ALCS Game 6: Los Angeles Angels at New York Yankees
The L.A. Angels had Game 5 of the ALCS in the bag on Thursday night, or so it seemed. Once New York jumped out to a 6-4 lead in the top of the seventh, it looked like that was it for the Halos’ season. But an inspired comeback in the bottom of the inning and some just-good-enough closing from Brian Fuentes sent this series back to New York.
The Yanks are big betting favorites, however, at -183 on WagerWeb.com to finish things off in Game 6 on Saturday night. That’s if they play. There is an 80 percent chance of rain for around 8 p.m. ET when the game is supposed to start. And it’s supposed to be windy, too.
If you don’t count Alex Rodriguez, who was walked intentionally in the ninth inning of Game 5 as the tying run, neither team is hitting all that well. The Angels’ Chone Figgins went 0-for-3 in Game 5 to drop his average to .105 in the series, while Bobby Abreu went 1-for-5 to lift his average to .143. The Angels had two steals in three attempts through four games before swiping a pair of bases in Game 5. New York’s Mark Teixeira is batting just .174 in this series and Nick Swisher, who made the final out of Game 5, is at .118.
Then there’s Angels catcher Jeff Mathis. A .200 career hitter who batted .211 this season while sharing catching duties with Mike Napoli, Mathis has four doubles and two singles in 10 at-bats in the series.
A pair of left-handers, Andy Pettitte for the Yankees and Joe Saunders for the Angels, will start Game 6.
Saunders pitched well in Game 2 but got a no-decision. He allowed two runs on six hits in seven innings in a game that L.A. eventually lost 4-3. Last week’s start was Saunders’ first in the Yankees’ new ballpark. In two starts against the Yankees at Angel Stadium during the season, he went 1-0 with a 4.72 ERA in 13 1/3 innings.
Pettitte, who is tied for the all-time lead in postseason wins with 15, pitched in Game 3, an 11-inning Yankees loss. He held the Angels scoreless for four innings but ended up allowing three runs in 6 1/3 innings, including two homers. In three previous encounters with L.A. this season, Pettitte had been 0-2 with a 7.88 ERA.
“I know I’ve made so many starts in the postseason and been in this situation so many times,” Pettitte said.
Since the best-of-seven format was initiated for LCS play in 1985, only four teams have won the final two games on the road to win a series: the 1985 Royals at Toronto, the 1991 Braves at Pittsburgh, the 2003 Marlins at Chicago and the 2004 Red Sox at New York.
Game 6 is especially important to the Yankees when it comes to their World Series rotation. The Yankees do not want to use a fourth starter in the World Series, which starts on Wednesday. Right now CC Sabathia would start Game 1 of the World Series against the Phillies and former Indians teammate Cliff Lee. But if the Angels win ALCS Game 6, then Sabathia has to start ALCS Game 7 on Sunday — which means the earliest he could start in the World Series would be Game 2 on short rest, and he effectively would be limited to two starts.
Bet on baseball at WagerWeb.com
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
