This one was a classic, but a tough one to watch.
I didn't see how the Yankees built a 4-0 lead. I only learned later that they had to wait until the 3rd inning for...
An A-Bomb from A-Rod!
Can't believe how these Angels announcers talk about the Yankees. Venomous stuff from those California clowns who can't even figure out how to have a normal government. Here's a Proposition for you....shut your mouth and get out of the desert, it's frying your tiny brain!
Anyway, Posada was next. A towering blast over the high wall in right, with Abreu plastered up against the wall like he was going to catch it. Sorry Bobby, that one's in the seats.
And as if that wasn't enough (and later we'd learn it indeed wasn't enough), Matsui crunched a fastball way deep into the seats. That one looked like something out of a home run derby.
That's when things got interesting...
Gaudin dominated until the 5th. And then our future 4th starter (that is, if the Bombers reach the ALCS) hit the wall and collapsed. Aceves came in but the Angels inched back into the game, getting timely hits, drawing walks, wreaking havoc on the bases and bewildering Posada, who could neither control pitches in the dirt nor throw accurately to second. Having had golden opportunities in the first and second innings to blow it open, Yankee frustration mounted, as inning by inning the Angels marched back.
With two outs in the 6th inning the Yankees were ahead 5-3. Abreu was up, Aceves was on the mound and Coke was in bed with gastrointestinal issues (flatulence?) and of course Robertson was still stiff. So the Yankees had nobody to go to before Phil Hughes in the 7th or 8th. Aceves had to get through it himself.
So he walked Abreu with the bases loaded. A run came in to score. Still two outs with Vladimir Guerrero up.
And that's when A-Rod struck for the second time in the game. What an amazing play, fully diving to his right to snag the line drive and then getting up and gunning down Guerrero. Awesome stuff.
The Yankees had regained some momentum by that point, but they were facing the prospect of 3 more innings, trying to hold a 1 run lead.
The bats went quiet, as they had been since the Matsui home run. On the mound Aceves could go no further, and Marte was asked to get one out, instead giving up a double and putting Hughes in a position where he would need to get some huge outs. Well, he got them.
I didn't see how the Yankees built a 4-0 lead. I only learned later that they had to wait until the 3rd inning for...
An A-Bomb from A-Rod!
Can't believe how these Angels announcers talk about the Yankees. Venomous stuff from those California clowns who can't even figure out how to have a normal government. Here's a Proposition for you....shut your mouth and get out of the desert, it's frying your tiny brain!
Anyway, Posada was next. A towering blast over the high wall in right, with Abreu plastered up against the wall like he was going to catch it. Sorry Bobby, that one's in the seats.
And as if that wasn't enough (and later we'd learn it indeed wasn't enough), Matsui crunched a fastball way deep into the seats. That one looked like something out of a home run derby.
That's when things got interesting...
Gaudin dominated until the 5th. And then our future 4th starter (that is, if the Bombers reach the ALCS) hit the wall and collapsed. Aceves came in but the Angels inched back into the game, getting timely hits, drawing walks, wreaking havoc on the bases and bewildering Posada, who could neither control pitches in the dirt nor throw accurately to second. Having had golden opportunities in the first and second innings to blow it open, Yankee frustration mounted, as inning by inning the Angels marched back.
With two outs in the 6th inning the Yankees were ahead 5-3. Abreu was up, Aceves was on the mound and Coke was in bed with gastrointestinal issues (flatulence?) and of course Robertson was still stiff. So the Yankees had nobody to go to before Phil Hughes in the 7th or 8th. Aceves had to get through it himself.
So he walked Abreu with the bases loaded. A run came in to score. Still two outs with Vladimir Guerrero up.
And that's when A-Rod struck for the second time in the game. What an amazing play, fully diving to his right to snag the line drive and then getting up and gunning down Guerrero. Awesome stuff.
The Yankees had regained some momentum by that point, but they were facing the prospect of 3 more innings, trying to hold a 1 run lead.
The bats went quiet, as they had been since the Matsui home run. On the mound Aceves could go no further, and Marte was asked to get one out, instead giving up a double and putting Hughes in a position where he would need to get some huge outs. Well, he got them.
But in the 8th the Angels struck one more time and tied it. This time Cano allowed Howie Kendrick's sharp ground ball to find it's way through his legs. Kendrick stole second and went to third on Posada's error. And with the tying run on first and nobody out, the Angels tied the game in style, getting a single from Izturus (whoever that is) and continuing the assault. But after a wild pitch and a walk, Hughes reached back, deep into that reservoir of Yankee power, and struck out the next two hitters, Guerrero and Torii Hunter.
Gardner lead off the 9th. He singled. Palmer threw to first base 4 times in a row. Then he threw a pitch to Jeter for ball one. Then he threw to first again. Gardner barely got back in time as the Yankee bench came alive with accusations of a balk. And with the next pitch, Palmer did an ultra-quick delivery. Gardner bolted to second. The Angels catcher Budde jumped up, stepping forward as the fastball quickly reached his glove at eye level. Pitchout.
The ball arrived at second base before Gardner. But Budde had pulled it wide! Gardner slid in and overshot the bag as Aybar twisted backwards to tag and hold the glove on Gardner's arm. But just as Gardner's extended fingers moved past the bag and towards left field, his foot caught a toe-hold on the corner of the bag and held on, all the while with Aybar's glove resting there.
Safe.
Jeter walked. Damon, in an unforgettable play, fouled off two bunt attempts but laid down the third perfectly, rolling it along the infield grass. Second and third with one out and Tex walked to bring up A-Rod, with a chance to take the lead. And he didn't disappoint, getting the sacrifice and putting his stamp on this game both from the plate, with his monster home run and sacrifice, and in the field.
Of course, we weren't done. We still had the 9th inning, where CB Bucknor, who had already put his stamp on the game by calling the Angels catcher for interference, missed a very easy called third strike on a 3-2 pitch by Mo to the leadoff man. It was a call that should have him barred from October baseball, mostly because this game was an excellent simulation of playoff intensity and Bucknor failed to keep his poise under that kind of pressure.
The Angels put in a pinch runner, the speedy Willets, all set to fully take advantage of the great fortune bestowed upon them, as is the Angels' custom.
But it was not to be! In a dramatic strike em out, throw em out double play Mo struck out the next batter while Posada gunned down Willets' feeble attempt at stealing second (was that a hit-and-run, Scioscia?).
Ball game over, Yankees win! A-Rod was the man today, that's the story of this game, folks. With the Sox's loss to Greinke, the Yankees moved 6 games ahead in the AL East while pushing the magic number down to 6.
Maybe most importantly, Texas's defeat clinched the playoff birth for the Yankees.
Welcome back, Bombers.
Current record: 96-56
AL East Lead: 6 games
Games remaining: 10
AL East Lead: 6 games
Games remaining: 10
AL East magic number: 6
Magic number over the Angels: 6
Magic number over the Angels: 6
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