Big-Time Beatdown In The Bronx

There are times when there is no logical reason for what happens in baseball. If it is in favor of your team, just sit back and enjoy it. If its against you, shrug your shoulders. Chances are there's a lot of disgruntled New Yorkers doing a lot more than shrugging after their beloved Yankees were whipped by the Indians, 22-4, Saturday on national television. It featured a 14-run second inning.

Every Cleveland starter got at least one hit and scored at least once. The Indians totaled 25 hits, including seven doubles and six home runs. They had 51 total bases.

It was the 500th career win for manager Eric Wedge. The master of the understatement said of the triumph: "We did a good job of not missing pitches and we squared a lot of balls up today."

Like we said, there often is no real explanation for such things other than the obvious.

The 14 runs were the most scored in the second inning of a major league game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The 13 hits in the inning were a franchise record for a Yankees opponent.

It was the most runs for the Indians since a 22-0 win on Aug. 31, 2004, at the old Yankee Stadium.

Asdrubal Cabrera (.351) went 4-for-6 with five RBI, including a grand slam; Mark DeRosa (.255) was 4-for-7 with six RBI, a double and homer; Travis Hafner (.289), Grady Sizemore (.275) and Jhonny Peralta (.333) all had three hits.

Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang saw his earned run average soar to 34.50 for the season. The right-hander gave up eight hits and eight runs over 1 1-3 innings. And all that came after Wang retired the side in order in the first inning on 16 pitches.

The Indians then totaled up eight hits and seven runs on 36 pitches by the right-hander in the second inning -- and kept right on raking against reliever Anthony Claggett.

They got five more hits, a walk and seven more runs off the rookie.

It all came after Mark Teixeira followed a one-out walk to Jhonny Damon with a homer off Fausto Carmona in the Yankees' first to put New York ahead, 2-0.

Then the Indians could do no wrong:

Hafner reached on an infield single and Peralta's sharp single to left-center put runners on first and second.

Shin-Soo Choo (.275) then clouted a 3-1 pitch into the center-field bleachers to give Cleveland a 3-2 lead.

After Ryan Garko (.286) fouled out, Ben Francisco (.211) doubled to deep left and scored on a single to center by Cabrera to make it 4-2.

Cabrera went to third on a double to right by Sizemore and both scored on a double to deep right by DeRosa for a 6-2 lead.

Victor Martinez (.388) then singled home DeRosa, finishing Wang, but Hafner greeted Claggett with a double to center, putting runners on second and third.

Peralta's two-run double made it 9-2, then Choo walked and Garko singled to center to load the bases.

Francisco fanned for the second out, but Cabrera crushed a 3-1 pitch into the right-field seats for a 13-2 lead.

Sizemore followed suit, hitting a 2-2 pitch out to right for a 14-2 lead before DeRosa struck out to end the uprising.

Garko and DeRosa added RBI singles in the third and fourth innings, respectively to make it 16-2.

DeRosa delivered a three-run homer and Martinez hit the next pitch for another homer in the fifth off Edwar Ramirez for a 19-2 lead.

Hafner hit a solo homer in the eighth off Jose Veras and rookie Trevor Crowe (.238), who had come on as a defensive replacement, had an RBI single in the ninth off Damaso Marte.

Carmona (1-2, 7.88 ERA) continued to struggle with his command, but it didn't matter. He walked four, struck out one, and gave up four runs on six hits over six innings.

Masahide Kobayashi (1.35 ERA) pitched two perfect innings and Vinnie Chulk (3.60 ERA) worked a scoreless ninth.