With Aaron Boone and Bucky Dent throwing out the first pitch, one would think the Yankees were down 3 games to 1 to the Red Sox. They weren't though, the team currently tormenting them is the up until now woeful Texas Rangers. Up until this season the Rangers had not one a single playoff series in their entire existence, going back to their days as the Washington Senators. After dispatching the Tampa Bay Rays they set their sights on and have dominated the Yankees in every aspect of the game.
With clouds hanging over the Stadium as if to remind the Yankees of the potentially dark day ahead of them they took the field just before 4pm to half empty Stadium. C.C. Sabathia rewarded the fans who did show up by firing a first pitch strike over the plate. The Rangers leadoff hitter would single into center field before being out in a double play of Rangers' third baseman Michael Young's bat. Josh Hamilton, the Rangers' Paul Bunyan-like center fielder, reached first but was stranded by Guerrero to end the inning.
The Yankees broke through in the second inning when third baseman Alex Rodriguez led off the inning with a walk. Two batters later Lance Berkman walked to give the Yankees two on with one out, drawing a visit from Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux. Whatever Mike Maddux said didn't work because the first two pitches to Posada were balls. The third pitch was raked into left field for a single to score Rodriguez, who just beat the throw home. The next batter, Curtis Granderson singled on a ball to right centerfield that brought home both Berkman and Posada to make it 3-0 Yankees after a series of throwing errors on the Rangers infield.
Elvis Andrus responded with a one out single to give the Rangers a base runner for the heart of the order in the top of the third inning. With Hamilton on a 2 strike count, the mostly filled Stadium rose to it's feet and tried to will Sabathia into striking out the Rangers' lefty. on a 1-2 count the pitch came tumbling towards the plate and Andrus took off for third, he stole it easily. The count ran full on Hamilton, but Sabathia induced a lineout to shortstop Derek Jeter to end the inning.
The third inning started off with back to back home runs from Nick Swisher and Robinson Cano, the latter's being his fourth of the series. The blasts gave the Yankees their first 5-0 of the series, a position the Rangers had been familiar with twice before during this ALCS. The next batter, Alex Rodriguez, raked a ball down the third base line but it was snared by Michael Young for the first out of the inning.
"It's as good as it gets. Robbie has been big in our lineup all year and he's been big in the postseason." Girardi said of Cano. "It just seems like he's getting the barrel of the bat to the ball all the time."
"We knew we wanted to push this thing one more game. That's the attitude we're taking," said Swisher after the game in an interview on YES Network. "Whatever obstacle we have to overcome, we'll do our best to pull together and try and a achieve that...we have our work cut out for us but we're up to the challenge."
The Rangers 7-8-9 hitters combined for 10 RBI in the ALCS coming into Game 5, with the big blow coming last night from catcher Bengie Molina. In the spirit of this success, Molina's replacement for today's game, Matt Treanor went deep to lead off the 5th inning and cut the Yankees lead to 5-1. Though the clouds diminished as the game carried on, the sun was too far down the horizon to make any difference. The sky opened up and the Rangers found their bats. After Treanor's home run, Mitch Moreland lined a single up the middle to give the Ranger's lead off hitter Andrus a man on with none out.
In the 5th inning, Nelson Cruz injured his left hamstring running out a ground ball. He was replaced in left field by David Murphy. In the bottom of the 5th, Nick Swisher walked to lead the inning off. Murphy was greeted by the next hitter, Alex Rodriguez, with a booming hit over his head that then bounced over the fence for a ground rule double. Swisher had to hold up at third base even though he would have easily scored, so the ground rule double rule actually hurt the Yanks in that instance. It was A-Rod's first extra base hit all post-season.
Marcus Thames came up after another visit to the mound from Mike Maddux. With first base open, the Rangers inexplicably pitched to Thames until the count went 2-0 and they intentionally walked him to face Lance Berkman with one out and the bases loaded. The first two pitches were thrown in the dirt, one taken, one swung at and missed to bring the count to 1-1. The next pitch, a fastball inside for ball 2, 2-1. Berkman hit the fourth pitch of the at bat to the warning track in center field to score Swisher on a sacrifice fly and advance Rodriguez to third base on the tag up; 6-1 Yankees lead. Posada brought the inning to a close, stranding men on first and second, flying out to the Rangers' right fielder Jeff Francoeur on the first pitch of his at bat. The damage was done though.
With one out in the 6th, the Rangers' Murphy and Ian Kinsler put a scare into the Yankees with back to back singles and Jeff Francoeur coming to bat. Reliever Kerry Wood began to warm up as Francoeur lined a single to right fielder Nick Swisher to load the bases for Matt Treanor, who homered in his previous at bat. Yankee Pitching Coach Dave Eiland walked slowly out to the mound to confer with Sabathia, team captain Jeter and Posada regarding the at bat.
After the conference was over, Sabathia brought the count to 0-2 and the crowd to it's feet. The pitch, a slider up and away, was called a ball despite appearing to be in the strike zone. The next pitch was inside, 2-2 count; time for the ace to put away the hitter. The sinker missed low, full count. Crowd on it's feet, Stadium rocking, pitch fouled off. Time to do it again.
A bouncer to A-Rod was not hit hard enough to throw home or go for the double play, so he tossed it to first for the out while David Murphy scored to make it 6-2 Yankees. With chants of "CC! CC!" The next hitter, Mitch Moreland, struck out looking on a 2-2 cutter and Sabathia walked off the mound to a thunderous ovation knowing he did his job for the day.
"He was pretty sharp today," said Girardi after the game. "I think I was just trying to battle," said Sabathia. "I felt a lot sharper today than I did in game 1."
Rookie Michael Kirkman made the his first career postseason appearance in the 6th inning. He was welcomed to the party bey Curtis Granderson banging a double off the left field wall to lead the inning off. Jeter walked with one out after Gardner bunted Granderson to third and the inning ended on a double play off the bat of Swisher.
With Sabathia done for the day, Kerry Wood came on to pitch the 7th for the Yankees. Elvis Andrus led off the inning with a single and stole second during Michael Young's at bat. After Young struck out swinging and Hamilton came to the plate, Andrus was picked off leaning too far from second base for the second out. As he walked off the field a bunch of Yankee fans behind the Rangers dugout mockingly held up antlers and Hamilton swung and missed at Wood's curve in the dirt to end the inning. Wood walked off the mound as Hamilton swung, knowing he wouldn't hit it. Kerry Wood looks more and more like that 20 year old rookie every time he pitches this post season, especially when his curveball is that nasty. Wood worked a perfect 8th to finish his night.
"I felt that he would pitch well here, I did, but he has been so good for us. Today, 2 innings...Kerry has been so good for us," Girardi said. "I don't think you can imagine he would be this good, but I thought he would help us."
Rivera came on to work the 9th and retired the first two batters before Mitch Moreland fouled off pitch after pitch, eventually earning the single he dropped into left field. Andrus came up and popped out to Berkman in foul territory to end the game.
Depending on how you look at this Yankee win, it is good for either side. As a Rangers fan you would hae the opportunity to perhaps see your team close out the enemy on your home field and party in your house. As a Yankee fan you are happy to live another day, each game is another step to the World Series. The Yankees take their next step on Friday night.
"There was a determination that we were gonna go out and play our game today...the mood during BP was very business like. We knew what we had to do," the manager said after tonight's win. We'll all see if it carries over to a world series appearance.
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