Jake Westbrook took a two-hitter and a 2-1 lead into the eighth inning. In a heartbeat the lead was gone and the Yankees were on the way to a victory.
UPDATED: 11:24 p.m.
Shin-Soo Choo's quick and accurate throw from right field cut down New York's Curtis Granderson on an attempted double in the fifth inning Monday night at Progressive Field. Granderson got even, however, belting a two-run homer to give the Yankees the lead for good.• Tampa Bay's Matt Garza no-hits Tigers | Indians Insider
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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Indians did a nice job keeping Alex Rodriguez in the ballpark Monday night. Too bad the same cannot be said for Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher.
Granderson hit a two-run homer off Jake Westbrook in the eighth inning as the Yankees came from behind to beat the Indians, 3-2, at Progressive Field.
Rodriguez came into the game needing one homer to become the seventh man in history to hit 600. He went 0-for-4. The hardest ball he hit was caught/trapped by left fielder Trevor Crowe and turned into an inning-ending double play in the fourth.
"I could care less if he hits three home runs on Tuesday," said manager Manny Acta. "All we're trying to do is win the ballgame.
"We're not going to base our whole game plan on trying to stop him hitting 600 home runs. He's going to hit it sooner or later. Our approach is to try and get him and we're not making that approach public."
Before every series, Indians pitchers and hitters meet to discuss the opposition. Their approach against Rodriguez and the rest of the Yankees was the same -- challenge them. Don't put any extra runners on base.
Westbrook (6-7, 4.65) challenged them to the point where he took a 2-1 lead into the eighth on a two-hitter. The lead was built on Travis Hafner's homer in the first and Shin-Soo Choo's two-out double in the sixth off Javier Vazquez (9-7, 4.54).
Jorge Posada, hitting from the left side, started the eighth with a single. Granderson followed with a long arching homer into the right-field seats on a 1-0 pitch.
"That was the ballgame," said Westbrook.
There have been rumors that the Yankees might be interested in Westbrook, a free agent at the end of the season. The deadline for making trades without waivers is Saturday.
Asked if he was thinking about that Monday night, Westbrook said, "What I was thinking about was taking that feeling I had after I gave up those four runs in one inning in Minnesota in my last start and having it for the whole game tonight."
That feeling, said Westbrook, was one of irritation.
"I was able to do that," he said. "I took that irritated feeling onto the mound and harnessed it. I made a couple of mistakes and they made me pay for it. But all in all, I felt like I was able to throw the ball better than I have all year."
Acta said never thought about going to bullpen to start the eighth. Even if he had emergency closer Chris Perez for the eighth and a healthy Kerry Wood for the ninth, Acta said it was Westbrook's inning.
Of course, what the Yankees did to the Indians' bullpen earlier in the season may have played a part in that decision. The only detail you need to remember is that Tony Sipp has a 162.00 ERA against New York this year. He allowed six runs on five hits in one-third of an inning.
"I wouldn't even think about taking a guy who has a two-hitter going in the eighth," said Acta. "It's a very easy to second guess yourself right now, but I don't second guess myself.
"I'm not flipping coins in the dugout. We had a plan and the guy was pitching terrific. Unfortunately, the other guy got him."
Westbrook said Granderson hit a fastball.
"I haven't seen the pitch," said Westbrook. "I was trying to keep the ball down. I was looking for the double play. He's a good low-ball hitter and I may have played right into his plan."
Hafner's ninth homer gave him five straight hits going back to his 4-for-4 performance on Sunday. He went 0-for-3 the rest of the night.
Nick Swisher made it 1-1 with a homer off Westbrook in the fourth.
Rodriguez's first at-bat came in the second. Westbrook struck him out on a breaking ball. After lining out to left in the fourth, Rodriguez grounded out to short in the seventh and popped to first in the ninth.
"With the Yankees, you have to worry about the home run anyway," said Westbrook of Rodriguez. "He's just one more guy who can hit home runs. The two home runs I gave up killed us tonight.
"He's just another guy you have to worry about, who happens to have more home runs than anybody else on the team."
Tuesday is Rodriguez's 35th birthday. Talk about timing.