Bottom 9th.
Chad Gaudin, who was traded to the Yankees in August from San Diego, enters the game with a comfortable nine run lead.
Guerrero reaches and hits a fly ball to Cabrera in right field. Two more to go for New York.
Rivera hits a deep fly ball to center but Gardner has room and puts it away. One more out for the Angels.
Gary Matthews Jr. pinch hits for Howie Kendrick. Gaudin finishes off the Angels as Matthews grounds out to Cano. Game over.
Final Score:
NYY 10, LAA 1
C.C. Sabathia dominated the Angels on his way to earning the victory. He let up just five hits and one earned run in eight innings.
Scott Kazmir gets the loss for LA and leaves the Angels in a 3-1 series hole to the Yankees.
Although Game 5 will be played in Anaheim on Thursday, this series is pretty much over. The Yankees are clearly a better team and I don't see the Yankees losing three in a row especially with two of those games in the Bronx.
Check in on the MAKE PLAYS blog tomorrow night for Game 5 of the series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies look to close out the Dodgers in Philadelphia and make a second consecutive trip to the World Series -- most likely to face the Yankees.
Thank you for following and have a good night.
****
Top 9th.
And as if the Yankees needed more insurance, A-Rod doubles to left-center to lead off the inning against Palmer, who stayed in the game after a rocky 8th inning.
Chad Gaudin is warming up for the Yankees in the bullpen to come in and pitch the ninth as it is obviously not a save situation for Mariano Rivera.
Posada flies out to Abreu for the first out. To add insult to injury, A-Rod decides to tag up and after an errant throw from Abreu goes into the stands, A-Rod walks across home plate to make it 8-1.
Phil Hughes is now warming up in the bullpen for New York along with Gaudin.
Matsui finishes off an 0-5 night with his third strikeout. Two outs.
Palmer walks Cano to bring up Brett Gardner for the first time tonight.
Gardner hits a bloop single that falls in front of Hunter for a base hit. First and second with two outs for Melky Cabrera.
Palmer is in trouble as Cabrera doubles down the right field line and two more runs come across for New York. Yankees 10, Angels 1.
Jeter grounds out to third to end the inning.
This one is all but over.
NYY 10, LAA 1
****
Bottom 8th.
The Angels need a big inning here.
Brett Gardner has stayed in the game after running for Swisher and is playing center field. Cabrera has moved over to right. Sabathia is out to pitch the 8th.
Sabathia gets a quick out as he forces Figgins to ground out to Jeter. One out. Five more to go until the Yankees take a 3-1 series lead.
Another strike out makes five for Sabathia as he gets Abreu. That's his third punch out in the last five batters.
Hunter grounds out to end the inning.
NYY 7, LAA 1
****
Top 8th.
After retiring six straight, Scioscia decides to let Santana go back out and pitch the 8th.
That decision may backfire as Santana hits Swisher. Yanks manager Joe Girardi decides to let Brett Gardner pinch run for Swisher.
Gardner steals and is thrown out by Napoli after a great catch and tag by Aybar on a close play. One out.
Melky Cabrera draws a walk to bring up Jeter with one man on and one out.
Right-hander Matt Palmer enters the game to face Jeter.
Jeter hits a high hopper to Aybar who makes an incredible play by bare handing the ball and fires it to first to get Jeter. Wow, what a play. Cabrera moves to second.
Johnny Damon follows that up with a 2-run home run to right. That is his second home run in as many nights. A big blow to the Angels as now they need six runs to tie with just six outs remaining on offense.
Teixeira pops out to shortstop to end the inning but not before more damage has been done by the Yankees.
NYY 7, LAA 1
****
Bottom 7th.
Sabathia recovers after going 3-0 on Morales by striking him out swinging for the first out.
Sabathia strikes out Napoli. C.C. is showing no signs of fatigue which is very impressive. He is only pitching on three days rest and has thrown close to 90 pitches tonight.
Sabathia cruises through the inning 1, 2, 3 as Aybar grounds out. He has now thrown 92 pitches in seven innings and is still dominating the Angels. Sabathia has given up just five hits and one run.
NYY 5, LAA 1
****
Top 7th.
Santana comes out for his second inning of work and will face Posada to start the 7th. The Angels cannot afford to give up any more runs if they want to have a chance at salvaging this game.
Santana strikes Posada out swinging for the first out.
Matsui, now 0-4 for the game, grounds out to Kendrick at second.
Santana makes quick work of New York as Cano strikes out to make it a 1, 2, 3 inning.
It's stretch time.
NYY 5, LAA 1
****
Bottom 6th.
No one is warming up for the Yankees so Sabathia will take the mound for the second half of the sixth inning.
On a 3-2 pitch to Hunter, the center fielder checks his swing and takes first base. With Guerrero, Rivera and Kendrick coming up, this is a great opportunity for the Angels to add some runs.
Guerrero singles to right on a change up from Sabathia and Hunter stops at second base. Two men on with no outs for LA.
Rivera grounds out into a double play in a huge play for Sabathia. Posada heads to the dugout following the double play even though there are only two outs.
Man on third with two outs for Kendrick. Kendrick lines out to Teixeira at first and now Posada can head into the dugout without embarrassing himself.
NYY 5, LAA 1
****
Top 6th.
Ervin Santana enters the game for Los Angeles. So far this postseason, Santana has has let up one run on three hits and has tallied one win and one loss. The victory for the right-handed pitcher, who was a starter during the regular season, came in yesterday's game.
Jeter singles up the middle for his second hit of the day.
A ground ball to first by Damon causes Santana to cover at first and just barely get Damon out. Man on second now with one out for the Bronx Bombers.
Teixeira up to bat now and looks to build off his last at bat where he singled. The Yankees hit into yet another fielders choice as Tex grounds out and Jeter moves to third with two outs.
In his 16 playoff games as a Yankee prior to this season, A-Rod had just one RBI. These playoffs have obviously been a different story as Rodriguez has five home runs and 11 RBI.
However, A-Rod won't get a 12th RBI here as he strikes out to end the inning and strands Jeter on third.
NYY 5, LAA 1
****
Bottom 5th.
Howie Kendrick grounds out to second to start the fifth for LA.
Kendry Morales gets the Angels on the board against Sabathia with a solo shot to center that Cabrera almost got a hold off on top of the wall.
Mike Napoli steps in as the Angels look to narrow this four run margin even more. Napoli singles to left on a ball almost snagged by A-Rod.
With a man on first and one out, Aybar singles to center. A great at bat by the shortstop, fouling off a few pitches and working the count full before slapping one in front of Cabrera. Napoli moves over to second on the hit and the Angels have the top of the order up now.
Sabathia works the count to 0-2 against Figgins before getting Figgins to ground into a potential double play. Figgins beats out the play at first leaving the Angels with men on first and third and two outs with Bobby Abreu set to face Sabathia.
The inning ends as Abreu pops out to Cabrera in center field but the Angels are on the board against the big, burly left-hander.
NYY 5, LAA 1
****
Top 5th.
Teixeira leads off the inning for New York against Kazmir who has now thrown more than 85 pitches in just four innings. A rare occurrence, Tex singles to make it five straight innings with the leadoff runner on base for the Yankees.
That will be it for Kazmir. After four plus innings, six hits and four earned runs, he gives way to right-handed reliever Jason Bulger.
A-Rod welcomes Bulger to the game with a two-run dinger. 5-0 Yankees. A-Rod is on fire this postseason.
Posada walks and that will be it for Bulger. With the left-handed Matsui due up, the Angels bring in Darren Oliver.
Posada steals a base as Matsui strikes out and its now man on second with one out.
Cano hits one to the wall in left center and lands at second with a double. Because there was just one out, Posada had to wait to see if Hunter was going to catch it before he ran and subsequently he did not score. Second and third with one out for Swisher.
Swisher grounds the ball to Oliver who fires to Napoli. Napoli catches Posada in a run down and in a weird play, Cano and Posada both end up at third base. Both of them get tagged but and although both were standing off the bag, only Posada was called out. A very strange play and a strange ruling.
It doesn't end up mattering as Cabrera grounds out to a fielders choice at third.
The umpires have made some questionable calls tonight. Along with that call, the sac-fly ruling on Swisher leaving the base early and a pick off throw in which the Yankees got the favorable call could have gone either way.
Nevertheless, in the middle of the fifth, the score is....
NYY 5, LAA 0
****
Bottom 4th.
Torii Hunter starts off the inning by striking out against Sabathia.
Guerrero grounds out to A-Rod at third for the second out.
Rivera grounds out to third to conclude another quick 1,2,3 inning for C.C.
As of now, the Yankees look to have control of this crucial game.
NYY 3, LAA 0
****
Top 4th.
A-Rod leads off the inning as the Yankees look to continue getting their first batter of every inning on base. Unfortunately for them, it has not resulted in any runs thus far.
The leadoff man has reached base for the fourth consecutive inning as, working on a full count, Rodriguez singles up the middle.
Posada doubles to put men on second and third with nobody out. Another chance for the Yankees with Matsui, Cano and Swisher coming up to bat.
Mastui goes down on an inside pitch for out number one.
Cano hits a ground ball to Kendrick who charges and and throws the ball home on a questionable decision. Rodriguez is safe at home and it remains one out with two men on. The smart play would have been to get the sure out at first and sacrifice the run. Now the Yankees have a good chance to tag Kazmir for more runs.
After Swisher walked, pitching coach Mike Butcher goes out to chat with Kazmir as the bases are loaded with one out and Cabrera at bat.
After a long at bat, Cabrera singles to left and knocks in two runs for New York. The play at home was close with Cano but the replay showed that Napoli didn't touch the runner. Still one out, runners on first and second for Jeter.
Kazmir throws over to second and it looks as if he picks off Swisher but the ump calls him safe. Very questionable on the replay.
With the count at 3-0, Kazmir walks Jeter to register his fourth walk of the night and load the bases again. You have to think Mike Scioscia is thinking about pulling Kazmir very soon.
Damon hits what appears to be a sacrifice fly to left field but after scoring, the Angels appealed to the umpire saying Swisher left third base too early. In a rare decision, the Angels win the appeal. On the replay it does not look as if Swisher left early but nevertheless the inning is over.
The Yankees finally tag Kazmir for three runs.
NYY 3, LAA 0
****
Bottom 3rd.
Aybar makes his first at bat of the game for LA. The young shortstop had a nice season for the Angels with a .312 batting average. He bunts out to first.
Back to the top of order for the Angels with the speedy Chone Figgins. Figgins has just two hits so far this postseason. He hits a weak grounder to Sabathia who throws him out at first.
Two outs and nobody on base for Abreu. The former Phillie and Yankee loves to take pitches and already has 8 walks this postseason. His conservative eye doesn't work out this time as he looks at strike three to end the inning.
Through three innings, Sabathia looks really sharp only having thrown 29 pitches opposed to Kazmir who has already thrown 53.
NYY 0, LAA 0
****
Top 3rd.
Melky Cabrera lays down a perfect bunt in between Kazmir and first base and beats it out to give the Yankees another baserunner with no outs. This time, with the top of the order up, it should be interesting to see if they can capitalize.
As soon as I type that, Jeter quickly flies out to Abreu in right. One out.
Damon hits a grounder to Kendrick at second. Kendrick makes a quick decision and decides to go to second to barely get the speedy Cabrera out. No time to throw to first so its Damon on first with two outs and the struggling Teixeira to the plate.
Teixeria has just three hits, one of which was a home run, so far in this postseason. An important cog in the Yankees lineup, Tex needs to start hitting for them to be successful for the remainder of this series and maybe even the World Series.
The ball bounces away from Napoli and Damon moves over to second. This would be huge for Teixeira and the Yankees if he can get off his slump and knock in a run here.
On a full count with two outs, Teixeira strikes out and the Yankees go down in the 3rd.
NYY 0, LAA 0
****
Bottom 2nd.
A high chopper to shortstop gives Juan Rivera time to beat out Jeter's throw to Teixeira at first. Let's see how Sabathia responds to pitching out of the stretch with no outs and last night's star, Howie Kendrick, at bat.
Kendrick hits into a fielders choice to give Sabathia one out with Rivera on second base.
Kendry Morales lines out to Swisher in right field. Rivera stays put at second. Two outs for catcher Mike Napoli.
Napoli grounds out to Jeter to end the inning.
Both teams have had numerous baserunners through two innings but neither has capitalized. Still a scoreless game.
NYY 0, LAA 0
****
Top 2nd.
Alex Rodriguez leads off the second inning for the Bronx Bombers. Despite having struggled in prior playoffs, A-Rod has been hitting the ball really well this October.
On a full count from Kazmir, A-Rod draws a walk. Man on first with no outs to start the 2nd for New York.
Posada, who homered last night, now up. On the first pitch of the at-bat, A-Rod takes off towards second and successfully steals the bag. The Yanks now have a runner in scoring position with nobody out.
It should be interesting to see how Kazmir deals with this jam early in the game. Kazmir does have some playoff experience last year with the Tampa Bay Rays but he struggled this season with both the Rays and the Angels. He posted a 10-9 record with a 4.89 ERA in the regular season.
Posada walks to bring up Matsui with a chance to spark some scoring.
Mastui looked in control of the at bat going up 2-0 but then proceeded to pop out to short on a 2-1 count. One out. Men still on first and second with second basemen Robinson Cano coming up.
On a 1-1 count, Cano continues the trend and flies out to Aybar near the foul line behind third base. After having runners on first and second with no outs, Kazmir has retired two straight and now looks to finish off the Yankees with no damage.
Nick Swisher, who has struck out nine times already this playoffs, comes up for the Yanks looking to start the scoring. Instead, he hits the ball right to Abreu in right field to end the inning.
Middle of 2nd.
NYY 0, LAA 0
****
Bottom 1st.
Chone Figgins hits first for the Angels against Sabathia. He lines out to Jeter at shortstop for the first out.
Bobby Abreu shows good discipline at the plate as usual and walks and is the first LA baserunner of the game.
Torii Hunter flies out to right. Two outs for Sabathia.
Vladimir Guerrero, who is looking to follow up his big 2-run shot last night with another big one tonight, grounds out to third base for to end the inning.
NYY 0, LAA 0
****
Top 1st.
Derek Jeter leads off against Scott Kazmir with a single to right field.
With Johnny Damon at bat, Jeter gets caught stealing. One out.
Now with one out, Damon grounds out to Morales at first base.
Kazmir proceeds to strike out Teixiera to end the inning.
Middle of 1st.
NYY 0, LAA 0
****
Hey everyone,
Jake Kaplan, one of the Collegian's women's gymnastics reporters, here to keep you up to date on Game 4 of the American League Championship Series between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
After last night's 11-inning thriller where the Angels backup catcher Jeff Mathis hit a game winning double off New York reliever Alfredo Aceves, the series stays in Anaheim for Game 4 with the Yankees up 2-1.
This is a very important game for both squads. If the Yankees go up 3-1 in the series, it will be tough for the Angels to win three straight and two at Yankee Stadium.
Alright well here are the starting lineups. First for the visiting Yankees.
1. Derek Jeter SS
2. Johnny Damon LF
3. Mark Teixiera 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez 3B
5. Hideki Matsui DH
6. Jorge Posada C
7. Robinson Cano 2B
8. Nick Swisher RF
9. Melky Cabrera CF
C.C. Sabathia will get the start for New York. Sabathia is pitching on just 3-days rest after getting the win in Game 1 of this series where he pitched eight innings and gave up just one earned run.
And now the lineup for the Angels.
1. Chone Figgins 3B
2. Bobby Abreu RF
3. Torii Hunter CF
4. Vladimir Guerrero CF
5. Juan Rivera LF
6. Howie Kendrick 2B
7. Kendry Morales 1B
8. Mike Napoli C
9. Erik Aybar SS
Scott Kazmir gets the nod from Mike Scioscia. This will be his first appearance in this series.
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