NEW YORK -- The Yankees could ill afford an early exit from Chien-Ming Wang, especially with manager Joe Torre's job on the line. But for the third straight season, their march into October has ended abruptly, and now the uncertainty begins. Starting on short rest to back the Yankees off the wall, Wang recorded only three outs, and the resulting hole proved too big to dig out from. The Cleveland Indians advanced to the American League Championship Series, eliminating the Yankees on Monday with a 6-4 victory in what may have been Torre's final game in uniform. The Yankees were down after three pitches, as Grady Sizemore led off the game with a home run for Cleveland, and they were never able to get up. Jhonny Peralta dunked a run-scoring single to center with two outs in the first, and Wang -- struggling to find command of his trademark sinker while pitching on three days' rest for the first time in his career -- loaded the bases in the second without retiring a batter. Mike Mussina came on and got a double play, allowing Cleveland's third run to score, but he then surrendered a single to Asdrubal Cabrera that gave the Indians a 4-0 lead. Down early, Mussina -- who was passed over to start Game 4 in favor of Wang, a 19-game winner -- worked to try to keep the game close. Cleveland touched the right-hander for two runs in the fourth inning as Victor Martinez stroked a two-run double to left, giving Cleveland a 6-1 lead. The Yankees were mostly stifled, quieting a sellout crowd of 56,315 at Yankee Stadium, until Robinson Cano connected with Byrd's 77th and final pitch of the evening, slugging a solo home run to right. Byrd limited New York to two runs and eight hits in five-plus innings, walking two and striking out two. Alex Rodriguez, in perhaps his second-to-last at-bat in a Yankees uniform, connected for a solo home run with one out in the seventh inning off left-hander Rafael Perez. In his final at-bat of the game, Rodriguez popped out to right field for the second out of the ninth inning. Rodriguez has an opt-out clause in his contract that permits him to forfeit the final three years of his $252 million deal and become a free agent after the World Series. Bobby Abreu hit a solo homer into the upper deck in right field -- his first career postseason homer -- with one out in the ninth inning off Indians closer Joe Borowski to make it a 6-4 game. The Yankees have been eliminated in three consecutive AL Division Series, having last advanced to the second round of the playoffs in 2004. The results have been unacceptable to principal owner George Steinbrenner, who told The Record of Hackensack, N.J., on Saturday that Torre was not likely to return for a 13th season as manager if the Yankees could not advance. --

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