Cabrera sacrificed before Hafner lined out to first. Then, on a 1-0 pitch to Victor Martinez, Chamberlain uncorked another wild pitch that went all the way to the backstop before caroming directly to catcher Jorge Posada.

With Sizemore barreling down the line, Posada quickly shoveled the ball to a charging Chamberlain, who was upended at the plate by the Indians leadoff man, a former high school football star.

Seconds later, with Chamberlain spitting out the critters like they were sunflower seeds, the giant scoreboard flashed: Bug off Yankees!

“It’s a shame that had to happen in such a pressure-packed situation,” Pettitte said. “I’m not trying to make an excuse for him, but it affected him.”

The pests have visited before, usually earlier in the summer.

They’re called midges. They’re scientific name is Chironomus plumosus (Linnaeus) or Chironomus attenuatus Walker.

The Yankees — and their hardcore fans — will forever call them something much less polite.

Yankees fans probably aren’t too thrilled with Rodriguez, either.

A-Rod went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and is now 4-for-47 with zero RBIs in his last 14 playoffs games.

For seven innings, in a white-knuckle game as tight as October can offer, Pettitte masterfully worked his way out of jam after jam.

Pitching in his record-tying 35th postseason game, Pettitte gave the Yankees 6 1-3 shutout innings.

After Pettitte walked Lofton on four pitches in the seventh, the left-hander was pulled for Chamberlain, the flame-throwing righty who has become a New York cult hero in less than two months. But before Pettitte left the mound, several of his infielders tapped on the chest with their gloves, their tribute to a job well done.

Carmona, making his playoff debut, was even better.

The 19-game winner allowed one run — Melky Cabrera’s third-inning homer — and two singles in nine innings. He kept Cleveland close enough to eventually pull off its 45th come-from-behind win and the Indians’ 18th in their final at-bat.

But they got this one with help from some little, flying creatures who came unannounced and just in time.

Notes: Clemens is 27-8 lifetime against the Indians. ... Scruffier than usual, Indians manager Eric Wedge denied growing a playoff beard. “Just every now and again I decide not to shave,” he said, smiling. “Nothing more than that.” ... The Yankees are batting .121 (8-for-66) in the series.

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