Pray the Angels Back to Hell: Yanks-Angels Gamer VI

On June 24 things were starting to look a bit grim for the Yankees.  They were only 5 games off the division lead but that put them in a tie with Toronto for second and the schedule leading into the All-Star break signaled a real danger of falling further behind in the division.  They were slated to play the same Atlanta Braves on the road and Seattle Mariners at home as the first-placed Red Sox but the other 4 series ahead of them featured the first-placed Angels and three second-placed teams (NYM, MIN, and TOR) while the Sox were due to lock horns with three cellar-dwellers (Nats, O's, A's) and second-to-last placed Royals.  Mix in the fact that the Yanks were to face their toughest opponents on the road and - well - few expected them to close the gap to 2 games come July 12.

So take heart YFs - going 14-4 or 13-5 leading into the break is a good thing - especially given the circumstances.

On the flip side, the Yankees are 0-2 going into tonight against the team that has unequivocally been the toughest for them to beat over the past several years.  Since their last WS appearance, the Yankees have struggled against the Angels as with no other team.  Since 2005 they are 16-28 (a .363 W-L%) with especially atrocious numbers at Angels Stadium of Anaheim (5-16 !!!!).  But that was all before CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett pitched for the Yanks, right?

CC tries to exorcise the Yanks' LA-demons tonight and squares off against John Lackey.  Let's go into the break right fellas...

Comment Away!

Comments

[IronHorse]

Gnats on the corners but CC induces the DP and escapes the 1st without damage.

[IronHorse]

As much as A-Rod loves this stadium (he has hit more HRs here -33- than in any stadium other than those he has called "home" during his career), he is terrible against Lackey - career 1-18 with 10 Ks going into that AB and you can now make it 1-19 and 11...ugly.

[IronHorse]

Matsui draws the walk Cano pops out - 2 outs with Matsui on 1st and HR-hitting Hinske up...

[IronHorse]

Hinske pop-out. Going to the bottom of the 2nd, no score...Gary Matthews, Jr leading off. I can't look at him or hear his name and not replay in my head the ridiculous over-the-fence in straight-away arm-twisting center catch he made when playing for the Rangers a couple years back. Best catch I've ever seen I think...and he Ks. Nice.

[IronHorse]

CC getting squeezed vs. Yankee-killer Kendrick...who pops out.

[IronHorse]

1-2-3 inning for CC.

Let's get at least a 4-run lead here Yanks...and then NOT cough it up in the 5th...

[IronHorse]

Melky walks, then Jose Molina reminds me which side of the plate he looks good on, going down on 3 pitches. Up comes Brett Gardner, our most Angels-like player...come on kid

[IronHorse]

...And he hits a perfectly Angels-like seeing-eye chopper. Runners on the cornerd and Jeter hits what could have been a DP ball if Gardner didn't do such a good job taking out the 2B. Angels should have come home and gotten Melky, but they didn't, and the Yanks lead 1-0 with Tex up. I'm sure this score will hold up for the Yankees at this stadium...

[IronHorse]

Tex Ks. Blah.

Well with the Yankees taking the early lead, the Angels have them right where they want them...

[IronHorse]

F*#ing A-Rod drops a pop-up foul ball that would have been out # 2. they gave him no error due to the sun...weird. And CC issues his first walk - to the # 9 hitter Mathis. But Chone Figgins of all people bounces into a DP to end the inning. First Yankee mistake of this series that didn't turn into Angels-runs.

A-Rod continues his futility vs. Lackey with a quick groundout. Hot-hitting Matsui up and takes his seventh-straight ball from Lackey in this game...

[IronHorse]

And the Angels tie it up on Abreu's double. He's on second with no outs. Usually they wait until the 5th inning to start the hit-parade...

[IronHorse]

Napoli grounds out moving Abreu to 3rd with one out. The middle name of every LA Angel is "Productive Out". Matthews Jr. up and up 2-0

[IronHorse]

Matthews, Jr. walks and Howie Kendrick, who is 7 for 11 lifetime off Sabathia and a career .459 BA vs. the Yankees. Sabathia's got him down 0-2 here...

[IronHorse]

Kendrick barely checks his swing (if he really did) and works a full count...

[IronHorse]

Double for Kendrick (the Yankees are going to have to start IBB'ing this guy). Angels up 2-1, men on 2nd and 3rd with one out. Here we go. And another productive ground out makes it 3-1, man on 3rd, 2 outs for Quinlan. And Quinlan gets an Angels-like bloop single - 4-1. Then Quinla caught stealing - nice job Jose.

Luckily I have to run an errand so I'll be turning this off for a while. Happy sunny Sunday all.

[IronHorse]

And the Angels complete the sweep. Yanks loaded the bases with no outs in the 7th with Tex, A-Rod, Matsui due up and got no runs on a Tex K and A-Rod DP. They reloaded with no outs in the 8th and got 2 runs, with a hotshot by Swisher caught by the pitcher and turned into an improbable DP and ending what coulda should woulda been a much bigger inning. Well, very happy to get out of LA, but not eager to ever come back...still a pretty good first half and great final 3 weeks for the Yanks. If they could win a game against Boston and one in LA in the second half they might actually move up in the standings...Enjoy the break all.

[Lar]

The Angels doing their best to lose every game, but doing just enough to win. Yanks pitching and hitting did not sync this series at all..