Yankees win in 13th on error

Yankees 4-3 LA Angels

Game 2 ALCS

Man, was that a long game! 5 hours and 10 minutes. I thought it was never gonna end. I could take a Yankee loss, just please get it over with already! The heavens were on my side, however, as my efforts of loafing about the living room floor (we have quite an uncomfortable bamboo couch) all morning has paid off. The Yankees bag another walk-off win! It wasn't the prettiest of wins. But, well, it's the Postseason, they take what they can get.

It was a rollercoaster, up-and-down game. Just when you thought one team has it in the bag, the other strikes back to tie it.On some occasions, it was the opposite. Just when you thought one team was down and out, the other coughs up a costly error to keep the game alive. In the end, the Yankees capitalized on a throwing error and home-field advantage to close it out. They head off to LA  (in a few hours) with a 2-0 series lead.

For two teams known more for their offense than anything else, it was a pitcher's duel right from the start. SP AJ Burnett (NYY), doubted by some to deliver the goods come Postseason, pitched yet another gem of a game. He allowed 2 runs, one of those due to a wild pitch. He walked  2 and struck out four. SP Joe Saunders (LAA) matched him pitch for pitch with 7 innings of 2-run ball. Saunders was perfect from the mound, save the pitching errors that awarded SS Derek Jeter (NYY) with a homer and 2B Robinson Cano (NYY) with an RBI triple. Both bullpens picked up where Burnett and Saunders left off and it was a matter of who blinked first. In the later stages, however, it became a matter of who blinked last. The string of bullpen pitchers for NYY---Chamberlain, Hughes and Rivera--- kept the score at 2-2. Rivera did a rare 7-out performance before giving up the ball. 

But, the Yankees coughed up first. After relieving Rivera in the 11th, Alfredo Aceves (NYY) gave up an RBI single to 3B Chone Figgins (LAA) to give the Angels a 3-2 lead, their first taste of the lead in this series. It took one swing from another third baseman to erase the Angels' resurgence. Alex Rodriguez, down with 2 strikes in the count and without any decent hitters to follow him, belted a wallscraper HR to right field. That tied the score, 3-3.

It was a dead lock in the 12th inning. Looked like they were headed to a long, rainy night. A-Rod leaves the bases loaded in the Yankees' half of the frame, while the Angels were unlucky against pitcher David Robertson (NYY) whose 98-mph fastball was absent today.

13th inning. Both benches were half-empty. No more home-run hitters for NY. A few options left for the Angels bullpen. Jerry Hairston Jr., a late-season acquisition from God knows where, blooped a single to right field. Ervin Santana (LAA) intentionally walked with Robinson Cano to set up the double-play possibility with 1 out to get them out of the inning. The next batter, Melky Cabrera, has had a lion's share of walk-off hits for the Yankees this season. It was no surprise that when he came to bat, the people were shouting his name in anticipation of another dramtic ending.  Santana, however, pitched to him perfectly. Cabrera hit a hard ground ball that threw 2B Maicer Izturis (LAA) off-balance. Izturis ignored the easy out at first base and tried to swing the ball to second base in hopes of a double play ticket out of the inning. This led to an off-balanced throw that escaped SS Erick Aybar (LAA) and 3B Chone Figgins (LAA). The error allowed Hairston to score and win the ball game for the New York Yankees.

And so, the magical postseason run of this billion-dollar ball club continues. They now hold a 5-0 record in the Postseason. The buffed-up reincarnation of the 1998 Yankees are at it again. Good pitching. Good offense. Watch out. They could win it all.

NOTES:

• The tough weather conditions (7 degrees Celsius with heavy rains) proved to be a pest to infielders. The two teams combined for 5 errors. SS Derek Jeter (NYY) had one. 2B Robinson Cano (NYY) had two. 2B Erick Aybar (LAA) forgot to touch the base before turning a double play. Oddly, however, only the last error by Izturis caused a run to come across.
• 1B Mark Teixeira(NYY) continues his struggles at the plate. He has a miserable .100 batting average this series and hasn't quite got the hang of it. His only HR and RBI came from a walk-off HR in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Twins.  
• Game 3 will be on Tuesday, 6-ish AM Philippine Time on ESPN.

*Sources:
mlb.com
sports.yahoo.com