Feelin’ like a World Series in Philly
Another World Series in Philadelphia Phillies means rain in the forecast. Unlike last year, at least the temperatures are warm and not freezing. Game 3 was still set to begin on-time, despite the darkening clouds and rain incoming on the radar. As many of the Phillies players’ stated, the real World Series begins now, meaning the Philly fans are going to be electric, like nothing the Yankees have ever seen. Game 3 pits the Yankees Andy Pettitte against the Phillies Cole Hamels. Pettitte is hoping to increase his all-time postseason wins to 17, which would continue to put him in first place in that category. However, Pettitte isn’t averaging more than seven innings in a postseason start, so that means manager Joe Girardi will need to use more than closer Mariano Rivera out of the bullpen. It will be interesting to see how Pettitte approaches the Phillies lineup with the two switch-hitters at the top (Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino) and the lefties after them (Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Raul Ibanez). I suspect Howard will not see many fastballs. Hamels was last year’s NLCS and World Series MVP, though in 2009, he has not been very consistent. The Phillies need Hamels to pitch like he did in 2008 for them to be successful in Game 3. Hamels will need to keep the Yankees hitters adjusting and off-balance all night to be successful. The key to this game will be Pettitte versus the Phillies running attack and the Phillies Jayson Werth. Werth has one of the best batting averages against left-handed pitching over the last two years.
The Phillies have announced their Game 4 starter as Joe Blanton and the Yankees are leaning towards the three-man rotation, meaning Game 1 starter CC Sabathia would pitch in Game 4. Blanton had been the Phillies most consistent starter throughout the 2009 season. Blanton pitched mostly out of the bullpen so far this postseason, though he made the Game 4 start in the NLCS against the Dodgers. Many of the Yankee hitters are familiar with Blanton from his days with the Oakland A’s. Sabathia was good in his first start of the World Series, but was out-pitched by his former teammate. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts his game plan and how the Phillies hitters adjust to him. A key to Game 4 is how long Blanton goes in the game. It could be a game that is determined by the bullpens. Another key will be Carlos Ruiz. It will be Blanton’s first go-round against the Yankees in the playoffs and he’ll need to rely on Ruiz. Ruiz will also need to be big at the plate to turn the lineup over to the speed and power.
Game 5, and the final World Series game in Philly, has the Phillies sending Game 1 starter Cliff Lee probably up against Yankees Game 2 starter AJ Burnett. Will Burnett be just as dominant as he was in Game 2 or will his wild side 
re-emerge? The Phillies hitters need to adjust and jump on the fastball early in the count. How will the Yankees hitters react to seeing Lee a second time? A key will be Yankees catcher Jose Molina. He will need to keep Burnett’s emotions in check and to keep everything in the dirt in front of him. Molina will also need to produce at the plate or he may be the first move Girardi makes in terms of pinch-hitting. However, Girardi could go with Jorge Posada as the catcher to get more offense, but it would be sacrificing defense and stability with Burnett.
It will be interesting to see if Girardi gets Hideki Matsui some playing time in the outfield with the 3 games in Philly. He has been one of the Yankees best hitters of late (3-for-6 in the World Series so far) and I find it hard to believe that Girardi would only get him 3 at-bats as a pinch-hitter in the 3 games. We will find out how good of a manager Girardi really is as he’ll have to manage pinch-hitters and game situations, along with double-switches.
Yankees starter AJ Burnett avoided the big wild inning, throwing first pitch strikes to 22 of the 26 batters he faced. Burnett’s curveball was working throughout the night, making the Phillies hitters look silly. He gave manager Joe Girardi seven solid innings, allowing him to go to closer Mariano Rivera for another six out save. Rivera looked hittable in Game 2, especially in the eighth inning when the Phillies had two men on and only one out. Manuel decided not to send the speedy runners (Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino) on a 3-2 count and the batter, Chase Utley, grounded into a double-play to end the inning. Utley meanwhile, extended his consecutive on-base streak in postseason games to 27 with a walk in the 3rd inning, continuing to add on to his 
Has Girardi completely lost faith in his entire bullpen? I’m not sure Girardi can continue to go to Rivera for six out saves, especially if he continues to throw close to 40 pitches an outing. We will see as the World Series continues.
Neither team is tearing the cover off of the baseball and both teams RBI machines have cooled off. I mentioned A-Rod earlier, but Ryan Howard went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts last night against the combination of Burnett and Rivera and never looked comfortable at the plate. Unlike in Game 1, Burnett only showed the fastball on the first pitch to most of the hitters and they were taking it for a strike, trying to be patient and run up Burnett’s pitch-count. That approach never really worked. The Phillies struck out 15 times in Game 2, yet only lost 3-1.
Phillies 6, Yankees 1: Everyone expected Game 1 to be a pitcher’s duel and those in attendance and those watching on TV got exactly that. The Phillies loaded the bases in the first inning on 2 walks (Chase Utley extended his postseason on-base streak to 26 games, a 
told the media before his start, he was not nervous because he worked his whole life for that actual moment, even though he would be pitching in the biggest game of his career. Lee reiterated his comments after the game: “It’s been a long time since I’ve been nervous playing this game,” Lee said. “It’s what I’ve been doing my whole life. I put all the work in. You do everything you need to do to prepare, and I try not to leave anything to chance. So what’s the point in being nervous? I’ve already done the work. It’s game time — time to go out there and have fun and execute and let your skills take over.” Lee is a rhythm pitcher: the first one out onto the field and the first one into the dugout when the inning is over, always sprinting. He gets the ball from his catcher Carlos Ruiz and fires a pitch. The Yankees hitters never got him out of his rhythm all night.
Lee shut it down by striking out the mighty Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada to end the game. Lee’s final line looked like this: 9 IP, 6 H, O BB, 10 K. It took him just 122 pitches to get through the Yankees order without giving up an earned run. So far this postseason, Lee has 30 strikeouts and just 3 walks. In his last 2 starts, Lee has pitched 17 innings without giving up a walk and has 20 strikeouts. Sabathia has been the second most dominant pitcher (and left-hander) this postseason.
The 2009 World Series is truly a matchup of the two best teams in baseball. There is trash-talking, with each city’s media taking things to the extreme and trying to get the players involved. One NY newspaper depicted Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino in a cheerleading skirt and called the Phillies the “Frillies”. Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins predicted the Phillies would win in 5 games. Both teams expect hostile crowds while on the road and Rollins loves to silence opposing teams’ home crowds. Plus he used to being hated in NY.
Both team’s ballparks are susceptible to the homerun as they were ranked in the top two in homeruns in 
e a few questions marks in their lineups. The Phillies Chase Utley has a 25 straight postseason games of reaching base streak, which ties a ML record. Though he has been on base, he really has not been hitting (.211 against the Dodgers). The Phillies need more than just Victorino, Howard, and catcher Carlos Ruiz to produce. Rollins will need to be the fire-starter and put pressure on the pitchers and Jorge Posada behind the plate for the Phillies to be successful. Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher of the Yankees have been struggling throughout this postseason and some have talked about benching Swisher. The Yankees are relying on Swisher becoming the clutch hitter he has been all season long and Tex to be the power-hitting, RBI machine he was all season.
found his 2008 self. Chad Durbin has been lights-out coming in to get out of jams and if his sinker is working, double-play balls will be common. Everyone else is either hurting or coming back from an injury (Scott Eyre, Chan Ho Park, and Brett Myers) or inexperienced (Antonio Bastardo, Happ). Yes the Yankees have postseason sensation Mariano Rivera as their closer, but he has been far from dominant in the last year or so. Getting to Mo has been a challenge and manager Joe Girardi has been using him for more than an inning lately. I think that the young bullpen pitchers have struggled lately mainly due to overuse throughout the regular season. Look at box scores and some pitched almost every day (like Phil Coke and his 72 games). Alfredo Aceves ended up with 10 wins, mainly out of the bullpen. Dave Robertson was in the top 5 in the AL in strikeouts per nine innings (12.98) and has been dominant. Phil Hughes has been struggling though he has been the 8th inning setup man for most of the second-half. Since Girardi seems to have lost some confidence in his bullpen, Brian Bruney has been added to the roster and could regain his role of setup man if he dominates.
Game 1: Cliff Lee @ CC Sabathia
Game 2: Pedro Martinez @ AJ Burnett
Game 3: Cole Hamels vs. Andy Pettitte
This season, like every other postseason, there have been disappointments. First have been the first two opponents of the NY Yankees: the Minnesota Twins and the LA Angels. Both teams were lacking the fundamentals and is the main reason they are home and the Yankees are in the World Series. Both teams were victimized by fielding errors, baserunning blunders, and too many walks by the pitching staffs. The Twins made 2 errors in the Yankees three-game sweep. Poor baserunning plagued the Twins in the three games, like Nick Punto’s base running gaffe of trailing too far away from third base (and getting thrown out). The Twins combined to walk 9 batters in the ALDS. The Angels made 5 errors combined in Games 1 and 2, costing them both games in NY. They also had 2 errors in the 8th inning of Game 6. In the two games the Angels won, they committed zero errors. The Angels also had a few baserunning blunders, including Vladimir Guerrero getting picked off of first on a shallow pop fly to right field and Bobby Abreu rounding second base too far. The Angels pitchers also walked too many, including the nine in the deciding Game 6. The Angels pitchers combined to walk 38 batters in the ALCS. The St. Louis Cardinals also had their problems: Matt Holliday’s error (dropping a fly ball to left) in Game 2 of the NLDS, which led to the Dodgers comeback win; 11 walks by Cardinals pitchers in 3 games; and the Cardinals inability to come up with a clutch hit.
Second, the Angels offense in the ALCS against the Yankees was meager. Except for Guerrero, Jeff Mathis (who didn’t play in every game), Erick Aybar, Howie Kendrick (who also didn’t play in every game), and Torii Hunter, the offense was nonexistent. The top of the order (Chone Figgins and Bobby Abreu) combined to hit around .146 with just 3 RBI and 4 runs scored. They also struck out 11 times. If the top of the order is not getting on base, the middle of the order (Guerrero and Hunter) will not have anyone to drive in. When the Angels did get men on base, like in Game 2 of the ALCS, they could not drive them in, stranding 16 runners in Game 2 alone.
Third, most of the closers throughout the postseason have been disappointing. Despite the Holliday miscue in left, Cardinals closer Ryan Franklin still had 2 outs with just one runner on base in Game 2 of the NLDS. He could not get the job done, resulting in a blown save and loss. Joe Nathan of the Twins came in the bottom of the 9th in Game 2 of the ALDS and imploded, giving up a game-tying 2-run homerun to Alex Rodriguez. The game went into extra innings and the Twins lost a game they seemed to have in the bag going into the 9th inning. In both Games 3 and 4 of the NLDS, Colorado Rockies closer Huston Street could not finish the game. In Game 3 of a tie game, Ryan Howard hit a sacrifice fly to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 6-5 lead. In Game 4 and handed a 4-2 lead in the 9th, Street gave up a Howard 2-run double to tie the game and a bloop single to Jayson Werth to give the Phillies a 5-4 lead, sending the Phillies to the NLCS. In Game 3 of the ALCS, Red Sox closer Jonathon Papelbon was handed a 6-4 lead in LA. However, he could not get the third out without giving up the lead, sending the Angels to the ALCS. After the Angels had taken the lead in 11th inning of Game 2 of the ALCS, Angels closer Brian Fuentes quickly gave up the lead as A-Rod homered off of him to tie the game at 3-3 and sending the game to further extra innings…a game later won by the Yankees.
The final disappointment so far has been the offense from the Yankees’ Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher. Yes the two have been playing great defense at first base and right field, respectively. Teixeira has saved many errors with his stretching for throws at first base and Swisher has made some diving catches, even doubling off the Angels Guerrero at first base. The offense from the two, especially in the ALCS, has been virtually nonexistent. Teixeira was 6-for-27 with 4 RBI, 3 of which came in Game 5 on a 3-run double. Teixeira also struck out 8 times. Swisher had just 3 hits in 20 at-bats and 0 RBI, along with 7 strikeouts. Swisher had been so clutch for the Yankees all season but has not been able to come up with a big hit in the postseason. These two guys will be needed if the Yankees are to win another World Series title.
Yankees 5, Angels 2: After getting an extra day off due to the rainy Saturday night, the Yankees seemed to be the fresher team from the start. The Angels however struck first. Jeff Mathis, the hot-hitting catcher who was receiving another much-deserved start, doubled to lead off the top of the third. With 2 outs and Mathis still on base, Bobby Abreu drove him in with a base hit up the middle. The RBI was just his second RBI of the series. With runners on base in almost every inning, the Yankees finally broke through against Angels starter Joe Saunders with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth. Johnny Damon came through with a 2-run single to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead and 
With scores like 15-12 and 11-10, most would think that a football game was being played. However, these are some of the scores that were reeled off in the second week of the Arizona Fall League (AFL). These scores are commonplace in the league as many pitchers do not go deep into games and balls fly off the bats of the never-ending top prospects in the spring training ballparks with 100 degree heat. In 11 games, the Peoria Javelinas have scored 82 runs and were involved in a 14-10 win and a 17-4 clobbering. It is then no surprise that there are thirteen hitters with batting averages over .400. Mike Stanton (Marlins) of the Mesa Solar Sox is leading the league in hitting with a .478 average in six games, with Josh Bell (Orioles) of the Phoenix Desert Dogs coming in second with a .464 average in seven games. Grant Desme (A’s) of the Desert Dogs is pacing the AFL with 7 homeruns. Desme had homered five times in a span of four games this week. The Desert Dogs have homered 21 times in the first 11 games and lead the league in hits. The offense has carried the Desert Dogs to a 7-4 record and a one-game lead in their division. The Desert Dogs, made up of players from the Baltimore Orioles, Oakland A’s, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, and Washington Nationals, are on a quest for their sixth consecutive AFL championship. Matt Angle (Orioles), another Desert Dog, has had five straight multi-hit games and is tied for the league lead with 6 stolen bases. Brandon Snyder (Orioles), also of the Desert Dogs, leads the league with 15 RBIs. Seven of those RBIs were accumulated on 10/21, when he was a triple short of hitting for the cycle (4-for-5, double, and 2 HRs).
The Detroit Tigers farmhand Casper Wells is riding an 18-game hitting streak in the AFL dating back to 10/25/08. In that span, Wells is hitting .444 with 19 extra-base hits and 30 RBIs. He also has a 27-game on-base streak. Another Tigers farmhand and Peoria Javelinas teammate Scott Sizemore broke his ankle on Thursday and will be out for the rest of the AFL season. Sizemore is not expected to need surgery and should be ready for spring training where he’ll be competing for the starting second base job with the Tigers. Sizemore was 7-for-19, with 3 HR and 9 RBIs with the Javelinas.
ERA of 0.00, though all but one are relievers who have only appeared in three or four games. The one starter with a 0.00 ERA is Danny Gutierrez (Rangers) of the Surprise Rafters. He has won his two starts, accumulating 6.2 innings pitched. Gutierrez is also holding opponents to a .091 batting average. Pretty impressive considering his start this week ended up with a 10-9 final. Gutierrez was traded from the KC Royals to the Texas Rangers in September. He was limited in High A due to shoulder problems and off-the-field issues, so the AFL will help him gain innings while impressing his new team. His teammate with the Rafters, Ian Kennedy (NYY) made two starts this week (his third overall). Kennedy leads the AFL in innings pitched (11.1) and strikeouts (13). He is another pitcher looking for more innings as he missed significant time due to an aneurysm.
On Saturday 10/24, the Peoria Saguaros’ (a struggling team) pitching staff completed the league’s first shutout of the season with a 6-0 win. The Atlanta Braves first-round draft pick in 2009 Mike Minor, making his second start of the week (and third overall), lowered his ERA to 1.17 while combining with six other pitchers (Carlton Smith, Logan Ondrusek, Brandon Gomes, Evan Englebrook, Jeff Lyman, and Craig Kimbrel) for the shutout. They combined to shutout a team (Javelinas) that was averaging 8.2 runs a game so far this season. Minor pitched three innings, allowing just 3 singles and 2 walks, with one strikeout. Also on 10/24, Joe Martinez (SF Giants) of the Scottsdale Scorpions went four shutout innings, lowering his ERA to 0.90, while only allowing two hits. He has pitched well in his three starts. Martinez missed two months early in the 2009 season after being hit in the head by a line drive in his second career big league appearance. The AFL is allowing him to gain innings that he missed due to the head injury.
The 
Dave Roberts of the 
World Series MVP, Beckett had the most innings pitched of any Marlins pitcher, along with a 1.10 ERA and 19 strikeouts. The other unknown young Marlins also became hot commodities as teams jumped on the chance to cash in on another Marlins fire-sale: Beckett, Mike Lowell, Derek Lee, Juan Pierre, Miguel Cabrera, Brad Penny, Carl Pavano, and Dontrelle Willis. The 2002 playoffs was the year of the Rally Monkey, but a rookie reliever was the player who stood out. Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez became an overnight sensation for his devasting pitches (fastball and 2 types of curveballs) and celebratory antics after the final out. K-Rod won 5 postseason games yet had only pitched in 5 games all season for the Angels before making the postseason roster. He had 13 strikeouts in just 8.2 innings pitched in the World Series. The above listing is only of the postseason surprises and heroes of the 2000s. There are so many more and too many to name (like Craig Counsell with both the Diamondbacks and Marlins and others).
So who are the 2009 surprises and heroes? Jeff Mathis of the Angels. The catcher had the worst batting average of any position player in 2009, yet he had hits in 6 straight at-bats in this postseason, along with a game winner. Does this mean Mathis will play more than just catching John Lackey or as a late-inning replacement? We will see. 
of the Phillies. “Chooch” could have (and to me should have) won the 2008 World Series MVP. However he seems to still be a secret among fans and opposing teams. Teams run on him and he throws them out trying to steal and they pitch to him and he crushes it (at least in the postseason). Ruiz has learned that the postseason is the time to shine. In 2008, Ruiz hit .261 overall in the postseason, though in the World Series he hit .375 with 3 RBIs and with 3 of his hits being for extra bases (2 doubles, 1 homerun). In 2009, Ruiz has been better, hitting .346 with 7 RBIs. Even NLCS MVP Ryan Howard admitted that without Ruiz, the Phillies would not 
be in the World Series. 
Angels 7, Yankees 6: At the start of Game 5 of the ALCS, it looked like the Angels were going to blow away the Yankees. Yankees starter AJ Burnett walked leadoff hitter Chone Figgins and allowed a double to Bobby Abreu. Torii Hunter followed with a 2-run single, Vladimir Guerrero followed with a RBI double, and Kendry Morales followed with a RBI single before Burnett got the first out. The three straight hits by Abreu, Hunter, and Guerrero were on three straight pitches. After the first inning, the Angels led 4-0. After the first, both starting pitchers, Burnett and John Lackey, were cruising along until the Yankees finally got to Lackey in the 7th inning. Lackey gave up a double to Melky Cabrera and walked Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter, before getting Johnny Damon for the second out. This would end Lackey’s night, without some argument from him with his manager Mike Scioscia, and began Darren Oliver’s night. On his first pitch to Mark Teixeira, Tex ripped a 3-run double to the left-centerfield gap to close the Angels lead to 4-3. The 3 RBIs were the first for Teixeira in the ALCS. Oliver had been great all season and in the postseason for the Los Angeles Dodgers (6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB in the postseason prior to the 7th inning of Game 5). After an intentional walk to 
The Angels battled back against the combination of Burnett, and relievers Damaso Marte and Phil Hughes. Morales got a base hit off of Hughes with two outs to give the Angels a 7-6 lead. In the 3-run seventh, Abreu had an RBI groundout, his first RBI of the ALCS. Yankees manager Joe Girardi was again second-guessed for not taking out Burnett sooner (like not sending him out for the 7th inning), though in Game 3 he was second-guessed for having too quick of a hook with the relievers. Scioscia went to Game 3 starter Jered Weaver in the 8th inning, and he threw just 11 pitches, striking out both Cabrera and Jeter. The 9th inning was a bit of an adventure for Angels closer Brian Fuentes and the Angeles fans, but Fuentes managed to go unscathed with the bases loaded, sending the ALCS back to NY for at least Game 6. The Angels Jeff Mathis yet again provided the offense at the bottom of the order, going 3-for-4, and having a hit in 6 straight postseason at-bats.
Phillies 10, Dodgers 4: Jimmy Rollins had stated in years past that the Phillies were the team to beat. After winning the 2008 World Series, they would BE the team to beat. Now that they are again the 
his 34 2009 postseason at-bats) to end the first inning. The Phillies, or should I say Jayson Werth jumped on Dodgers starter Vicente Padilla after 2 walks, and Werth crushed a 3-2 pitch (after fouling off several pitches) into about the same place Ethier’s homerun landed in the right field seats. Looking for a shutdown inning from Hamels, yet James Loney had other things in mind and crushed a pitch deep into the right field seats to cut the Phillies lead to 3-2. The ball was sailing out to right field throughout the game and early on the game looked to be a slugfest. Pedro Feliz jumped on the first pitch of the 2nd inning, depositing yet another homerun into the right field seats, increasing the Phillies lead to 4-2. The Dodgers were forced to bring in 8th inning lefty George Sherrill to stop the bleeding in the 4th inning with the bases loaded. He hit Shane Victorino, forcing in the 6th run, but he came back to strike out Chase Utley to end the inning. Dodgers pinch-hitter Orlando “the O-Dog” Hudson, hit a sole homerun to left to cut the lead to 6-3. After a double by Rafael Furcal, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel gave the quick hook to Hamels and brought in rookie JA Happ. Ronnie Belliard walked, but Happ got Ethier to fly out (just got under it) on the first pitch. In came Chad Durbin to face Manny Ramirez with 2 on and 2 outs. Manny weakly grounded out to Durbin (2-for-12 against Durbin in his career) to end the inning. The Phillies continued to add on against Clayton Kershaw as Victorino absolutely crushed a 2-run homerun to left to increase the lead to 8-3. Against Phillies relievers Chan Ho Park and Ryan Madson, the Dodgers loaded the bases with one out and a run in (8-4). However Madson bared down and got Loney to pop out in foul territory, Russell Martin to strikeout, and Case
y Blake to ground out to end the inning without allowing another run. As Phillies closer Brad Lidge came in from the bullpen, the Phillies crowd of over 46,000 was on their feet, waving their white rally towels, and going nuts.
Yankees 10, Angels 1: Yankees starter CC Sabathia was yet again dominant for the Yankees in the playoffs, allowing just one run on a Kendry Morales homerun. The only time he was in trouble was in the 5th and 6th innings, but the Angels could not capitalize. Sabathia threw just 101 pitches in his eight innings of work, allowing 5 hits and had five strikeouts. Sabathia had struggled throughout his career in the postseason, both last year with Milwaukee and in 2007 with the Indians. This year with the Yankees, the team is getting its money’s worth. In three postseason starts so far, Sabathia is 3-0 with a 1.19 ERA with just 3 walks and 20 strikeouts in 22.2 innings pitched. Manager Joe Girardi finally got a chance to use reliever/starter Chad Gaudin in a postseason game, letting him pitch the ninth. Gaudin sent down the 
Phillies 11, Dodgers 0 (Game 3): The Dodgers arrived in Philadelphia and knew they would have to deal with the weather and hostile crowds. They also had to deal with the buzz saw that is Cliff Lee. The Phillies received another dominant pitching performance from Lee (8IP, 3H, 0BB, 10K). The Phillies also got outstanding offensive performances from everyone up and down the lineup and it came early an often. The Phillies jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the 1st inning, highlighted by a Ryan Howard 2-run triple and a Jayson Werth 2-run homer. In the 2nd, the 
Angels starter Jered Weaver, the Yankees got 3 solo homeruns from Derek Jeter (whose HR led off the game), Alex Rodriguez, and Johnny Damon. The Angels battled back against starter Andy Pettitte, getting a solo homerun from Howie Kendrick and a 2-run homerun from Vladimir Guerrero (his first RBIs of the ALCS). After Pettitte was lifted for Joba Chamberlain in the 7th, the Angels offense went to work and finally scored a run to take the lead at 4-3 on a Kendrick triple and a pinch-hit sacrifice fly from Maicer Izturis. This lead was short-lived as Angels reliever Kevin Jepsen gave up a solo homerun to Jorge Posada to tie the game in the 8th. This could have been worse, but pinch-runner Brett Gardner was thrown out trying to steal second while Posada was batting. The game then became a battle of the bullpens. In the bottom of the 11th, newly inserted catcher Jeff Mathis led off the inning with a double off of Phil Hughes. The Angels then loaded the bases against Mariano Rivera, but could not get a run across with the heart of the order up. In the bottom of the 11th after Dave Robertson got two quick outs, manger Joe Girardi decided to go to Alfredo Aceves to face Kendrick. Kendrick singled and Mathis followed with another double off the left field wall, scoring Kendrick from first base to win the game. Mathis is a career .200 hitter and only had 8 doubles all season, but now has 3 doubles in the ALCS. The Angels needed the win in LA to get back in the series and they celebrated on the field accordingly. The Angels will send lefty Scott Kazmir to the mound in Game 4 against the Yankees CC Sabathia on 3-days rest.
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