Indians Defeat Yanks Rookie Leads Way To Alcs

The Kid started it. The bullpen finished it. And for once, the Cleveland Indians finished off the New York Yankees.

They did it with a rookie who doesn’t pitch like a rookie, and they threw in a little magic left over from their World Series team of 1995.

Cleveland completed the job with a 4-3 victory in a decisive Game 5 Monday night, ending this dramatic series and the Yankees’ quest for a second straight and 24th World Series title.

The Indians’ second trip to the American League Championship Series in three years begins Wednesday with Game 1 in Baltimore.

“I’m really excited about this series and this step,” said Omar Vizquel, his voice hoarse and eyes red from tears. “I don’t know what to say. There is tomorrow to start thinking about the next series.”

Jose Mesa got Bernie Williams to fly out to left for the final out, squeezed by Brian Giles. Mesa, acquitted of a rape charge early in the season, dropped to his knees and pounded the ground as Jacobs Field rocked.

Fireworks boomed above the stadium as catcher Sandy Alomar ran to the mound and pounced on Mesa, perhaps the biggest reason the Indians went to the World Series two years ago.

Rookie Jaret Wright, 21 only on his birth certificate, beat Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte again. Though he lasted only 5-1/3 innings after going six at Yankee Stadium in Game 2, the Indians bullpen took care of the rest.

“It’s amazing,” Wright said. “It’s awesome.”

Yankees manager Joe Torre, who captured the 1996 World Series title while his brother Frank underwent a heart transplant, lost his cool in the interview room after the game. Torre was mad at a reporter who asked if the Indians were motivated by reports that New York preferred to play them in the first round over Seattle.

“You’re saying if they didn’t read it in the paper, they wouldn’t have tried to beat us?” Torre said. “That’s really stupid.”

Tino Martinez, who had the best power year by a Yankees slugger since Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in 1961, perhaps summed it up best.

“When you win the World Series one year, anything you do other than that is disappointing,” Martinez said.

Wright couldn’t snap off fastballs in the high 90s forever, even on this great postseason roll that brings to mind names like Mike Boddicker, Fernando Valenzuela and Dave Righetti. The bullpen had to complete it.

Mike Jackson, the winner in the ninth-inning Game 4 comeback, got the last two outs of the sixth. Left-hander Paul Assenmacher retired all four batters he faced.

Mesa closed it out for his first postseason save since Game 5 of the 1995 World Series.

Cleveland’s offensive star was Manny Ramirez, who ended slides of 0 for 13 and 2 for 18 in the series with a two-run, ground-rule double off Pettitte in the third.

The defending World Series champions would not go quietly, and that was fitting in this series that saw only one two-game winning streak - the one that clinched it.

Wright appeared to be losing velocity in the sixth and didn’t make it through the inning. Mike Stanley, replacing Cecil Fielder at DH, led off with a wicked double to the gap in right-center. Wade Boggs, left out of the starting lineup again in favor of Charlie Hayes, lined a single up the middle to make it 4-3 and chase Wright.

Vizquel was right in the middle of the Indians’ big inning, stealing second uncontested and scoring on Ramirez’s double.

And Jim Thome, moved from third to first this season, made perhaps the defensive play of the series to snuff out a New York rally in the seventh.

“If he doesn’t make that play, we might still be out there playing, or might be out of it,” Hargrove said.

Derek Jeter beat out an infield single - although the replays seemed to show he was out. Indian-killer Paul O’Neill hit a hot smash to Thome, who dove to his right and threw out Jeter from his belly.

Indians 4, Yankees 3

New York Cleveland ab r h bi ab r h bi Raines lf 4 1 1 0 Roberts lf 3 0 2 0 Jeter ss 5 0 1 0 Giles lf 1 0 0 0 O’Neill rf 4 1 2 0 Vizquel ss 3 1 1 0 Pose pr 0 0 0 0 Rmirez rf 4 1 1 2 BeWms cf 4 0 1 1 MaWm 3b 3 0 1 1 TMrtnz 1b 4 0 0 0 Justice dh 4 0 0 0 Stanley dh 4 1 3 0 SAlmr c 3 1 1 0 Hayes 3b 4 0 2 0 Thome 1b 2 0 0 0 Fox 2b 0 0 0 0 TFrndz 2b 2 0 0 1 Girardi c 2 0 0 0 Grssom cf 3 1 1 0 Boggs 3b 2 0 2 1 Snchez 2b 2 0 0 0 Posada c 2 0 0 0 Totals 37 3 12 2 Totals 28 4 7 4 New York 000 021 000 - 3 Cleveland 003 100 00x - 4 E-Ramirez (1), SAlomar (1). DP-Cleveland 2. LOB-New York 10, Cleveland 4. 2B-O’Neill (2), Stanley (1), Ramirez (1), SAlomar (1). SB-Raines 2 (2), Vizquel 2 (4). S-Vizquel, Thome. SF-TFernandez.

New York IP H R ER BB SO Pettitte L,0-2 6-2/3 6 4 4 0 2 Nelson 1 1 0 0 1 0 Stanton 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 Cleveland IP H R ER BB SO JrWright W,2-0 5-1/3 8 3 2 3 5 MJackson 2/3 1 0 0 0 1 Assenmacher 1-1/3 0 0 0 0 0 Mesa S,1 1-2/3 3 0 0 0 1 MJackson pitched to 1 batter in the 7th.

T-3:29. A-45,203 (43,863).