Red Sox stun Cleveland in Game One

BOSTON – C.C. Sabathia might as well have been C.C. Rider last night because he sure had the blues.Back in the 1920s, the song “C.C. Rider” began making the rounds in the blues circuit, and it was so popular that it’s been covered several times – including in 1966 by Mitch Rider and the Detroit Wheels. Neither Mitch nor C.C. Rider could throw the fastball 95 miles per hour – yet both might have had a better chance last night against the Boston Red Sox than C.C. Sabathia, who was certainly out of tune against the Boston Red Sox.Cleveland’s Cy Young hopeful was no match last night for the Boston Red Sox, and the Cleveland lineup was similarly overmatched by Boston’s own Cy hopeful, Josh Beckett.The result was a 10-3 win over the Indians in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. Game 2 is tonight (8:37) at Fenway, with Curt Schilling going for Boston against Cleveland’s Fausto Carmona.”(C.C.) didn’t have it tonight,” Cleveland manager Eric Wedge said. “His command was off. He was off on his fastball. He was having trouble getting his breaking ball where he needed to. He never got into synch.”And the Red Sox are going to make you work for it. They’re not going to chase.”While C.C. couldn’t find his rhythm, Beckett, 2-0 in the postseason, started off as if he never left the mound after the first game of the Los Angeles Angels series, striking out the first two hitters. However, on a 1-0 count, Cleveland’s Travis Hafner hit a monster shot into the right field grandstands, giving the Indians a 1-0 lead.But the Red Sox got that one back immediately. After Dustin Pedroia hit a bullet back to Sabathia, which he speared without even seeing it, Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez hit successive singles to produce the tying run.”Cleveland has a lineup that can hit,” Beckett said. “You have to establish all your pitches. Once you do that, you can start setting people up. All I’m trying to do is go out and execute pitches.”Both Beckett and Sabathia got through the second inning without allowing a baserunner (with Sabathia striking out the side). But the Red Sox got to Sabathia for four runs in the third to begin their assault.Julio Lugo led the inning off with a ground-rule double that deflected off Indians right fielder Franklin Gutierrez’s glove and into the right field stands. After Pedroia sacrificed him to second, Youkilis walked, Ortiz was brushed by a pitch, and Ramirez walked to score Lugo.Mike Lowell, who hit into a double play to kill the first-inning threat, hit Boston’s second ground-rule double of the inning, scoring two runs and making the score 4-1, Boston. After Bobby Kielty, playing in place of J.D. Drew because of his success against Sabathia, was walked intentionally, Jason Varitek grounded to third to bring home the fifth run.While Beckett kept sailing along, Sabathia ran into more trouble – and ultimately left the game – in the fifth. Once again, bases on balls killed Sabathia. He sandwiched walks to Ortiz and Lowell around a base hit by Ramirez. Kielty finally got a chance to prove manager Terry Francona right for starting him by dumping a two-run single to right-center ? with Lowell being tagged out in a rundown.Kielty went to second on the rundown, and came around to score on a rope single to right by Varitek.Cleveland got one back in the top of the sixth when Casey Blake doubled and Asdrubal Cabrera singled.The Red Sox scored two more runs in the sixth inning, which allowed Francona to remove Beckett – who had to sit through two long half-innings in the fifth and sixth – in favor of Mike Timlin to start the seventh.