Kenny Lofton’s homer comes at crucial time

His 384-foot shot was
pivotal.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kenny Lofton was on the move again — just 360 feet around the bases, but enough for the Cleveland Indians.

The well-traveled Lofton’s two-run homer off Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka gave the Indians an early lead and they went on to beat Boston 4-2 Monday night to take a 2-1 lead in the AL championship series.

Like the long-suffering Indians, Lofton has spent years searching for a World Series title. He’s been doing his part this month to change that for both him and the Tribe.

“I think these guys are going out and playing team ball and it’s unbelievable,” Lofton said.

Lofton’s 384-foot shot in the second inning barely cleared the right-field wall. It gave Cleveland a 2-0 lead and sent the crowd into a frenzy.

“It was a really pivotal point,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. “Dice-K throws a fastball that runs, I think, middle in to Kenny, ends up being a big swing.”

Lofton jogged back to the dugout with a bounce in his step and was congratulated by teammates, including a wild hand-slapping session with Victor Martinez, both grinning broadly.

He then climbed the dugout steps and tipped his helmet as fans cheered for a curtain call from the popular left fielder, the Indians’ only link to their power-hitting teams of the late ’90s.

He was greeted with chants of “KEN-NY, KEN-NY” when he returned to the plate in the fourth.

The 40-year-old became the seventh-oldest player to homer in a postseason game. It was his first since Game 1 of the 2004 ALCS when he was a member of the New York Yankees facing the Red Sox.

Lofton, who is playing in his 11th postseason and sixth in seven years, is having one of his finest Octobers, hitting .345 (10-for-29) with three doubles, a home run and six RBIs.

Lofton’s drive against Boston was his first homer since he joined the Indians for the third time in a July 27th trade with Texas for minor league catcher Max Ramirez.

It was a perfect fit from the start.

The Indians needed a speedy, left-handed hitter and Lofton needed another team that would give him the chance to play well into the fall.

Lofton played the night he joined the team, got three hits and was immediately initiated with a strawberry pie in the face during a postgame interview — a tradition started by Trot Nixon after home wins.

Lofton was a pest against the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs — even scoring the winning run in pivotal Game 2, aka, “The Bug Game.”

He’s spent all or part of 10 season with Cleveland, but he’s better known as a journeyman who always seems to land on a team headed for the playoffs.

His stints with 11 teams even prompted a marketing deal with shipping company with DHL, which is airing a commercial showing drivers not knowing what stadium to take his packages.

Lofton is playing in his seventh league championship series and has been to the World Series twice — with Cleveland in 1995 and San Francisco in 2002.