Sabathia’s disastrous start The Tribe’s star pitcher lost his command and never got back on track.

BOSTON (AP) — C.C. Sabathia walked calmly toward the dugout, his night cut short by a flurry of poorly placed pitches and hard-hit balls.

That solitary stroll was a rare moment of control for the Indians’ once-fiery ace.

Looking nothing like the dominating lefty and Cy Young Award contender who led Cleveland to the best record in baseball (tied with Boston at 96-66), Sabathia walked five while allowing eight runs and seven hits in 41⁄3 innings Friday night. The Indians never recovered and the Red Sox rolled to a 10-3 win in the opener of the AL championship series.

“He didn’t have it tonight. His command was off,” Cleveland manager Eric Wedge said. “When you’re talking about facing a team like Boston, you know they’re going to make you come in, they’re going to make you work for it. They’re not going to chase. You’ve got to prove that you can be in the zone before they even think about expanding a little bit.”

The Indians took a 1-0 lead in the first on Travis Hafner’s homer off Boston starter Josh Beckett, another one of the Cy Young favorites. Sabathia squandered it after facing just four batters — and nearly taking a liner to his head.

Dustin Pedroia hit that ball and Sabathia got his glove up just in time to spear it for the first out. But then he gave up singles by Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, tying the game.

“It was just one of those nights where C.C. just wasn’t able to get on track,” Wedge said.

If Sabathia was coming unglued, his demeanor didn’t show it.

But he allowed his most runs since he gave up eight July 21, 2006.

In 2004, just 24 years old, he was demonstrative on the field. And in the clubhouse after a tough loss, he once punched a pillar near his locker, leaving a hole in it.

Those days seem to be gone now. He keeps his emotions in check.

That hasn’t helped him find the plate lately.

In the opener of the AL division series, Sabathia walked six Yankees in five innings — the number of walks he issued in all of September. The Indians still won 12-3.

Wedge could have brought Sabathia back on three days’ rest for Game 4 but stuck with his regular rotation. Paul Byrd pitched well and the Indians won 6-4 to advance to the ALCS.

Maybe Sabathia had too much rest by Friday. Maybe the skills that produced a 19-7 record and 3.21 ERA had become stale.

Sabathia has pitched more than 250 innings this year, including the playoffs, but Wedge doesn’t think the big lefty is getting tired.

“He’s really strong. I don’t think fatigue is a factor. I think sometimes C.C., his heart gets in the way. He tries to do a little bit too much. It’s one of the many reasons he is such a great pitcher and a great teammate,” Wedge said. “But one thing about C.C., and it’s easier said than done, but he just doesn’t need to try to do any more than what he normally does, because what he is, it’s pretty good. It’s one of the best in the game. But today he just wasn’t able to put it all together.”

Sabathia’s latest wild streak came one day short of the sixth anniversary of his playoff debut. He gave up two runs, six hits and five walks in Cleveland’s win over Seattle in Game 3 of the 2001 division series. But the Indians lost that series 3-2.

On Friday, Sabathia loaded the bases in two innings. He also retired the side in order — once on three strikeouts — in two others.

His worst inning was the third, when the Red Sox batted around and scored four times for a 5-1 lead. Ramirez walked with the bases loaded, Mike Lowell doubled in two runs and Jason Varitek drove in another with a groun dout.

“You don’t get to see C.C. being wild like that too much, so you’ve got to take advantage of it,” Boston slugger David Ortiz said. “When he’s in the strike zone, when he’s making pitches the way he normally does, he’s a tough guy to hit.”

CLEVELANDBOSTON

abrhbiabrhbi

Szmore cf5000Pedroia 2b4110

ACbera 2b3012Yukilis 1b4320

Hafner dh3111DOrtiz dh2220

VMrtnz c4000MRmrz lf2223

Garko 1b2010Ellsbry lf0000

Gomez ph1000Lowell 3b3013

JhPlta ss4010Kielty rf2112

Lofton lf4020JDrew rf2000

Gutirrz rf4000Varitek c5012

Blake 3b3220Crisp cf4010

JLugo ss4110

Totals33383Totals32101210

Cleveland100001010—3

Boston10403200x—10

DP—Cleveland 1, Boston 1. LOB—Cleveland 7, Boston 9. 2B—Lofton 2 (2), Blake 2 (2), DOrtiz (1), Lowell (1), Varitek (1), Crisp (1), JLugo (1). HR—Hafner (1). S—Pedroia. SF—ACabrera, Lowell.

IPHRERBBSO

Cleveland

Sabathia L,0-14 1-378853

Lewis2-332200

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Boston

Beckett W,1-0642207

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Lewis pitched to 2 batters in the 6th, Fultz pitched to 2 batters in the 6th. HBP—by Beckett (Garko), by Sabathia (DOrtiz). WP—Beckett. Umpires—Home, Randy Marsh; First, Kerwin Danley; Second, Brian Gorman; Third, Paul Emmel; Left, Gary Cederstrom; Right, Dana DeMuth. T—3:35. A—36,986.