Indians, Red Sox both lead with aces

Tonight s ALCS opener has Ryan Garko scratching his head as he talks with Indians teammate Josh Barfield at Fenway Park.

Charles Krupa / AP

Tonight s ALCS opener has Ryan Garko scratching his head as he talks with Indians teammate Josh Barfield at Fenway Park.

BOSTON Even when they lose, Josh Beckett and C.C. Sabathia can seem unbeatable.

The hard-throwing Cy Young award candidates had outstanding outings on consecutive days in late July. Both struck out seven and allowed one run and no walks but ended up losing 1-0 decisions.

And they came against each other s teams.

The Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians meet again tonight, and their aces square off against each other in the opener of the AL championship series.

They were great ballgames to watch, old school baseball, Cleveland manager Eric Wedge said yesterday. It s feasible for something like that to happen again.

In that loss in Cleveland on July 25 in which Beckett pitched an eight-inning complete game, Game 2 starter Fausto Carmona was just a little better. It might not mean that much tonight, however.

They ve got a couple new guys so you ve just got to go at it as a new game, Beckett said.

He was 20-7 this season, the first 20-game winner in the majors since 2005, with a 3.27 ERA. He pitched a four-hit, complete-game shutout in the opener of the AL division series against the Los Angeles Angels.

The matchup, it s a great thing for baseball, Boston catcher Jason Varitek said. Those two guys have had tremendous years and they both have tremendous stuff.

Sabathia s 1-0 loss in Cleveland the day before Beckett s setback came against Daisuke Matsuzaka, who is set to pitch the third game against Jake Westbrook.

The Indians lefty finished 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA but labored in his team s playoff opener, throwing 114 pitches in five innings. Still, he got the win in the 12-3 rout of the New York Yankees.

It was just a case of me overthrowing, Sabathia said. It was the first game against the Yankees, first game of the playoffs, [my] first playoff game in six years, so I was excited.

He s not alone.

Despite his postseason success three shutouts in six starts and the MVP award of the 2003 World Series with Florida Beckett feels the jitters on days he pitches, too.

All day is kind of like an anxiety-type deal for me, he said. I think it s a little more during the playoffs.

Both teams finished 96-66, the best records in baseball, but Boston gained home-field advantage by winning the season series 5-2.

The Red Sox had a better batting average, .279 to .268, but the Indians hit more homers, 178-166. Their pitching staffs were comparable Boston had the AL s best ERA and Cleveland ranked third.

They ve got great pitching and we do, too. They ve got huge bats and we do, too, Sabathia said. I think we re dead even.

He ll have to face a potent Boston lineup that outscored the Angels 19-4. David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez found their power strokes, each hitting two homers in the three games. For Cleveland, five of their nine starters hit .353 or better in the four games against the Yankees.