Indians’ aces fail to do trick

BOSTON -- A pair of aces has been no match for one of a kind.

The Indians thought their two Cy Young Award candidates, C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona, would give their rotation an edge in the American League Championship Series over the Red Sox, who boast only one Cy Young candidate, right-hander Josh Beckett.

But Beckett has been the pitching star of the ALCS, going 2-0 with a 1.93 earned-run average in two starts, while Sabathia, who went 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA during the regular season, and Carmona, 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA, have been awful.

Carmona was rocked for seven runs and six hits in two innings, walking four and striking out two, in Saturday night’s 12-2 Game 6 loss. He and Sabathia have combined to go 0-3 with a 12.67 ERA in four ALCS starts, with 16 walks and 16 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings.

“I think they’re putting a lot of pressure on themselves to be perfect,” Cleveland outfielder Trot Nixon said. “They’ve got to keep fighting, keep battling. But this team is not about one person or two guys. It’s about 25 guys.”

If those 25 guys don’t rebound in Game 7 tonight from blowout losses in Game 5 and 6, they’ll all be heading home for the winter instead of home to Jacobs Field to start the World Series against Colorado.

“The atmosphere is going to be crazy, but we beat the Yankees in Yankee Stadium, we’re a very capable team,” Nixon said. “We’ve just got to believe in ourselves and play our game.”

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It seems so high school, but there it was. On the door to the Red Sox clubhouse Saturday night was an enlarged copy of a quote from Cleveland first baseman Ryan Garko, who after the Game 5 loss said, “The champagne tastes just as good on the road as it does at home.”

Garko was surprised the Red Sox -- or someone in their clubhouse -- would resort to such tactics.

“That’s kind of stupid, because the question was about Yankee Stadium, it had nothing to do with this series,” Garko said. “It’s funny how things you say can be twisted. I was talking about New York. But if you need quotes from the other team to motivate you now, then you’re doing the wrong thing.”

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It’s rare to see major lineup changes this deep into the playoffs, but that didn’t stop Red Sox Manager Terry Francona from making a bold move Saturday.

With Coco Crisp hitless in 12 at-bats in the previous three games, Francona started speedster Jacoby Ellsbury in center for Game 6, and the rookie responded with an RBI single during Boston’s six-run third inning.

“I always talk about doing the right thing,” Francona said, “and I felt like this was in the best interest of our club.”

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com