Bombs Away for Yanks, Sox: Baseball: Homers By Ortiz and Ramirez Ignite Boston's Charge to the ALCS

Oct 08, 07:48 AM

Current Headlines: By Mike Harrington, The Buffalo News, N.Y.

Oct. 8--NEW YORK -- The day began with the ominous words of owner George Steinbrenner, who told a New Jersey newspaper that New York Yankees manager Joe Torre is in a win-or-get-fired proposition in the American League Division Series.

By the middle of the fourth inning, with the Yankees in a 3-0 hole and on their way to enduring their first playoff sweep in 27 years, the end of an era looked to be at hand.

Then, finally, the Yankees found some offense just when they needed it most.

The Bronx Bombers have life and they just might have swiped away the momentum from the Cleveland Indians after Sunday night's 8-4 win that had 56,358 Yankee Stadium denizens rocking the place so hard that the press box was shaking.

The Indians still lead the best-offive set, two games to one, but the Yankees are going with ace Chien- Ming Wang on three days rest tonight for Game Four (7:30 p.m, TBS). Cleveland will stay with No. 4 starter Paul Byrd rather than go to ace C.C. Sabathia on similar short rest.

Sabathia will thus be available for Game Five, if necessary, Wednesday night at 8:30 in Jacobs Field.

No matter how long the Yankees last in postseason, however, it's likely we've seen the last of 45-year-old Roger Clemens. He left after 2x innings Sunday when his strained hamstring simply didn't hold up. Rookie Phil Hughes came on and gave up Jhonny Peralta's double that put Cleveland up, 3-0.

But Hughes allowed just one hit over the next 3x innings and that gave the New York offense time to find its groove and make the 21-yearold Hughes the youngest Yankee to ever win a postseason game.

Left fielder Johnny Damon gave Hughes the biggest support with three hits and four RBIs. Damon's towering three-run homer to right in the fifth off Cleveland starter Jake Westbrook gave the Yankees a 5-3 lead they would not relinquish.

"We've battled through adversity all through the season and right now is another time," Damon said. "We all love Joe Torre and we'd love for him to win another championship. . . . We get to play for him for at least another day and hopefully longer."

The Yankees' manager was at the center of the storm Sunday after Steinbrenner told the Record of Hackensack, "I don't think we'd take him back if we don't win this series."

Before the game, Torre was diplomatic about life with The Boss. Afterward, he turned more candid.

"I understand the requirements here but the players are human beings and it's not machinery here," Torre said. "Even though they get paid a lot of money, it's still blood that runs through their veins."

Blood may be in their veins but ice was in the Yankees' bats as they entered the contest with just four runs, eight hits and a .121 batting average in the first two games. But they tallied seven runs in the fifth and sixth innings of this one.

Even embattled third baseman Alex Rodriguez got into the act, snapping his 0-for-19 slump with two singles and hearing nothing but loud cheers from the crowd.

The noise was deafening after Damon's home run.

"It's great seeing the crowd go crazy here," said Damon, who silenced the Bronx with his two homers for Boston in Game Seven of the 2004 ALCS.

The Yankees put away the game with three more runs in the sixth off Westbrook and reliever Aaron Fultz. All of them scored on Robinson Cano's single to right, which produced one RBI and two other runs when Cleveland outfielder Trot Nixon booted the ball and it rolled to the wall.

mharrington@buffnews.com

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