"You want your chance," said Yankees manager Joe Torre of losing a shortened game. "But we were a couple of outs away from possibly having the shoe on the other foot. We just weren't able to hold the lead."

Hernandez was scratched from his start just a little more than two hours before the 7:05 p.m. start time, leaving rookie No. 5 starter Ted Lilly to make the spot start. Lilly had last pitched Sunday, holding Cleveland to just two runs over 6 2/3 innings. He did not have that same success Friday.

The Yankees gave Lilly a 3-0 lead, scoring one run in each of the first three innings, including a solo shot by David Justice, his eighth home run of the season.

Lilly, who did not allow a hit in the first three frames, got into trouble in the fourth. Roberto Alomar led off with a solo home run to right field, which was followed by back-to-back singles by Juan Gonzalez and Ellis Burks, putting runners at the corners with no outs.

But Lilly fought through the jam, striking out Jim Thome and Marty Cordova before hitting Russell Branyan to load the bases. Einar Diaz popped up to Alfonso Soriano to end the threat.

The Yankees added another run in the fourth on Diaz's second throwing error of the night, which allowed Scott Brosius to score, giving New York a 4-1 lead. Diaz had three errors on the night, two of them leading to Yankees runs.

For the third time in seven starts, Lilly came apart in the fifth inning. After striking out Kenny Lofton to start the inning, he allowed a bunt single to Omar Vizquel, which Lilly threw away, allowing Vizquel to advance to second. Alomar followed with a single, moving Vizquel to third. Both runners advanced on a Lilly wild pitch, cutting New York's lead to 4-2. Alomar scored on a sacrifice fly by Gonzalez, and Burks tied the game at four with a home run to left, his 12th of the season. Thome doubled to deep left field, prompting Torre to take Lilly out with two outs in the fifth.

"He was good for a while," Torre said. "That fifth inning got him. He pitched his tail off in the fourth, getting out of there with just one run. He got the first out in the fifth and things fell apart. It's something that is obviously apparent to him. He's just going to have to fight through it."

Brian Boehringer relieved Lilly, allowing an RBI single to Marty Cordova to give the Indians a 5-4 lead and the eventual winning run. Boehringer gave up two more runs in the sixth, but they would be nothing more than icing on the cake for Cleveland.

When all was said and done, the Indians tagged Lilly (2-1) for five runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings, handing him his first loss of the season. He walked two and struck out six.

"It has just been an inning that has been stumping me for some reason," said Lilly, who has been chased in the fifth inning in three of his starts this season. "That's still a mystery to me. I'm perplexed as to what has been going on in the fifth inning. It all happened fast. I think in situations like that I have to slow myself down and make better pitches out of the stretch."

Despite a shaky outing, Cleveland rookie C.C. Sabathia (6-2) picked up the win, allowing four runs (three earned) in four innings.

Ricardo Rincon pitched the fifth inning to earn his first save of the season.

"It's worth the wait anytime we can get a win," said Indians manager Charlie Manuel. "When it started raining, after the start we got off to, I thought we were in trouble. We came back, scored some runs and then it started raining. It always feels good to get one. We'll take it."

Torre stressed after the game that Lilly is firmly planted in the rotation, especially considering the latest injury to Hernandez.

"He's got a regular turn in the rotation. His stuff is there. He has the ability to get people out. I was impressed today that he went through four innings after they saw him last week, and he got them out," said Torre. "He needs to stay aggressive."

As for who will replace Hernandez, Torre said that someone will be called up to take his roster spot, but mentioned that Ramiro Mendoza would be a possible replacement in Hernandez' starting spot.

"We'll have a pitcher here for when we need that spot," said Torre, who will not need a new starter until Monday or Tuesday. "The first concern now is to get him well and hopefully he'll come back 100 percent."

The Yankees and Indians have now split their four meetings this season, taking two each. The two teams will meet again Saturday, as Roger Clemens takes on Bartolo Colon at 1:05 p.m. in the second game of a 13-game Yankees homestand.