Monday, September 08, 2014

Yankees Knock Out Angels

Troy Tulowitski hit .458 and drove in 6 runs as the New York Yankees downed the Arizona Diamondback 4 games to 2 in their quarter-final playoff series.  A recap of the games:

Game 1 Anaheim 4 New York 3
Gio Gonzalez came through with a solid 8 innings as the Anaheim Angels beat the New York Yankees by a score of 4 to 3.

Gonzalez(1-0) was solid in the win.  He didn't allow much, just 5 hits and no walks in 8 innings.  New York made it exciting in the 9th, but they were unable to push the needed runs across. 
Gonzalez got help from Kenley Jansen who earned his 1st save.  The losing pitcher was Tim Lincecum(0-1).  He allowed 8 hits and 1 walk in 5 innings.

What the article doesn’t say:  Anaheim came right out of the box scoring runs and had a 4-1 lead going into 9th where JJ Putz had some issues and Jansen had to come in to make the save. 

Game 2 New York 2 Anaheim 1
Luke Hochevar(1-0) and Alexi Ogando(0-1) dueled it out with Hochevar and the New York Yankees coming out on top of the Anaheim Angels by the score of 2 to 1.

New York came up with 1 run in the bottom of the 6th inning when they had 3 base hits.  That wound up as the winning run.  Anaheim had a chance to come back in the 9th but they came up short. 
Mariano Rivera got the save, his 1st.

What the article doesn’t say:  A well pitched game by both teams. Ogando let up 2 runs in 5.1 innings and the bullpen held NY scoreless the rest of the game but 2 runs was enough for Hochever and the bullpen. Yankees got half there hits in the 6th to steal game two and make the flight to Cali more fun

Game 3 Anaheim 4 New York 2
Marco Scutaro had 2 base hits and 2 RBI at Angels Stadium as the Anaheim Angels beat the New York Yankees 4 to 2.

Anaheim had 2 runs cross the plate in the 5th inning with the help of 3 hits. The crucial at-bat was provided by Scutaro who made the crowd happy when he laced a single bringing home two baserunners.  For the game Anaheim out-hit New York 8 to 3. 

Joe Smith(1-0) went 3 innings allowing no runs for the win. Smith got relief help from Kenley Jansen who gained credit for his 2nd save.  Jake Peavy(0-1) was tagged with the loss.  He gave up 7 hits and 1 walk in 6 innings. 

What the Article doesn’t tell you:  Blaise makes the managing move of the series pulling his starter with the bases loaded and 1 out in the 4th with a 2-1 NY lead and shuts down the Yankees in that inning and the rest of the game. 1 hit the rest of the game.  Anaheim takes a big game and a 2-1 lead in the series.

Game 4 New York 4 Anaheim 1
The New York Yankees defeated the Anaheim Angels by a score of 4 to 1 at Angels Stadium.

New York had the winning rally in the top of the 8th inning with 3 runs utilizing 4 base hits.  Carlos Ruiz led off and he ripped a base-hit.  Carlos Beltran stepped into the batter's box and he cleared the fences for a two-run home run.  Edwin Encarnacion then delivered a single.  Troy Tulowitzki stepped in and he singled.  After an out was  recorded, Don Kelly came up and he drew a walk to load the bases.  Lucas Duda got his chance to keep things going, but he went down on strikes.  Ramon Santiago stepped up next and he drew a walk.  Overall New York out-hit Anaheim 11 to 4. 

Tim Lincecum(1-1) was the winner allowing 1 run in 7 innings. Mariano Rivera earned his 2nd save.  Cory Wade(0-1) was the loser in relief. 

What the Article doesn’t say:  For 7 innings the two aces shut down the offense until the 8th.  NY’s bullpen shut down Anaheim after the big inning to even the series at 2-2. NY’s bullpen has been dominant and the key in the series so far

Game 5 New York 5 Anaheim 4
Troy Tulowitzki had 2 base hits at Angels Stadium as the New York Yankees came back dramatically to top the Anaheim Angels by the score of 5 to 4.

New York came through with the game-winning runs in the 9th inning with 2 runs.  Lucas Duda kicked off the action when he drew a walk.  David Dejesus next to the plate and he grounded into a double play.  Edwin Encarnacion then drew a walk.  Robinson Cano followed next and he clubbed a two-run home run.  Garrett Jones struck out, unable to help the rally.  Anaheim was retired without difficulty in the bottom of the 9th. 

The win was credited to Jonny Venters(1-0) who went 2 innings allowing no runs. Mariano Rivera preserved the game for Venters, recording his his 3rd save.  Kenley Jansen(0-1) absorbed the loss in relief. 

What the article didn’t say:  WOW!! New York takes an early 3-0 and looks to cruise to a win but Anaheim scores  in the 4th, 5th and 6th innings to take the lead. Nova is pulled and shuts down Anaheim but not till they take a 4-3 lead.  In the ninth a lead off single by Duda is erased by an Anaheim DP. At this point  I said I am not getting the breaks tonight (we talked on phone entire series). With 2 outs Encarnacion singles and Cano hits one that looks like and is a no doubter. Rivera gets his 3rd save and the series heads to NY

Game 6 New York 4 Anaheim 3
The New York Yankees put 4 runs on the scoreboard in the 5th inning and edged the Anaheim Angels at Petco Park by the score of 4 to 3.

New York scored all of the necessary runs in the 5th inning when they came up with 4 runs on 5 hits.  The biggest moment was provided by Troy Tulowitzki who elicited a roar from the hometown fans when he clubbed a three-run home run.  Anaheim threatened in the 9th but their rally came up short.
 
The victory was credited to Jonny Venters(2-0) who went 2 innings, allowing no runs. Mariano Rivera got the save, his 4th.  Alexi Ogando(0-2) was the loser.  He got hammered, allowing 8 hits and 4 walks in 4 innings. 

What the Article doesn’t say:  Anaheim took an early 3-0 lead and momentum seemed to be squarely with Anaheim.  Playing Earl Weaver baseball we get a 3 run homer from Tulo and scratch out another run. From there the bullpen shuts down Anaheim and Mariano gets a 2 inning save to get all 4 saves in the series.

Notes:
Great series. Blaise managed well but 2 big breaks in games 5 and 6 made all the difference.  Earl Weaver baseball was the key for this New York team. Thanks to Blaise and Anaheim for playing and we await our next series....

Stats
BA/OBP/SLG
NY .233/.294/.323
ANA .209/273/.356

ERA Total/Start/Relief
NY 2.89/4.15/0.49
ANA 3.29/3.31/3.26

Other Stats:
DP’s Turned
ANA 9 NY 3

HR’s Hit
ANA 6 NY 4

Runs NY 20 ANA 17
Ball Park Homers NY 1-4 Ana 0-6

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