A look back at Cleveland's recent baseball heartbreak

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CLEVELAND – OCTOBER 16: Kenny Lofton of the Cleveland Indians bats during the game against the Boston Red Sox at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio on October 16, 2007. The Indians defeated the Red Sox 7-3. (Photo by John Reid III/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

This team was also quite special, led by their ace and Cy Young winner CC Sabathia. They also had Fausto Carmona, now known as Roberto Hernandez, who finished fourth in the Cy Young voting. Cleveland that year had established the best 1-2 punch in the league: Sabathia was 19-7 with 209 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.21 while Carmona was 19-8 with 137 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.06. Cleveland would end up tied with Boston for the best record in baseball.

Cleveland lost Game One of the ALCS with Sabathia pitching very poorly. They rebounded to win Game Two behind Hernandez. Cleveland won the next two games and were just one game away from the World Series. Sabathia had a chance to close the Red Sox out at home, but he didn’t have it again, giving up four runs in six innings. The series shifted back to Fenway Park, along with the momentum. Curt Schilling rebounded to pitch seven strong innings and Hernandez got lit up, giving up seven runs in just two innings. From that point, the series was done and the Red Sox rolled to an easy 11-2 victory in Game Seven. This was even more devastating for Cleveland fans because the Red Sox swept the Rockies in the World Series. You have to think the then-Indians would’ve won the World Series if they made it in 2007.

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A look back at Cleveland’s recent baseball heartbreak

By Darren Klein | Feb 18, 2022

2007: Cleveland Blew a 3-1 Lead to the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS