Yankees Flail and Fail to Decisive Game

Phil Hughes did everything the Yankees asked of him, Joe Girardi moved Alex Rodriguez down in the lineup, the bullpen was solid, and the Yankees still lost. The 13 inning, 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles forced a fifth and decisive game Friday afternoon. CC Sabathia and Jason Hammel will face off just as they did in Game 1 when the Yankees used a 5-run 9th inning to win 7-2.

Thursday night, however, the Yankees lineup couldn't take of any opportunities presented to it. The O's fared no better until Manny Machado doubled off David Phelps and scored the game winner when J.J. Hardy doubled to left-center.

The Yankees best opportunity came in the 8th inning when Ichiro Suzuki and Mark Teixeira opened the inning with back to back singles. Robinson Cano could only manage a weak grounder that basically worked like a bunt. As I have said before, no matter where you are in the field the ball will find you and no matter where you are in the order you'll bat in a big situation.

Sure enough A-Rod stepped to the plate with runners on second and third with one out. Buck Showalter quickly went to submariner/side-armer/over-the-top Darren O'Day, who has baffled the Yankees all series. Joe Girardi decided not to go to a pinch-hitter, figuring that Raul Ibanez or Eric Chavez would be intentionally walked  The boo birds were flying once again when O'Day struck out A-Rod and Nick Swisher meekly flied out to right.

Hughes looked to be in trouble when he walked the game's lead off man Nick McLouth and Hardy reached first on a bunt. But in just his fourth post-season start, Hughes worked his way out of it with three fly outs. He struck out nine through 6.2 innings and allowed just four hits, with the lone run coming on a McLouth solo home run.

The Yankees struggled against lefty Joe Saunders, with their only run coming in the 6th when Derek Jeter doubled and eventually scored on a Cano ground out.

Notes

Joba Chamberlain had off-season Tommy John surgery, then wrecked his ankle in a trampoline accident. Last night, bad luck struck again when Matt Wieters broken bat nailed Chamberlain in his right elbow. He threw a few warm up pitches, but the elbow began to swell and Girardi went to the pen. His status for Game 5 is up in the air.

Ibanez did hit for Rodriguez in extra innings, but Rodriguez wasn't okay with the move this time aroundl, mainly because everyone else had struggled and not been pulled.

Angels Make Play for Halladay

According to the Toronto Sun, the LA Angels have made a considerable offer for Toronto Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay. The Angels have reportedly offered starter Joe Saunders, shortstop Erick Aybar, and minor league outfielder Peter Bourjos.

The deal would give the Blue Jays the a second starting shortstop they lost when Marco Scutaro signed with the Red Sox. Toronto had previously inked Alex Gonzalez to a 1-yr deal with an option for a second year. Saunders would give the Jays an experienced major league starting pitcher to replace Halladay.

Both Aybar and Saunders are locked up for the next three seasons.

The Big 4-0

Yankees Wrap Up 40th Pennant

Written for Baseball Digest Online

Andy Pettitte has been in big post-season spots before. There was the huge 1-0 win over John Smoltz and the Braves in the ‘96 World Series. Two wins in the ‘01 ALCS against Seattle. A win in all three series in the ‘03 post-season. So it was no shock to see Pettitte bring his ‘A’ game tonight in what turned out to be the 6th and decisive game of the ALCS. The Yankees topped the Angels 5-2 to capture their 40th pennant in franchise history.

Joe Saunders, who performed so well in Game 2, blanked the Yankees through three innings, but trailing 1-0 in the 4th, the Yankees broke through. Robinson Cano drew a lead-off walk and Nick Swisher followed with a bust-out-of-a-slump single to left. After Melky Cabrera successfully sacrificed the runners over, Saunders walked Derek Jeter to load the bases. Johnny Damon got the Yankees off the schneid with runners in scoring position with a base hit to left field for a 2-1 lead. After a single by Mark Teixeira loaded the bags again, Saunders walked Alex Rodriguez to force in the third run of the inning. After that it was all up to Pettitte, Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera.

Pettitte allowed an RBI single to former teammate Bobby Abreu in the third, but was spotless the rest of the night. His biggest challenge came in the 6th when Torii Hunter reached on a two-out single and Vlad Guerrero followed with a double. But Pettitte knocked down Kendry Morales’ comebacker and threw him out at first to escape the jam.

Pettitte received a standing ovation after he allowed a one-out single to Juan Rivera in the 7th and departed in favor of Chamberlain. The right-hander bridged the gap to Rivera by retiring pinch-hitter Maicer Izturis and Erick Aybar to keep the game at 3-1.

The Sandman actually looked human in the 8th inning when he gave up a two out RBI single to Guerrero to cut the deficit to 3-2. But the Angels, so sound fundamentally, gave the Yankees some breathing room in the home half of the inning.

After a walk to Cano, Nick Swisher laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt. Howie Kendrick dropped Scott Kazmir’s throw to first for an error and the Yankees were in business. Cabrera followed with another sac bunt, which Kazmir “sky hooked” into right field for a run-scoring error. Teixeira’s long sac fly to center gave the Yankees an insurmountable 5-2 lead.

In the 9th, Rivera retired Kendrick on a ground-out and Juan Rivera on a fly-out before striking out pinch-hitter Gary Matthews Jr. for the final out. Rivera strode off the mound, exchanged hugs with Jorge Posada, and the Yankees’ celebration was on.

Game Notes

Game 1 of the World Series is Wednesday night. The Yankees will send the ALCS MVP, CC Sabathia, out against his former Indians teammate Cliff Lee.

Halos Throw Away Game 2

I would like to start off by thanking Maicer Izturis for his 13th inning error last night. Those of us who had a morning walk for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, are grateful for the little bit of sleep we got last night.

It was Izturis' throwing error that allowed Jerry Hairston Jr. to score the game winning run in the Yankees 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The victory game the Bombers a 2-0 advantage in the best of seven ALCS.

Hairston led off the inning with a single to center off Ervin Santana. Not bad for a guy who had been sitting on the bench for 12 innings. Brett Gardner sacrificed him to second base, so Mike Scoscia opted to walk Robinson Cano to set up a double play situation. Melky Cabrera did indeed hit the ball on the ground, but it was far enough in the whole between first and second base that Izturis should have gotten the sure out at first.

But the Halos' second sacker ignored one of the golden rules of baseball and spun towards second, firing a wild throw in the the general direction of shortstop Erick Aybar. The ball bounded towards the foul line where third baseman Chone Figgins was in the proper back up position. But the Yankee killer couldn't get a handle on the baseball, allowing Hairston to score the winning run uncontested.

Hairston, who was acquired in a trade deadline deal, leaped into the high five of teammate Jorge Posada before all of the Yankees poured out of the dugout and on to the field. Starting pitcher A.J. Burnett, who allowed two runs in 6-plus innings, finished his night with a pie to the face of the Yankees utility man.

The odd play ended a roller coaster, nail biter of a game after five hours and 10 minutes. The Angels took a 3-2 lead in the 11th off Al Aceves when Gary Matthews Jr. drew a lead off walk, moved to second base on Aybar's sac bunt, and scored on Figgins' single.

But with closer Brian Fuentes on, the Yankees newest Mr. October, Alex Rodriguez, came through again. After taking two straight strikes to start his at-bat, Rodriguez slugged a solo home run over the outreached glove of right fielder, and former teammate, Bobby Abreu to tie the game at three apiece. It was A-Rod's third home run in five post-season games.

Burnett and Angels starter Joe Saunders had locked into a good pitcher's duel. The Yankees took a 2-0 lead on Cano's RBI triple in the 2nd and Derek Jeter's solo home run in the 3rd. It was Jeter's 19th career post-season home run, the third highest in baseball history.

Burnett's fastball was popping catcher Jose Molina's mitt all night and his off-speed stuff was nasty. But it was a little too nasty in the fifth inning. Izturis led the inning off with a double and two batters later scored on an Aybar single. Burnett got in further trouble when Aybar stole second and the right-hander hit Figgins on the foot with a stray breaking pitch.

Bobby Abreu fouled out for the second out, but Burnett walk Torii Hunter to load the bases and threw an extremely wild pitch on an 0-2 count to Vlad Guerrero to tie the game at 2-2. Burnett finally escaped the inning when Guerrero grounded out to Jeter.

The Yankees blew several opportunities to score during the night, bouncing into three rally killing double plays. The Angels couldn't take advantage of three Yankee errors- two by Cano and one by Jeter.

Game Notes

Mariano Rivera, who recorded a four out save in Game 1 on Friday, came back to throw 2 1-3 scoreless innings in Game 2. Remarkably he needed just 25 pitches to do so.

Vlad Guerrero had a very poor night at the plate, leaving eight men on base.
David Robertson earned his first post-season victory with 1 1-3 scoreless innings.

Game 2 Lineups and Thoughts

Before I get into Game 2, a little more about Game 1. Specifically, Alex Rodriguez. Those of you who trashed him on radio call in shows this morning sounded like complete idiots. The guy made a mistake and then tried to make up for it with a hard play at the plate. Some of you acted as if he committed a heinous crime.

The Derek Jeter vs. Alex Rodriguez stuff has to stop. Comparing the two is asinine. Their different people, different players, and they have different styles. Rodriguez made a mistake, but it was no big deal, especially in light of a victory.

As everyone expected, Jose Molina will be behind the plate for A.J. Burnett tonight. As was not expected, as of 6:15 p.m. ET, it appears the teams will get the game in.

Lineups:

Yankees

SS Jeter
LF Damon
1B Teixeira
3B Rodriguez
DH Matsui
RF Swisher
2B Cano
CF Cabrera
C Molina

P Burnett

Angels

3B Figgins
RF Abreu
CF Hunter
DH Guerrero
1B Morales
LF Rivera
2B Izturis
C Napoli
SS Aybar

P Saunders

I can feel your halo halo halo

A scene the Yankees have witnessed too many times in Anaheim.

Halos Have Yankees Number Again

Filed Under: Yankees

Tags: Alex Rodriguez • andy pettitte • Chone Figgins • Derek Jeter • hideki matsui • Joe Saunders • Kendry Morales • LA Angels • NY Yankees • Torii Hunter • Vlad Guerrero • Yankees 9/22 recap • Yankees vs. Angels

Written for Baseball Digest Online

The last day of Summer provided no solace for the Yankees in Anaheim last night. No matter the season, the Yankees just can’t be the Los Angeles Angeles on the left coast. That trend continued last night when the Angels took an early lead against Andy Pettitte en route to a 5-2 win. On the bright side, the Yankees magic number to clinch the AL East was reduced to 8, thanks to the Kansas City Royals win over the Boston Red Sox.

On the even brighter side, Pettitte who missed his last start with shoulder fatigue, allowed 3 runs in an effective six effective innings and felt good afterwards. Unfortunately for the Yankees, Angels’ starter Joe Saunders was even better. The left-hander was 9-7 with a 5.33 ERA when he went on the DL after his August 7th start. But since then he’s gone unbeaten, posting a 5-0 record in six starts, while posting a 2.11 ERA. He came within two outs of throwing a complete game despite having to pitch with a sore patella tendon in his left leg.

The Yankees put two men aboard in the first but Chone Figgins defense helped Saunders escape trouble. With Johnny Damon on 1st, Mark Teixeira hit a bullet down the 3rd base line that was ticketed for extra bases. But Figgins made a diving stop and fired to 2nd base for a would be force out. But 2nd baseman Howie Kendrick dropped the throw allowing both runners to reach. (Somehow the official scorer ruled it a fielder’s choice rather than a hit or error). Saunders picked up his teammate with a swinging strikeout of Alex Rodriguez and then retired Nick Swisher on a lazy fly. After that the Yankees rolled over, except for solo home runs by A-Rod and Hideki Matsui in the 7th and 8th innings.

The Angels jumped right on Pettitte in the home half of the 1st, though it looked like Pettitte would escape unscathed when Jose Molina threw Figgins out attempting to steal 2nd base for the second out of the inning. But Bobby Abreu singled and scored on Vlad Guerrero’s gapper to right-center. Torii Hunter then followed with a double of his own for a 2-0 lead.

The Yankees’ home runs got them back to 2-run deficits each time, but the Yankees pen let the Angels extend their lead in each instance. Kendry Morales hit a pinch-hit solo home run, his 31st (and RBI #99) off of Brian Bruney in the 7th and Jonathan Albaladejo allowed another run in the 8th.

Game Notes

Derek Jeter had a pair of hits in the game to give him 199 on the season. His next hit will give him 7-200 hit seasons.

The Angels reduced their magic number for clinching the AL West to 6 and won their 90th game for the 7th time in 9 seasons.

Francisco Cervelli got quite a thrill before the game when Reggie Jackson introduced him to fellow Hall of Fame member Frank Robinson. Robby currently works for the commissioner’s office.

Chad Gaudin looks to get the Yankees back on the winning track tonight when he goes up against Ervin Santana.

Yankees Make a Mess Out West

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	3	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0		6	14	2
LA Angels	0	1	0	0	4	2	3	0	X		10	13	0

WP - Bulger (4-1) SV - Fuentes (25) LP - Melancon (0-1)

The Yankees are going to have make a decision soon on the immediate future of Joba Chamberlain. The Yankees young star imploded once again last night, lasting just 4 1/3 innings in a 10-6 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. To make matters worse, the Yankees had staked him to a 5-1 lead. Chamberlain wasn’t completely at fault though- the Yankees are still snake bitten in Anaheim. Errors by Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter and another poor relief outing from Brian Bruney all contributed to the “Mess out West“.

Read the rest of my recap at Baseball Digest Online.