09/22: Playoff Party Will Have to Wait One More Day as Yanks Lose
Posted by: Seamus
The Yankees continue to struggle in Angel Stadium. On Monday night they were outdueled by Joe Saunders and company en route to a 5–2 Angels victory. With the Rangers winning, the Yankees will still have to wait at least one more night to clinch a postseason berth. A loss by the Red Sox, however, puts the Yankees' magic number to clinch the A.L. East at 8 with 11 games to go (13 for Boston).
The Angels jumped ahead early and would lead from there on, as back-to-back doubles by Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter put them up 2–0 in the first.
The Yankees' only offense came via two solo home runs, one by Alex Rodriguez in the seventh and one by Hideki Matsui in the eighth. Both homers were neutralized, however, as the Angels would answer back with one run in the following inning each time. An RBI double by former Yankee Juan Rivera in the eighth capped off the scoring for the night and made it 5–2 Angels.
Joe Saunders was the better pitcher in this one (8.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R), but Andy Pettitte put in a respectable performance, allowing 3 runs in 6 innings as he kept the Yankees in the ballgame. Brian Bruney and Jonathan Albaladejo each gave up one run and two hits in relief, as they pitched the seventh and eighth innings respectively.
The Yankees will get another crack at clinching their 15th postseason birth in 16 years, as Chad Gaudin will go up against Ervin Santana tonight at 10:05 ET.
Recap records: Seamus: 45–25, Patrick: 39–20, Andrew: 11–11
The Angels jumped ahead early and would lead from there on, as back-to-back doubles by Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter put them up 2–0 in the first.
The Yankees' only offense came via two solo home runs, one by Alex Rodriguez in the seventh and one by Hideki Matsui in the eighth. Both homers were neutralized, however, as the Angels would answer back with one run in the following inning each time. An RBI double by former Yankee Juan Rivera in the eighth capped off the scoring for the night and made it 5–2 Angels.
Joe Saunders was the better pitcher in this one (8.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R), but Andy Pettitte put in a respectable performance, allowing 3 runs in 6 innings as he kept the Yankees in the ballgame. Brian Bruney and Jonathan Albaladejo each gave up one run and two hits in relief, as they pitched the seventh and eighth innings respectively.
The Yankees will get another crack at clinching their 15th postseason birth in 16 years, as Chad Gaudin will go up against Ervin Santana tonight at 10:05 ET.
Recap records: Seamus: 45–25, Patrick: 39–20, Andrew: 11–11
