Baseball: Cleveland clinch upset

The Cleveland Indians, the team most thought would be a soft touch in the post-season, are heading to the World Series for the second time in three years. The Indians made it to the Series against the Florida Marlins by beating the Baltimore Orioles, 1-0, on an 11th-inning home run by Tony Fernandez on Wednesday.

The closeness of the contest was typical of the American League Championship Series series, which Cleveland captured 4-2, the margin of victory in each game being one run.

Fernandez was the latest in a string of play-off heroes for the Indians, but he played only because he accidentally hit the regular second baseman, Bip Roberts, on the hand in practice, forcing him to pull out.

It proved to have been a happy accident when Fernandez hit a two-out home run off Armando Benitez in the top of the 11th inning for the game's only run. "I just tried to drive the ball, and I got it into the right place in the park," he said.

The World Series begins in Miami on Saturday.