Early Birds Lay in Wait

The New York Yankees were four outs from a victory Sunday night that would have produced a rematch with the Baltimore Orioles for the American League championship. A 2-1 lead was in the hands of a bullpen that had been virtually flawless over the last two postseasons.

So much for invincibility.

Sandy Alomar Jr. tied the score with a two-out homer against Mariano Rivera in the eighth. Omar Vizquel won it for the Cleveland Indians, 3-2, with a ninth-inning single against Ramiro Mendoza.

A jubilant crowd of 45,321 sent shock waves across Lake Erie as the Indians tied the division series at two games apiece and forced a fifth and deciding game tonight in which rookie Jaret Wright, the improbable winner of Game 2 in Yankee Stadium, will face Andy Pettitte, the loser of that game.

This one ended the Yankees’ nine-game postseason winning streak on the road and halted a string of 11 shutout innings by the Yankee bullpen in the 1997 postseason, which was reminiscent of its performance en route to the 1996 World Series title. The ’96 bullpen was seven for seven in save chances, 6-1 overall and had a 1.81 earned-run average.

“To beat their bullpen is very big,” said Alomar, who sliced a 2-and-0 fastball from Rivera over the fence in right, exultantly raising his arms as he rounded first and awakening the crowd as he had with his game-winning homer in the All-Star game here.

“Forget about the All-Star game,” Alomar said. “That was an exhibition. Don’t get me wrong. It was exciting and emotional, but this was the biggest homer I’ve ever hit. It gave us a chance to keep playing and go to the World Series.”

Rivera, who came on with one out in the eighth, saved 43 games during the regular season, giving up only five homers in 71 2/3 innings. He rebounded to get Tony Fernandez for the final out of the eighth, but Yankee Manager Joe Torre summoned Mendoza to pitch the ninth, electing not to burn out his closer in a tie game.

Mendoza pitched 3 1/3 shutout innings as the Yankees rallied to win Game 1, but Marquis Grissom opened the ninth by flaring a single to right on which Paul O’Neill took a step back before making a futile charge. Bip Roberts sacrificed, and Vizquel then slashed a hard grounder up the middle.

Mendoza got his glove down, but only deflected it through the hole shortstop Derek Jeter had vacated as he broke toward second, following the ball’s initial path. Grissom scored easily on the single as the Indians raced from the dugout in celebration.

Vizquel, who had three hits, was a reluctant hero.

“Don’t give me the credit,” he said. “Talk to Sandy and Bulldog.”

Bulldog? Orel Hershiser was all of that as he redeemed his Game 1 start and evoked memories of another era in a duel of heat, heart and guile with Dwight Gooden.

Said David Cone, whose ailing shoulder thrust Gooden into the starting assignment: “That was something out of a time machine.”

Cone said that Hershiser, 39, threw some sinkers and Gooden, 32, threw some curves that were straight out of 1988, when they were the starting pitchers in Game 1 of the National League championship series between the Dodgers and New York Mets. The Mets won by the same 3-2 score that the Indians won by, and neither participated in the finish of that one either.

Gooden, in his first postseason start since ’88 and his first start since Sept. 24, pitched 5 2/3 bold innings Sunday. He struck out five, walked three and gave up five hits, including a second-inning home run by David Justice.

“Doc was reaching E on empty,” Torre said of the decision to remove him in the sixth, “but he pitched a courageous game. He got some huge outs. Unfortunately, we couldn’t make it hold up. Our bullpen has been very good.”

It probably shouldn’t have come down to the bullpen.

The Yankees had Hershiser on the ropes in the first inning. One-out doubles by Jeter and O’Neill produced one run. A hit batter and a two-out single by Cecil Fielder scored another. Charlie Hayes followed with a single, the fourth hit of the inning, but left fielder Brian Giles threw out Tino Martinez trying to score from second to end the inning and raise questions about third-base coach Willie Randolph’s decision to send Martinez.

Hershiser, of course, applauded it. He called Giles’ throw the lift he needed, getting him out of an inning in which Jeff Juden was already heating in the Cleveland bullpen and eventually allowing him to get in the rhythm of the game, mixing curves and changeups with his renowned sinker. He gave up two more hits in the second, but then only two more.

The Yankees didn’t score again as Hershiser, 8-1 in the postseason, pitched seven innings, getting stronger as he went. Paul Assenmacher and Mike Jackson pitched the last two innings, redeeming a Cleveland bullpen that had been criticized in this series as much as the Yankee bullpen had been applauded.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

AMERICAN LEAGUE

New York vs. Cleveland

(Series tied, 2-2)

* Game 1: Yankees 8, Indians 6

* Game 2: Indians 7, Yankees 5

* Game 3: Yankees 6, Indians 1

* Game 4: Indians 3, Yankees 2

TONIGHT’S GAME

* Time: 5 p.m.

* TV: Channel 11

* Pitchers: New York’s Andy Pettitte (18-7) vs. Cleveland’s Jaret Wright (8-3)

COVERAGE

* THE WRIGHT STUFF

Game 5? The division series on the line? Big deal. That’s what rookie Jaret Wright says. C12