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When: 1:05 p.m.
Where: Yankee Stadium.
TV/radio: SportsTime Ohio; WTAM AM/1100.
Pitchers: RHP Anthony Reyes (1-0, 6.00 ERA) vs. RHP Joba Chamberlain (0-0, 1.50).
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from the new Yankee Stadium as the Indians trounced New York.
Indians SILENCE Yankees' CURTAIN-RAISING PARTY
Indians 10
Yankees 2
New York - At the end of the second inning, while grip-it-and-rip-it Kelly Shoppach was running off the field after drawing his first walk of the season, the guy who walked him, CC Sabathia, yelled, "Swing the bat."
Shoppach laughed and said, "Throw me a strike."
In the first inning, Victor Martinez, who caught Sabathia in the minors and through most of his 7? years in Cleveland, stepped into the batter's box to face the man he considers one of his best friends. He tipped his batting helmet. Sabathia tipped his cap in recognition.
"I have no words to describe the feeling," said Martinez.
Let's just call it strange.
It's a good way to describe the day as well. It ended with the Indians beating the Yankees, 10-2, to ruin the opening of their new $1.5 billion Baseball palace. It's the first time the Indians have scored double figures in the Bronx since they handed the Yankees their worst loss ever, 22-0, on Aug. 31, 2004.
The slow-starting Indians are still an unglamorous 3-7, but have won two games in a row for the first time this season.
Thursday's game was supposed to be a Cy Young showdown between last year's winner, Cliff Lee, and his former teammate, Sabathia, who won the award in 2007. The backdrop was going to be the opening of new Yankee Stadium, which on the inside looks a lot like old Yankee Stadium.
The showdown could only be rated as average and ended after six innings.
It was mostly a demonstration of how to pitch into trouble and out of it against two patient lineups. The ballpark itself sparkled, but not quite as much as the Indians' nine-run seventh inning. It featured a double and homer by Martinez, a two-run double by Jhonny Peralta and a grand slam by Grady Sizemore.
Just before Martinez homered into the left-field seats for the final run of the inning, the crowd of 48,271 started chanting, "We want Swisher!" Nick Swisher, who started in right field for the Yankees, pitched a scoreless inning Monday in a 15-5 loss to Tampa Bay. He may have been better than Jose Veras and Damaso Marte, who combined to allow nine runs on five hits in the seventh.
The nine-run inning made Lee (1-2, 6.75) a winner. He struck out four, walked three and allowed one run in six innings. The big number was 10, the number of Yankees he stranded in the first five innings.
"That's the Cliff Lee we saw last year," said Sizemore. "That's the guy who won 22 games and the Cy Young."
Lee was more than happy to take the victory, but he wasn't overly impressed with himself. Or with Sabathia, for that matter.
Sabathia, who left with the score tied, 1-1, allowed one run on five hits in 5 2/3 innings. He stranded seven runners through five innings, but the Indians squeezed him for 122 pitches.
"It was one of those kind of games," said Lee. "I experienced basically the same thing. I had to throw a ton of pitches and battle every inning."
Sizemore was the first Indian to face Sabathia. He watched Sabathia's pitches for more than four years from center field. It was poor preparation.
"Those pitches are a lot faster when you're standing in the batter's box," said Sizemore.
Sizemore grounded out to first to start the game. He walked the next two times he faced Sabathia.
"CC has been a good friend and a teammate for so long that it's tough to see him out there with the ball coming at you," said Sizemore. "That first at-bat was a little uncomfortable. I didn't know what to expect."
Martinez and Shoppach, Sabathia's two catchers with the Indians , said the game plan was to get Sabathia out of the game early.
"You don't want to see CC late in the game," said Martinez.
The Indians did that as Edwar Ramirez relieved Sabathia in the sixth. It proved to be the key that unlocked the door to the Yankees bullpen.
After Sabathia told Shoppach to swing the bat following his second-inning walk, he took the advice of the left-hander who signed a seven-year, $161 million contract with the Yankees over the winter after the Indians traded him to Milwaukee in July. In the fourth, Shoppach doubled home Ben Francisco for a 1-0 lead.
"I didn't say anything to CC when I got to second," said Shoppach. "I don't think he was in a very good mood. But I am going to text him."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: phoynes@plaind.com, 216-999-5158
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