The Ticket Chest

5-4 Walk-Off Wins in Each League Championship Game on Monday

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 | Alex Rodriguez, Alfredo Aceves, Andy Pettitte, Carlos Ruiz, Casey Blake, CC Sabathia, Chase Utley, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Derek Jeter, Howie Kendrick, Jeff Mathis, Jimmy Rollins, Joe Girardi, Johnny Damon, Jonathan Braxton, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Dodgers, Macier Izturis, Matt Stairs, MLB, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Raul Ibanez, Ryan Howard, Sports, Vladimir Geurrero | No Comments

MLB has gotta be loving this – two walk-off wins for the home team; two 5-4 scores; one series just about done and the other heating up.  I live for October baseball!

I am most excited about the Angels rallying to beat the Yankees 5-4 in 11 innings on Monday afternoon.  The Angels had struggled all game against Andy Pettitte as the Yankees built a 3-0 lead on solo homers from Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Johnny Damon.  Despite blowing some chances early, the Angels hung in there.  They cut the Yankees lead to 3-1 on Howie Kendrick’s HR in the 5th inning (that was the 1st home run given up by a Yankees pitcher in the playoffs this year) and then tied it up on Vladimir Guerrero’s 2-run bomb to left in the 6th inning.  And after Manager Joe Girardi pulled Pettitte with 1 out in the 7th inning, the Angels immediately capitalized with a triple by Kendrick and a run-scoring sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter Macier Izturis off Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain.  Just like that the Angels had a 4-3 lead and needed only 6 outs to get the series back in their favor.  Jorge Posada’s solo home run to center field put a slight damper on the Angels’ celebration, but the Angels gutted it out in the bottom of the 11th inning.  Girardi’s “over-managing” could be called into question with his decision to pull David Robertson (who had recorded the 1st 2 outs of the inning) for Alfredo Aceves.  Kendrick came through in the clutch with a single to center field and Jeff Mathis ended the game with a walk-off, 2-out RBI double to deep left field that plated Kendrick with the winning-run.  Props go to Kendrick for winning the game for the Angels on Monday.  On his triple in the 7th inning, Kendrick hustled right out of the box to get all the way to 3rd base with only 1 out.  And in the 11th, even though there was 2 out, Kendrick’s speed enabled him to score all the way from 1st on Mathis’ double.

The win breathes new life into the Angels, and Girardi’s decision to go with a 3-man rotation in the ALCS will be in the spotlight tonight as CC Sabathia gets the nod in Game 4 on only 3 days rest.  Sabathia pitched well on 3 days rest for the Brewers in 2008 (2-1, 0.83 ERA), but if he has an off-night, look for the critics to hand Girardi out to dry post-game.  Scott Kazmir has had a lot of success against the Yankees (6-5 record and 2.66 ERA in 14 career starts), so it should be a great game to watch on Tuesday night.

The NLCS game was also a back and forth game – a 1st inning Ryan Howard home run gave the Phillies an early 2-0 lead.  But then the Dodgers answered with 4 runs during the 4th through 6th innings on RBI singles by James Loney, Russell Martin and Casey Blake and a solo home run by Matt Kemp.  After a Chase Utley RBI single cut the Dodgers lead to 4-3 in the 6th inning, it looked like the Dodgers would even the series as closer Jonathan Broxton entered the game in the 9th inning.  Broxton (who had converted 36 of 42 save chances with a 2.61 ERA and 0.96 WHIP, but struggled on the road with an 5.81 ERA) even got lead-off hitter Raul Ibanez out, but laid an egg by pitching around Matt Stairs (Stairs had homered off of Broxton in the NLCS in 2008) and allowing him to reach on a walk.  Broxton made matters worse by plunking Carlos Ruiz to give the Phillies 1st and 2nd with only 2 outs.  Broxton got Gregg Dobbs to line out to 3rd base, but Jimmy Rollins crushed a 99-MPh fastball to deep center field that plated both Eric Bruntlett (pinch-runner for Stairs) and Ruiz with the winning runs.  Just like that, the Phillies had a walk-off win to take a 3-1 series lead.  The Dodgers have a huge obstacle to overcome.  They face Cole Hamels on Wednesday in Game 5 and if they are luck enough to win that one, they will have to beat Cliff Lee in Game 6 in Los Angeles just to get to a Game 7.  It’s not looking good for the Dodgers…

Enjoy MLB playoffs action tonight!

Dodgers Take 2-0 Lead Over Cards; Lackey, Angels Shut Out Red Sox

Friday, October 9th, 2009 | Adam Wainwright, Boston Red Sox, Casey Blake, General, John Lackey, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mark Loretta, Matt Holiday, MLB, Ryan Franklin, Sports, St. Louis Cardinals | No Comments

There was some great MLB Playoff action on Thursday in both the National League and American League.

In the late afternoon, the Dodgers took a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Cardinals with a dramatic 3-2 9th inning win.  With 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th inning, Matt Holliday misplayed a flyball that would have given the Cards a 2-1 win.  Instead, the error kept the Dodgers alive and the Dodgers took advantage.  Casey Blake worked a walk off of Cards reliever Ryan Franklin, and Rafael Belliard tied the game with an RBI single to center field.  After a passed ball and a walk loaded the bases, Mark Loretta’s pinch-hit single drove in Blake with the game-winning run.  The Cards looked to be in the driver’s seat in the series with their 2 aces pitching in Games 1 and 2 – Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright.  But neither emerged with a win, and the Cards now find themselves in the position of having to win 3 straight games against the Dodgers in order to advance to the NLCS.

Meanwhile in the AL game also on the west coast, John Lackey of the Angels shut down the Boston Red Sox with 7 1/3 scoreless innings.  Lackey outdueled Jon Lester who gave up a 3-run HR to Torii Hunter in the 5th inning, and the Angels went on to win 5-0.  It was a great start for the Angels who have been eliminated from the ALDS by the Red Sox each of the last 2 seasons and 3 times over the last 5 years.

So far so good for exciting MLB playoff action.