Times writes that the Angels failures rest squarely on the shoulders of manger Mike Scioscia.

Yankees 8, Indians 4
The Bronx Bombers avoided a series sweep, thanks in large part to Johnny Damon’s three-run home run in the fifth inning. Things looked bleak early for New York, especially when Roger Clemens was spanked for three runs in just 2.1 innings. Youngster Phil Hughes relieved Clemens and quieted the Cleveland bats long enough for the Yankees’ slumbering offense to finally produce. Rumors circulated before the game that Joe Torre’s job was on the line if the Yankees lost. Joe Sherman of the NY Post believes that Torre should keep his job regardless if the Yankees can come back in this series…The Cleveland Plain Dealer notes that Tribe starter Paul Byrd wants the ball in Game 4.

Diamondbacks 5, Cubs 1
From the first pitched at Wrigley Field Saturday evening, the Diamondbacks were ready to move on to bigger and better things. Outfielder Chris Young homered off Cubs starter Rich Hill on the very first pitch of the game, and the D-Backs never trailed the rest of the contest. The Arizona Republic’s Bob Young writes that starter Livan Hernandez (6.0 IP, 1 ER) stayed poised working out of tough jams throughout the night…Jay Mariotti of The Chicago Sun Times writes it’s almost sickening how the Cubs haven’t won in ‘one hundred freaking years‘.

Rockies 2, Phillies 1
The upstart Rockies rode youngster Ubaldo Jimenez’s outstanding pitching performance and pinch-hitter Jeff Baker’s tiebreaking single in the eighth to sweep the Phillies. A 14-mintue power outage affected the game in the second, but Woody Paige of The Denver Post writes that through the darkness, the Rockies achieved historic brilliance…Philadelphia Inquirer staff writer Todd Zolecki writes that not even the resiliency that the team showed in the regular season could save the Phillies in this series.

The Rockies and Diamondbacks will play Game 1 of the NLCS on Thursday in Arizona.

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.