Yankees Vs. Angels game 4
SERIES: AL Division Series; Angels lead 2-1.
TIME: Saturday, 4:20 p.m. EDT.
The Anaheim Angels are on the verge of winning their first postseason series, and left-hander Jarrod Washburn will try to help them accomplish the feat.
Washburn, working on three days' rest, will be on the mound as the Angels try to close out the defending AL champion New York Yankees in Game 4 of the division series at Edison Field.
The Angels, who lost the ALCS in 1979, 1982 and '86 before division series play was devised, dropped the opener of this best-of-five first-round series. However, they rallied in the late innings to win the last two, including Friday's 9-6 triumph in which they erased five-run deficit.
"I think you have to credit the Angels," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "We were winning 6-1, we just couldn't hold it. Our pitching just couldn't hold it."
Darin Erstad's run-scoring double in the eighth was followed by Tim Salmon's two-run homer as Anaheim snapped a 6-6 tie.
"We've put ourselves in position to close it out," Erstad said. "We'll see what happens."
The Angels squandered a 2-0 series lead to Milwaukee in the then-best-of-five ALCS in '82. They held a 3-1 lead over Boston in the '86 ALCS before losing the last three games.
Washburn hopes to put an end the Angels' dubious playoff history.
He started Game 1 in New York on Tuesday, allowing four runs and six hits over seven innings in the Angels' 8-5 loss. This will be the second time in three outings that Washburn will pitch on three days' rest.
On Sept. 17, Washburn came back on short rest and scattered three hits over eight brilliant innings to pitch the Angels to a 1-0 victory over Oakland.
"I guess my recent history (on three days' rest) has been pretty good," said Washburn.
"Other than that, the only other time I did it was in minor league ball in 1997. I did it for about a month and a half. I really liked it. I liked getting out there sooner. As long as I physically felt capable of doing it, I didn't see any problems with coming back early."
The Yankees are no strangers to facing postseason elimination. In last year's ALDS, they lost the first two games at home to Oakland before rallying for three straight wins.
New York has not been eliminated in the first round since 1997, when it lost a decisive Game 5 to the Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field.
David Wells will put his perfect division series record on the line as he tries to help the Yankees extend this series.
Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was personally responsible for luring the free-agent Wells, 4-0 with a 1.95 ERA in five career division series starts, away from signing with Arizona in the offseason. The left-hander paid hefty dividends for the defending AL champions, leading the team in victories while winning seven of his last eight starts.
After three years out of the playoffs, Wells is happy to be back.
"I'm not a guy that likes to watch baseball from TV. I want to be right in the mix of it and enjoy it that way," Wells said.
"It's like a whole new life for me and I'm fired up. I'm not afraid to fail. This is a situation I want to be in, win or lose. No matter what happens, I'm still going to be happy."
Each of the first three games of this series have been decided in the eighth inning.
Game 5, if necessary, will be Sunday at Yankee Stadium.
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Yankees - AL East champion. Angels - AL wild card.
PROJECTED LINEUPS: Yankees - 2B Alfonso Soriano (.300 avg., 39 HRs, 102 RBIs, 128 runs, 51 doubles, 41 SBs, 157 Ks), SS Derek Jeter (.297, 18, 75, 124 runs, 32 SBs), 1B Jason Giambi (.314, 41, 122, 120 runs, .435 OBP), CF Bernie Williams (.333, 19, 102, 37 doubles), 3B Robin Ventura (.247, 27, 93), C Jorge Posada (.268, 20, 99, 143 Ks), DH Nick Johnson (.243, 15, 58), RF Raul Mondesi (.232, 26 ,88), LF Juan Rivera (.265, 1, 6). Angels - SS David Eckstein (.293, 8, 63, 21 SBs, 27 HBP), CF Erstad (.283, 10, 73), RF Salmon (.286, 22, 88), LF Garret Anderson (.306, 29, 123, 56 doubles), DH Brad Fullmer (.289, 19, 59), 3B Troy Glaus (.250, 30, 111, 144 Ks), 1B Scott Spiezio (.285, 12, 82), C Bengie Molina (.245, 5, 47), 2B Adam Kennedy (.312, 7, 52).
YANKEES PROBABLE STARTER: Wells (19-7, 3.75 ERA). Wells is 16-10 with one save and a 5.36 ERA in 48 career appearances, including 28 starts, against Anaheim. He went 1-0 in two starts against the Angels this year, surrendering seven runs and 14 hits over 9 2-3 innings. Wells lasted just two innings in his only start at Edison Field on Aug. 4, yielding five runs. But the Yankees rallied for a 7-5 victory in 12 innings.
ANGELS PROBABLE STARTER: Washburn (0-0, 5.14 ERA). Washburn beat the Yankees 2-1 at Edison Field on Aug. 1, surrendering a run and four hits over seven strong innings. He is 2-1 with a 2.93 ERA in four career regular-season starts against New York.
REGULAR SEASON SERIES: Yankees, 4-3.
STREAKS AND NOTES: Yankees - Game 3 marked only the third time in New York's long postseason history that it squandered a five-run lead and lost. In the 1956 World Series, Brooklyn overcame a 6-0 deficit to win Game 2. In the 1995 AL division series, Seattle came back from a 5-0 deficit to take Game 4. ... SS Jeter's 99 postseason hits are the most in baseball history. He has hit safely in 63 of 81 postseason games and reached base in 72. ... No Yankee starter has lasted longer than 5 2-3 innings in this series. RHP Mike Mussina left Game 3 after four innings due to a strained right groin. Angels - The Angels have battered New York pitching for 41 hits and 22 runs in the three games. Anaheim hit seven homers in seven regular-season games against the Yankees this year, bit have eight in this series thus far. ... The only existing teams other than the Angels who haven't won a postseason series are Houston, Texas, Colorado and Tampa Bay. ... RHP Francisco Rodriguez, who appeared in just five games this season, has notched a win out of the bullpen in each of the last two games. Rodriguez struck out four over two hitless innings in Game 3.
ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Yankees - 51-30 on the road. Angels - 54-27 at home.
__________________
VT
"Once more unto the breach..."
|
Linear Mode
