Nick Swisher

Yankees Manager Joe Girardi is sticking with outfielder Nick Swisher for the American League Championship Series despite a slump in which he has hit .103 with one run batted in and 10 strikeouts in 29 postseason at-bats. And Swisher, who was in the lineup for Game 6 before it was postponed by rain, is appreciative of his manager's confidence. "We've had some talks in the past couple of days," Swisher said in the Yankee Stadium clubhouse. "Obviously I know it's not going exactly the way I wanted it to. But you've got to keep battling.

The Cleveland Indians' pitch to bring Nick Swisher "home" worked. Two people familiar with the negotiations said Swisher has agreed to a $56-million, four-year contract with the Indians, who used the free-agent outfielder's deep Ohio connections to persuade him to join the club. The people spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday because Swisher must take a physical before the deal can be finalized. The Indians are expected to announce Swisher's signing after Christmas, one of the people said.

The Cleveland Indians' pitch to bring Nick Swisher "home" worked. Two people familiar with the negotiations said Swisher has agreed to a $56-million, four-year contract with the Indians, who used the free-agent outfielder's deep Ohio connections to persuade him to join the club. The people spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday because Swisher must take a physical before the deal can be finalized. The Indians are expected to announce Swisher's signing after Christmas, one of the people said.

The Yankees did not have a change of heart overnight. Alex Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson were out of the lineup Wednesday night for Game 4 of the American League championship series against the Detroit Tigers. That game was postponed due to rain, but Manager Joe Girardi has opted to go with the same card when the game is made up Thursday afternoon. That leaves Rodriguez on the bench for the third time in nine postseason games. It also means that the highest-paid player in baseball won't be starting for the Yankees in an elimination game.

Nick Swisher opened a box of bats Friday at his clubhouse locker that were heavier than the ones he has used so far this postseason. If he's lucky, he might get to use one. Yankees Manager Joe Girardi acknowledged Friday that the slumping Swisher may not be in the starting lineup for Game 6 of the American League Championship Series tonight at Yankee Stadium. "We'll sleep on it and we'll make a decision what we're going to do," Girardi said. "Obviously he has struggled. But Swisher is a good player and Swisher has done a lot of good things for us this year."

The Yankees did not have a change of heart overnight. Alex Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson were out of the lineup Wednesday night for Game 4 of the American League championship series against the Detroit Tigers. That game was postponed due to rain, but Manager Joe Girardi has opted to go with the same card when the game is made up Thursday afternoon. That leaves Rodriguez on the bench for the third time in nine postseason games. It also means that the highest-paid player in baseball won't be starting for the Yankees in an elimination game.

Detroit 5-1, at Chicago 4-6: Jose Contreras, officially recalled from triple A between games, gave up one hit in eight innings for his first major league win in nearly a year as the White Sox earned a split of a day-night doubleheader. The Tigers won the first game on Brandon Inge's go-ahead single in the ninth. Alexei Ramirez, Scott Podsednik and Jim Thome homered for the White Sox in the nightcap. at New York 5, Tampa Bay 3: Johnny Damon hit a tiebreaking home run in the sixth inning.

Game 1: Today, 3 p.m. Minnesota (Nick Blackburn, 11-11, 4.03) at New York (CC Sabathia, 19-8, 3.37) Game 2: Friday, 3 p.m. Minnesota (Carl Pavano, 14-12, 5.10) at New York (A.J. Burnett: 13-9, 4.04) Game 3: Sunday, TBA New York (Andy Pettitte, 14-8, 4.16) at Minnesota (Scott Baker, 15-9, 4.36) Game 4: Monday, TBA New York (Sabathia) at Minnesota (TBA) Game 5: Oct. 14, TBA Minnesota (TBA) at New York (Burnett) Projected lineup P YANKEES AVG HR RBI SS Derek Jeter .334 18 66 LF Johnny Damon .282 24 82 1B Mark Teixeira .292 39 122 3B Alex Rodriguez .286 30 100 DH Hideki Matsui .274 28 90 C Jorge Posada .285 22 81 2B Robinson Cano .320 25 85 RF Nick Swisher .249 29 82 CF Melky Cabrera .274 13 68 P TWINS AVG HR RBI CF Denard Span .311 8 68 SS Orlando Cabrera .284 9 77 C Joe Mauer .365 28 96 RF Jason Kubel .300 28 103 1B Michael Cuddyer .276 32 94 LF Delmon Young .284 12 60 DH Brendan Harris .261 6 37 3B Matt Tolbert .232 2 19 2B Nick Punto .228 1 38...

Nick Swisher hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning and the Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners for the 13th straight time, 5-4, on Monday night. Mark Ellis and Frank Thomas also homered for the first-place A's, who lost the first meeting of the year but have won the last 13 in the season series -- the Mariners' second-longest skid to any team in franchise history.

New York 5, at Seattle 2: Nick Swisher hit a two-run home run in a four-run second inning and the Yankees won for the 12th time in 13 games. Derek Jeter had two hits to tie Omar Vizquel for second on the career list with 2,672 as a shortstop. The Yankees' captain is one behind Luis Aparicio for the top spot. Cleveland 7, at Minnesota 3: Shin-Soo Choo started the second inning with a home run to end the Indians' streak of innings without a home run at 38. Chicago 8, at Oakland 1: Jayson Nix hit a home run and drove in three runs and Jim Thome hit his 563rd home run. Adam Kennedy had five hits for the Athletics.

The afternoon was disorienting enough for the Angels, who, while suffering a 5-3 loss to New York, put up with chants of "Let's go, Yankees!" in their home stadium and ear-splitting ovations after each of New York slugger Mark Teixeira's two home runs. The Angels are used to boisterous Yankees fans in Anaheim, but Sunday's crowd was so pro-New York that some Angels probably walked out of the stadium looking for the No. 4 train to Manhattan. Then things became truly bizarre in the eighth inning, when, after Nick Swisher's home run put the Yankees up 5-3, fans in the right-field pavilion showered Angels right fielder Torii Hunter with $1 bills.

Somewhere, New York Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett is cracking the first smile he's shown in a while. No one player's performance seems more linked to the presence of Yankees pitching coach Dave Eiland , who Yankees Manager Joe Girardi said will return from his leave of absence on Tuesday. Eiland's hiatus for an undisclosed personal matter began on June 4 and coincides with Burnett's recent slide. The right-hander is 0-5 with an 11.35 earned-run average in June, the latest defeat coming when he was pulled in the fourth inning of a 9-4 loss to the Dodgers on Saturday.

An already heated rivalry between the Angels and New York Yankees grew downright testy Friday night, with bodies crashing into each other, a pair of fastballs thrown to the solar plexus of players from both teams, and one Angel winding up in the hospital. It was even on the judges' scorecards until a haymaker by Kendry Morales in the bottom of the eighth, a two-run home run to right field off Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain that gave the Angels an emotion-charged 6-4 victory. Closer Brian Fuentes, booed off the same Angel Stadium mound when he blew a save against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night, retired the side -- Nick Johnson, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez -- in order in the ninth for his second save.

Yankees Manager Joe Girardi is sticking with outfielder Nick Swisher for the American League Championship Series despite a slump in which he has hit .103 with one run batted in and 10 strikeouts in 29 postseason at-bats. And Swisher, who was in the lineup for Game 6 before it was postponed by rain, is appreciative of his manager's confidence. "We've had some talks in the past couple of days," Swisher said in the Yankee Stadium clubhouse. "Obviously I know it's not going exactly the way I wanted it to. But you've got to keep battling.

The key moment for several Angels in their Game 5 playoff win against the New York Yankees wasn't the Angels' dramatic late-inning comeback, it was their first-inning burst of scoring. And that ability to post an early lead probably will again be pivotal in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Saturday night at Yankee Stadium, they said today. "The biggest key for us, and for our momentum, was scoring early, which we hadn't done in this whole postseason," pitcher Matt Palmer said before the Angels held a 50-minute workout at Angel Stadium before flying to New York.

Nick Swisher opened a box of bats Friday at his clubhouse locker that were heavier than the ones he has used so far this postseason. If he's lucky, he might get to use one. Yankees Manager Joe Girardi acknowledged Friday that the slumping Swisher may not be in the starting lineup for Game 6 of the American League Championship Series tonight at Yankee Stadium. "We'll sleep on it and we'll make a decision what we're going to do," Girardi said. "Obviously he has struggled. But Swisher is a good player and Swisher has done a lot of good things for us this year."

New York 9, at Baltimore 6: Jorge Posada homered twice, and Nick Swisher and Eric Hinske hit successive drives in a three-run seventh inning that carried the Yankees over the Orioles. Robinson Cano also connected for the Yankees. at Detroit 8, Cleveland 5: Placido Polanco and Carlos Guillen homered on successive pitches and Brandon Inge also went deep, lifting the Tigers. Edwin Jackson (11-6) gave up four runs and nine hits in five innings. Boston 8, at Tampa Bay 4: Jonathan Papelbon bailed Boston out of an eighth-inning jam, and Jason Bay, J.D. Drew and Kevin Youkilis homered in the opener of a series crucial to the AL wild-card race.

Somewhere, New York Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett is cracking the first smile he's shown in a while. No one player's performance seems more linked to the presence of Yankees pitching coach Dave Eiland , who Yankees Manager Joe Girardi said will return from his leave of absence on Tuesday. Eiland's hiatus for an undisclosed personal matter began on June 4 and coincides with Burnett's recent slide. The right-hander is 0-5 with an 11.35 earned-run average in June, the latest defeat coming when he was pulled in the fourth inning of a 9-4 loss to the Dodgers on Saturday.

About 40 minutes after the final out of Thursday's American League Championship Game at Angel Stadium, a pair of stadium workers rolled 12 cases of Korbel champagne past the visitor's clubhouse and into a waiting elevator. A few yards away, inside that same clubhouse, outfielder Nick Swisher looked as if he could have used a drink. Or a hug. That champagne, along with an ice chest full of beer cooling in a corridor, was meant for a Yankees' victory celebration. But when Swisher popped up with the bases loaded to end the game, the celebration was put on hold and the Yankees packed their alcohol and headed home.

One has accounted for half his team's postseason wins. The other is responsible for more than a third of his team's runs. One set the tone in his team's two playoff series with dominating wins in the opening game. The other has hit home runs that erased deficits in three games his team came back to win. On their own, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia and third baseman Alex Rodriguez can take over a game or a series. So when they're both playing at the top of their game at the same time, you get performances such as Tuesday, when Sabathia shut the Angels' bats down for eight innings while Rodriguez lighted their pitchers up, scoring three runs and driving in two in a 10-1 victory in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series that leaves the Yankees just a win short of the World Series.