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 Yanks back in charge Wells, Davis power N.Y. to 5-3 win in Game 5
Posted: Monday October 12, 1998 12:43 AM
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Jacobs Field was an evil place for New York long before David Wells was taunted by rowdy fans. But the ballpark where the Yankees' season ended so abruptly last October became the site of their biggest win in '98. Wells, motivated by vulgar chants about his mother, pitched into the eighth and Mariano Rivera exorcised the eighth-inning demons of his failure here last year as the New York Yankees defeated the Cleveland Indians 5-3 Sunday to take a 3-2 lead in the AL championship series. After coming to town distracted, in disarray and near disaster, the Yankees are heading home in control and in reach of their next goal -- a trip to the World Series. Chili Davis drove in three runs as New York saved its record-setting season with two wins this weekend. And now the Yankees are one victory away from getting to the only place their fans will allow their magical year to finish. "I'm very proud of this team," New York manager Joe Torre said. "Every time they've been faced with a challenge they've responded." And for all his griping about the urgency to flee the Bronx and build a new ballpark, even New York owner George Steinbrenner will be happy to see the old neighborhood again. Wells overcame a rough start caused by the Indians and by some of their fans, who made remarks about his mother, who died about 1 1/2 years ago.
"There was a lot of negative stuff out there ... people talking about your mom," he said. "I don't appreciate stuff like that. I appreciate the fans who appreciate a good game of baseball." So after giving it to the Indians for 7 1-3 innings, Wells gave it to Cleveland's fans as he walked off the field in the eighth. As fans booed, the left-hander removed his cap and shook it toward the crowd in sarcastic gesture that summed up the Yankees visit here. So long, Cleveland, we won't miss you. "To all those idiots out there, this one's for you," Wells would say later. The Indians, whose Game 5 lineup looked more like the Class AAA Buffalo Bisons than the defending AL champs, now face the awesome task of trying to win twice in Yankee Stadium where the fans will surely be fired up after hearing about Wells' experience. The Yankees, who won 62 home games during the regular season, will start David Cone on Tuesday in Game 6 against Charles Nagy. "We've got to win two," Cleveland manager Mike Hargrove said. "It's going to be tough. As I've said a thousand times before, you don't win 114 games by being lucky. These guys are good."
Rivera, who gave up the eighth-inning homer to Sandy Alomar here last year in Game 4 that swung the series to Cleveland, this time got his team to the ninth. After Wells was pulled with one out in the eighth and New York leading 5-3, Jeff Nelson came on and hit Travis Fryman. Manny Ramirez singled and Torre summoned Rivera, who was also brought in with one out in the eighth last year before yielding Alomar's homer. This time was different, though. Rivera got Mark Whiten to hit into an inning-ending double play that brought the Yankees charging out of the dugout. Wells, who entered the game 6-1 in the postseason in his career and 3-0 vs. Cleveland, figured to be a lot for the Indians to handle. And their task got tougher when Alomar and David Justice were scratched from the lineup because of injuries and Hargrove was forced start three rookies. Wells struggled early, allowing two runs in the first. But once the left-hander settled in, he gave up just Jim Thome's homer in the sixth and finished with a personal postseason record 11 strikeouts. "He fought it, he battled," Torre said. "I'm even more proud of him than the shutouts or even the perfect game for that matter because of when he did it." Hargrove elected to start Chad Ogea, who won two World Series games for the Indians last year, over Jaret Wright. Wright had been rocked by Boston in his first playoff start and again in Game 1 at New York.
But Ogea didn't fare much better, failing to get out of the second inning after giving up four runs and four hits in 1 1-3 innings with three walks and two hit batters. Wright came in and allowed one run and two hits in six innings but walked seven. There was a whole ballgame crammed into a 40-minute first inning. The Yankees spent 22 minutes scoring three runs against Ogea on two hit batters, two grounders off Cleveland infielder's gloves and an RBI groundout. With Chuck Knoblauch at first and one out, Ogea got Paul O'Neill to hit a bouncer toward the middle. Ogea instinctively reached for the ball and deflected it into left field past shortstop Omar Vizquel, who was covering as Knoblauch broke on the pitch. Had Ogea not touched it, Vizquel would have likely turned a double play and the Indians would have been out of the inning. Instead, after Bernie Williams walked, Davis hit a bouncer that tipped off first baseman Richie Sexson's glove and into right for a two-run single. "Those are the breaks of the game," Hargrove said. "Those things happen. ... But that's as gut-wrenching as anything because that was a fairly routine ball." Wells cooled off after his pregame warmup watching his teammates, and the Indians scored two runs in the bottom of the inning on Kenny Lofton's leadoff homer and Ramirez's sacrifice fly. The Yankees came back with a run in the second to chase Ogea on O'Neill's RBI single, and Davis' two-out homer in the fourth made it 5-3. Notes: The Indians are a combined 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position in Games 4 and 5. ... Herb Score's wife, Nancy, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Score, a former Indian pitcher and long-time announcer for the club, was critically injured in a car accident this week. ... Alomar was out with back spasms and Justice had a bruised right forearm after being hit with a pitch in Game 4. ... Vizquel barehanded Chili Davis' grounder to start a 6-4-3 double play to end the second. Vizquel has now gone 46 straight postseason games without an error.
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