Yankees - Angels Playoff Series Update

Good Pitching Dominates Angels-Yankees ALDS

The American League Division Championship Series between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim was true to form as the Anaheim Angels have always played the Yankees' tough and especially in October.

The task was not easy for NY going up against Angels' starting pitcher, Bartolo Colon (21-8; 3.45 ERA), who largely kept the Yankees' bats quiet but for the first inning of Game 1 in Anaheim. The damage was done by three back-to-back-to-back singles by Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui, respectively, with two outs in the first inning. Then, Rookie of the Year candidate 2nd baseman, Robinson Cano, in his first playoff bat of his career, drove in three runs with a double to left field, over the head of Garret Anderson. By the bottom of the first inning the Yankees had a 3-0 lead. Questions arose immediately after the game when Angel's manager, Mike Scioscia, was questioned about Anderson's positioning in shallow left.

The Yankees scored again in the 2nd inning with a single by shortstop, Derek Jeter. Colon then gave up first base by hitting 3rd baseman, Alex Rodriguez, squarely in his back, and then 1st baseman, Jason Giambi, followed up with an RBI single making the score 4-0. But starting pitcher, Mike Mussina, (13-8; 4.41 ERA) pitched 5.6 shutout innings for the Yankees in one of his best performances of his injury-plagued year. Ironically, one of the two runs batted in by the Angels was due to the ball bouncing past the Yankees' Game 1 hero, Cano, when it was hit by 1st baseman, Darin Erstad, for an RBI.

Although the Yankees' pitching effort in Game 1 was above average, their bats were pretty quiet as exhibited as well in Game 2 which Anaheim won over New York by a score of 5-3. The Angels win in Game 2 now ties the Angels-Yankees 2005 ALDS at one game apiece. But the story in Game 2 was again about good pitching with bats quieted and for the Yankees they were only a whisper of what they were during their season-long dominance.

Starting pitcher, John Lackey, (14-5; 3.44 ERA) had command of his pitches and kept the Yankees batting order off-stride all night. Alex Rodriguez did not own a hit in Game 1 and Lackey saw to it that he was shut out in Game 2 as well. Derek Jeter was 0-4 for the first time in many a post-season game, and as Jeter goes the Yankees go. Starting Yankee pitcher, Chien-Ming Wang, was brilliant for six innings in his first post-season appearance as a rookie. He was perhaps kept in an inning too long when he appeared to run out of gas in the 7th, in not keeping his pitches down.

The Angels resorted to slapping down bunts in order to shake up Wang, and it worked in generating some runs as Wang committed a throwing error to first base. With the score tied 2-2 in the 7th inning, shortstop Orlando Cabrera, broke the tie with a single. The Yankees' errors totaled three by the end of the game, also including another by Robinson Cano and one by Alex Rodriguez when his glove failed to grab the ball on a routine grounder. In contrast, the Angels' 3rd baseman, Chone Figgins, and Erstad made a couple of remarkable defensive plays

But the first two games between the Angels and the Yankees were reminiscent of their post-season meetings in 2002 when the Angels eventually went on to win the World Series. Both teams seemed tight, evidenced by bloopers and cold bats, yet they played each other tight as well. The Angels are one of a very few clubs who have had the Yankees' number the past three seasons and yet playing at home does not necessarily translate into an advantage for them. After all, the Angels won three games in a row at Yankee Stadium in 2002, which eliminated the Bronx Bombers. For Yankees fans however, the Big Unit in Yankee Stadium in upcoming Game 3 is nothing to sneeze at either. However, no Rally Monkeys allowed!