Tuesday, Sept. 30, 1997 | 11:21 a.m.
A look at the best-of-5 American League division series between the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees:
SCHEDULE
Game 1, Tuesday, at New York (5:13 p.m., Fox)
Game 2, Thursday, at New York (5:13 p.m., Fox)
Game 3, Saturday, at Cleveland (4:37 p.m., NBC)
x-Game 4, Sunday, at Cleveland (4:30 p.m., Fox)
x-Game 5, Monday, at Cleveland (5:11 p.m., Fox).
x-if necessary.
SEASON SERIES
New York won, 6-5.
LINEUPS
Indians: Bip Roberts 2b (.302, 4 HRs, 44 RBIs), Omar Vizquel ss (.280, 43 steals), Manny Ramirez rf (.328, 26, 88), Jim Thome 1b (.286, 40, 102), David Justice dh (.329, 33, 101), Matt Williams 3b (.263, 32, 105), Sandy Alomar c (.324, 21, 83), Brian Giles lf (.268, 17, 61), Marquis Grissom cf (.262, 12, 66).
Yankees: Tim Raines dh (.321, 4, 38), Derek Jeter ss (.291, 10, 70), Paul O'Neill rf (.324, 21, 117), Bernie Williams cf (.328, 21, 100), Tino Martinez 1b (.296, 44, 141), Chad Curtis lf (.284, 15, 55), Wade Boggs 3b (.292, 4, 28), Joe Girardi c (.264, 1, 50), Rey Sanchez 2b (.312, 1, 15).
ROTATIONS
Indians: RH Orel Hershiser (14-6, 4.47 ERA), RH Jaret Wright (8-3, 4.38), RH Charles Nagy (15-11, 4.28).
Yankees: RH David Cone (12-6, 2.82), LH Andy Pettitte (18-7, 2.88), LH David Wells (16-10, 4.21).
RELIEVERS
Indians: RH Jose Mesa (16 saves), LH Paul Assenmacher (5-0, 75 games), RH Mike Jackson (3.24, 71 games), RH Eric Plunk (4.66, 66 Ks, 65 2-3 innings).
Yankees: RH Mariano Rivera (43 saves), RH Jeff Nelson (2.86 ERA league-high 77 appearances), LH Mike Stanton (6-1, 64 games), RH Brian Boehringer (3-2 since return from elbow surgery).
MATCHUPS
Indians: Teams just met last week in Cleveland with Yankees winning two of three. Indians rallied from 9-2 down to win first game and clinch AL Central. ... Grissom, who has struggled all year, batted team-high .436 vs. Yankees and hit game-winning homer off Rivera in July 14 win. ... Matt Williams hit five of team's 17 homers and drove in 13 runs. ... Thome, who hit 36 of 40 homers against right-handers, batted only .167. Still, he figures to start against Pettitte and Wells. ... Nagy was skipped as Game 2 starter after going 0-2 with 18.00 ERA in three starts. ... Hershiser, 8-1 in career postseason starts, had only complete game June 28 at Yankee Stadium.
Yankees: Team average of .319 with Girardi's .500 (11-of-22) high among regulars. ... Yankees lefty power -- Martinez (5 homers, 13 RBIs) and O'Neill (.375, 15 hits) -- flourished against right-handers. ... Gooden went 3-0 with 2.25 ERA and is 5-0 lifetime vs. Indians. ... Because of injuries, Bernie Williams played in only one game. ... Raines has career .368 average vs. Hershiser. ... Stanton had 15.00 ERA in four appearances. ... All-time record of 1,004-808 vs. Indians, the only AL team with 1,000 wins against one opponent.
BIG PICTURE
Indians: Won third straight division title this year under manager Mike Hargrove, holding off late charges by Milwaukee and Chicago. ... Unlike last two years when they won 199 games combined, never were more than 14 games over .500. ... Pulled off blockbuster trade on eve of opening day, sending Kenny Lofton to Atlanta for Grissom and Justice. Offseason acquisition of Matt Williams helped offset Albert Belle's departure to White Sox. ... First team in AL history to hit more than 200 homers in three straight seasons. ... 1995 AL champions haven't won World Series since 1948.
Yankees: Defending World Series champions won their second wild card in three years despite bettering 1996 regular-season record. ... Injuries forced manager Joe Torre to constantly juggle lineup and rotation, but team qualified for third straight postseason for first time since 1976-78. ... Rivera has been steady in first year as closer following loss of Series MVP John Wetteland. ... Cone's shoulder tendinitis was major concern, but he pitched no-hit ball for five innings against Indians last week in final playoff tuneup. ... Enter playoffs as healthy as they've been all year. ... Pitchers Hideki Irabu and Kenny Rogers left off roster for first round of playoffs.
WATCH FOR
* Wright's big night. Hargrove chose 21-year-old rookie for Game 2 start over Nagy. Hard-throwing right-hander will be making his first appearance at Yankee Stadium.
* Big Daddy. Fielder is 100 percent after missing nearly two months with fractured thumb. His clutch hitting was key to Yanks' run last October.
* History to repeat itself. Yankees have been Indians' nemesis for more than 40 years, and are 15-5 at Jacobs Field.
PREDICTION
Yankees in 4.
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