Slow hook may have cost Indians

NEW YORK – Indians manager Eric Wedge thought Jake Westbrook might be able to get one more grounder. Instead, the right-hander wound up surrendering one costly drive.

Wedge’s confidence in Westbrook may have hurt the Tribe.

Westbrook fell apart in the fifth inning Sunday night and left in the sixth as the Yankees rallied for an 8-4 victory over Cleveland in Game 3 of their A.L. division series. New York avoided elimination and found its stride at the plate thanks in part to Wedge’s slow hook.

Westbrook gave up at least one hit in each of the first three innings but his defense turned three double plays behind him to keep the Yankees offense in check.

Cleveland led 3-1 in the fifth but Westbrook couldn’t hold on against his former team. He struck out Jason Giambi leading off but then surrendered four straight hits. Johnny Damon capped the four-run rally with a three-run homer to right with one out.

“One thing about Jake, he can always put the ball on the ground,” Wedge said. “He got a ball up to Damon, and Johnny did a good job with it. It’s really what happened prior to that where we could have done a little bit better job of controlling damage.”

Westbrook finished the inning, and then came out for the sixth. Alex Rodriguez led off with a single and Wedge then decided to go to his outstanding bullpen, replacing Westbrook with Aaron Fultz.

By then, it was too late. The Yankees were rolling, pushing across three runs on Robinson Cano’s RBI single and right fielder Trot Nixon’s error.

Westbrook, who was making his first postseason appearance, is 0-3 with an 11.85 ERA in three starts against New York this season.

“They came out with a different approach in the fifth inning and I didn’t mix it up like I was supposed to,” said Westbrook, who was dealt by the Yankees to Cleveland in 2000. “It cost us. You got to stay away from a big inning, especially against these guys and in the playoffs.”

The Indians were sixth in the majors with a 3.73 bullpen ERA this season.