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Yankees hold on to complete series sweep of reeling Indians

Aug 12, 2007 - 9:37 PM By Todd Krepop PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Andy Pettitte and the New York Yankees kept their second-half success going.

Pettitte had another solid start to lead the Yankees to a 5-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday.

New York completed a season sweep of the Indians, winning all six games between the two clubs by a combined score of 49-16.

"To beat this team in this ballpark is really special," Yankees manager Joe Torre said.

The Yankees, who improved to a season-high 15-games over .500 (66-51), remained tied for the lead in the American League wild card race and drew within four games of the first-place Boston Red Sox (70-47) in the AL East.

"I feel like we are the team," Pettitte said. "I'll be extremely disappointed if this team doesn't make the playoffs."

Pettitte's second half has mirrored that of his team. Heading into the All-Star break, Pettitte was 4-6; but the lefthander has gone 5-1 since the break as the Yankees have gone 23-8.

"You feel great about it," Pettitte said. "How can you not feel good about the way we are playing right now?"

The 35-year-old Pettitte (9-7) allowed two runs and seven hits in 7 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking two.

Pettitte was in control for most of the game, holding the Indians to only three hits before running into trouble in the seventh.

With the Yankees leading 4-0, Cleveland loaded the bases with nobody out. But Pettitte minimized the damage to only one run.

The big play came when Pettitte picked off Jhonny Peralta at first base to get the first out of the inning. First baseman Andy Phillips was playing behind Peralta but sprinted to first, where Pettitte delivered a perfect throw to record the out.

"We've talked about it a lot," Pettitte said. "But we have been holding off on using it. We were waiting for the right time."

Jason Michaels followed with a sacrifice fly, but the pickoff defused any momentum the Indians might have had.

"That was a big letdown for them," Torre said. "You get the pickoff and then the sacrifice fly. Then you make your pitch and it's only one run."

Pettitte then turned it over to the bullpen after giving up back-to-back one-out singles in the eighth. Luis Vizcaino gave up an RBI single to Victor Martinez, forcing Torre to go to Mariano Rivera for a four-out save.

"I was cruising up until the seventh and eighth," Pettitte said.

Rivera made it interesting by plunking Ryan Garko - the first batter he faced - before inducing Peralta to ground out to end the inning.

Derek Jeter plated an insurance run in the ninth on an RBI single to extend the Yankees' lead to 5-2. It turned out to be a crucial run, as the Indians opened the bottom of the ninth with two singles and drew within 5-3 on Franklin Gutierrez's RBI double.

But Rivera closed the door after that, recording a pair of strikeouts before retiring Casey Blake on a flyout for his 19th save this season.

"They weren't bad pitches, (Cleveland) was just putting the ball in play," Rivera said. "Nothing you can do after they get on. You just take a deep breath and go after them."

Jason Giambi's two-run homer in the fourth gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead. Hideki Matsui started the rally with a two-out a single, and Giambi followed by blasting Jake Westbrook's 1-0 pitch into the right field seats.

It was the second homer for Giambi since returning from the disabled list on Tuesday. Giambi, who missed nearly two months with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, also homered on Saturday night.

"It was nice to be able to contribute," Giambi said. "(The team) is playing well right now, and I just want to help us win."

Robinson Cano added an RBI single in the sixth and Melky Cabrera hit a solo homer in the seventh off Westbrook to give the Yankees a 4-0 advantage.

The home run extended Cabrera's hitting streak to a career-high 17 games.

Westbrook (3-7) saw his modest two-game winning streak snapped. The righthander allowed four runs and nine hits in seven innings. In his last three starts, Westbrook has an ERA of 2.14.

"I made some mistakes that hurt us," Westbrook said. "Against a team like the Yankees, you can't afford to make mistakes."

The loss, combined with Detroit 's win over Oakland , dropped the Indians into second place in the AL Central by one-half game.

"Right now it's tough," Blake said. "Confidence is a big part of this game and the guys in this clubhouse don't have a lot of confidence right now. When things aren't going your way, it's tough to maintain that edge."

Cleveland heads into a key divisional matchup with Detroit starting Tuesday at Jacobs Field, which is good considering how the Indians have fared against Boston and New York .

Cleveland went 2-11 against Boston and New York , being outscored 81-41 by the top two teams in the AL East.

The Indians offense might need the day off to regroup. Cleveland's offense, which was considered by many to be one of the best in baseball, has been held to two runs or less in 12 of their last 20 games.

"We can't feel sorry for ourselves," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "We can't pout about it. All teams go through stretches like this. That's just part of it. We can't dwell on it. We're not happy about it, but we have to move on."