Rodriguez's three-run blast in ninth caps rally as Yanks stun Tribe

Apr 19, 2007, 21:05 GMT

Bronx, NY - Alex Rodriguez blasted a three-run, game winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning as New York stunned Cleveland, 8-6, to complete a three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees were dead and buried, down 6-2 in the ninth, when they began a stunning six-run, two-out rally against Cleveland closer Joe Borowski.

Josh Phelps started things with a solo homer to make it a 6-3 game. Jorge Posada then singled up the middle and took second base on defensive indifference. Johnny Damon followed with a walk to bring up the tying run in Derek Jeter, who promptly ripped a single to left that scored Posada. Bobby Abreu made it a one-run game by slicing another single to left.

Borowski (0-1) continued to struggle from there and uncorked a wild pitch to put the tying and winning runs in scoring position for Rodriguez. Despite first base being open, Borowski pitched to the All-Star, who calmly stepped to the plate and crushed his 10th homer over the wall in center to complete the comeback for New York.

'In year past I might have out thought myself in that situation with runners on second and third,' said Rodriguez. 'I just wanted to see the ball and get a good swing on it. It was a big at-bat for me. The fans were dying for a big win today so it was pretty exciting.'

Jason Giambi also hit a solo homer for the Yankees, who have won four of their past five games and now move on to face division rival Boston in a weekend set. Abreu was 4-for-5 with two RBI.

Darrell Rasner started on the hill for the Yankees and went 4 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and a run en route to a no-decision. Sean Henn (1-0) earned his first major league win despite giving up a run in one inning of relief.

'I'm so excited for Alex (Rodriguez) and Josh (Phelps) who innocently started this thing,' Yankees manager Joe Torre said of the rally. 'This team certainly isn't giving anything away. We are going to get beat occasionally but it just means so much when you fight and claw to the end.'

Victor Martinez had a three-run home run for the Indians, who have lost three straight for the first time this season. David Dellucci added a solo home run and two runs batted in, while Travis Hafner finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored.

Fausto Carmona hurled six solid innings, surrendering just two runs on six hits. Borowski picked up the loss after imploding in the ninth.

'Some pitches had more of the plate, some didn't,' said Borowski. 'It was like everybody got locked in and was hitting everything. I threw a fastball outside and he (Rodriguez) went out and got it. He's strong enough to do that. I just didn't do my job.'

The Yankees went on top with a run in the third. Damon led off with a single to right, swiped second and advanced to third on Jeter's fly ball before Abreu slapped an RBI single to right through a drawn in infield.

The Indians quickly evened things in the fourth when Dellucci lined a one-out solo homer to right. Things could have been much worse for New York, however. After Dellucci's homer, the Tribe loaded the bases but Rasner settled down and got Casey Blake to foul out before fanning Jhonny Peralta to end the threat.

Cleveland had another great chance to take the lead in the sixth, loading the bases with no one out. But, Brian Bruney induced Blake to line out at third before whiffing Peralta and getting Mike Rouse to fly out.

The Yankees then went back in front in the sixth, Giambi turned on a Carmona pitch and deposited his fourth home run of the year over the wall in right to give the Yankees a 2-1 advantage.

The Indians seemingly took over the game with a four-run seventh off Luis Vizcaino. Jason Michaels worked a walk and quickly moved to third when Grady Sizemore ripped a double into the gap in right-center. Dellucci then evened things by grounding out to first. Vizcaino issued a free pass to Hafner to put runners on the corners but the move backfired when Martinez crushed a pitch way over the wall in right center to make it a 5-2 game.

Cleveland added an insurance run in the ninth thanks to Rodriguez's throwing error but the third baseman redeemed himself with the game-winning homer.

Game Notes

Rodriguez has hit safely in each of the first 14 games of the season and 19 straight dating back to 2006. He leads the majors in home runs and RBI (26)...Rodriguez also hit a game-ending grand slam against Baltimore with two outs in the ninth for a 10-7 victory on April 7...The Yankees last swept the Indians at home from July 2-4, 2002.

© 2007 The Sports Network

Game Notes

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