Pettitte and Yankees back home for Game 6
The Angels have new life after winning Game 5 to pull within a game of the Yanks in the ALCS. But if they're going to pull off the upset, they will have to beat two lefthanders back in the Bronx, starting with Andy Pettitte.
Brian Fuentes certainly wasn’t lights out at the end of Game 6 on Thursday night. But he was good enough under the lights in Anaheim to keep the Angels alive in the ALCS.
After blowing an early 4-0 lead, the Angels rallied for a 7-6 win against the Yankees on Thursday to send the series back to New York for a sixth and possibly a seventh game. The Yankees opened as the -160 to -175 favorites on the overnight lines offshore, with the total set at 9.
Mike Scioscia’s route to get to Fuentes in the ninth inning wasn’t without controversy as he pulled a visibly upset John Lackey off the mound in the seventh and then opted for his lefthanded closer in the final frame over Jered Weaver who had tossed a perfect eighth with two strikeouts.
Fuentes, who had blown a save chance in the 13-inning, 4-3 win by the Yankees in Game 2, retired Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira before New York staged a two-out rally attempt without putting the ball in play. Alex Rodriguez, who has been blistering hot this postseason, was intentionally walked with Hideki Matsui drawing a free pass in the next at bat. Fuentes then loaded the bases by hitting Robinson Cano on an oh-one count, pushing the go-ahead run into scoring position before coaxing Nick Swisher to pop up and end the threat.
Now comes Game 6 back at Yankee Stadium with a matchup of southpaws, Joe Saunders for LA and Andy Pettitte for the Yankees. Once again it appears weather could be an issue in the Big Apple and the uncertainty with that makes capping this game a bit tougher than usual.
The rain should push through on Saturday and open up to clear skies on Sunday. With the World Series not set to begin until next Wednesday, if the rain is too heavy on Saturday in New York it could lead to an easy decision being made to postpone Game 6 until Sunday, leaving Monday for Game 7 should the Angels force the issue.
Regardless when the game is played, the pressure is now squarely back on the Yankees despite their 3-2 lead in the series. Memories of how they blew the 2004 ALCS to Boston after taking a 3-0 lead are starting to creep back into the Pinstriped minds, and if they relax even a little by thinking they will have C.C. Sabathia on the mound for a possible Game 7, well, let’s not go there yet.
Both Pettitte and Saunders come into Game 6 off a loss in the ALCS. New York staked Pettitte to a 3-0 lead in Game 3 before he served up long balls to Howie Kendrick and Vladimir Guerrero. The Angels won that contest 5-4 in 11 innings eventually.
Saunders started Game 2 last Saturday in New York, falling behind 2-0 early but leaving after seven innings with the score level, 2-2. The Yankees mounted two scoring frames in extras for a 4-3 win and 2-0 lead in the series.
The good news for the Angels is they finally broke out of their offensive funk to score seven times in Game 5 on Thursday. Four of the runs crossed the plate before A.J. Burnett retired a batter. Was it ‘clinching game’ jitters for Burnett, or simply a lack of command on his signature curveball that caused it? Hard to tell but we do know that if it was jitters, Pettitte will not have any of them in Game 6with 37 previous postseason starts under his belt.
If you have any Yankees futures, this is a game you should probably give a hard look at hedging and taking the Angels with that fat +165 or so moneyline currently listed. I’m going to remain as square and John Q. Public as possible in siding with the Yankees and betting they finally start to hit with runners in scoring position. New York on the run line (-1½, +115) and Over 9 is my pick.
STARTING PITCHERS
ALCS Game 6, Sat, Oct 24, 7:57 p.m. (ET): Joe Saunders (20-11, 4.60 regular season / 0-1, 2.57 postseason) vs. Andy Pettitte (21-11, 4.16 regular season / 1-1, 2.84 postseason)
UMPIRE
Dale Scott, working his 17th postseason series, will call the balls and strikes in this one after a season that saw him post 19-15 Home/Visitor and 18-15-1 O/U records. A veteran of nearly 3,000 MLB games, including more than 750 behind the mask, Scott's last postseason assignment at the plate was Game 1 of the 2008 NLDS, a 7-2 Dodgers win at Wrigley. That game featured 10 walks, 14 strikeouts and four home runs to push the final total past the posted 7.
WEATHER
It’s baaaaaaaaaaack! Yes, the nasty weather that threatened Games 1 and 2 last weekend in New York is back for Game 6 on Saturday when there is an 80%-90% chance of rain in the forecast. The weather.com website describes it as “a steady, soaking rain” during the day but it could be gone by game time. Look for the thermometer to be in the upper-50s, low-60s for game time with winds forecast out of the South at 15-25 MPH (from 1B across to 3B).
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they start games. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com and ESPN.com and of course, S-BEE-R-dot-com!
The Angels have new life after winning Game 5 to pull within a game of the Yanks in the ALCS. But if they're going to pull off the upset, they will have to beat two lefthanders back in the Bronx, starting with Andy Pettitte.
Brian Fuentes certainly wasn’t lights out at the end of Game 6 on Thursday night. But he was good enough under the lights in Anaheim to keep the Angels alive in the ALCS.
After blowing an early 4-0 lead, the Angels rallied for a 7-6 win against the Yankees on Thursday to send the series back to New York for a sixth and possibly a seventh game. The Yankees opened as the -160 to -175 favorites on the overnight lines offshore, with the total set at 9.
Mike Scioscia’s route to get to Fuentes in the ninth inning wasn’t without controversy as he pulled a visibly upset John Lackey off the mound in the seventh and then opted for his lefthanded closer in the final frame over Jered Weaver who had tossed a perfect eighth with two strikeouts.
Fuentes, who had blown a save chance in the 13-inning, 4-3 win by the Yankees in Game 2, retired Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira before New York staged a two-out rally attempt without putting the ball in play. Alex Rodriguez, who has been blistering hot this postseason, was intentionally walked with Hideki Matsui drawing a free pass in the next at bat. Fuentes then loaded the bases by hitting Robinson Cano on an oh-one count, pushing the go-ahead run into scoring position before coaxing Nick Swisher to pop up and end the threat.
Now comes Game 6 back at Yankee Stadium with a matchup of southpaws, Joe Saunders for LA and Andy Pettitte for the Yankees. Once again it appears weather could be an issue in the Big Apple and the uncertainty with that makes capping this game a bit tougher than usual.
The rain should push through on Saturday and open up to clear skies on Sunday. With the World Series not set to begin until next Wednesday, if the rain is too heavy on Saturday in New York it could lead to an easy decision being made to postpone Game 6 until Sunday, leaving Monday for Game 7 should the Angels force the issue.
Regardless when the game is played, the pressure is now squarely back on the Yankees despite their 3-2 lead in the series. Memories of how they blew the 2004 ALCS to Boston after taking a 3-0 lead are starting to creep back into the Pinstriped minds, and if they relax even a little by thinking they will have C.C. Sabathia on the mound for a possible Game 7, well, let’s not go there yet.
Both Pettitte and Saunders come into Game 6 off a loss in the ALCS. New York staked Pettitte to a 3-0 lead in Game 3 before he served up long balls to Howie Kendrick and Vladimir Guerrero. The Angels won that contest 5-4 in 11 innings eventually.
Saunders started Game 2 last Saturday in New York, falling behind 2-0 early but leaving after seven innings with the score level, 2-2. The Yankees mounted two scoring frames in extras for a 4-3 win and 2-0 lead in the series.
The good news for the Angels is they finally broke out of their offensive funk to score seven times in Game 5 on Thursday. Four of the runs crossed the plate before A.J. Burnett retired a batter. Was it ‘clinching game’ jitters for Burnett, or simply a lack of command on his signature curveball that caused it? Hard to tell but we do know that if it was jitters, Pettitte will not have any of them in Game 6with 37 previous postseason starts under his belt.
If you have any Yankees futures, this is a game you should probably give a hard look at hedging and taking the Angels with that fat +165 or so moneyline currently listed. I’m going to remain as square and John Q. Public as possible in siding with the Yankees and betting they finally start to hit with runners in scoring position. New York on the run line (-1½, +115) and Over 9 is my pick.
STARTING PITCHERS
ALCS Game 6, Sat, Oct 24, 7:57 p.m. (ET): Joe Saunders (20-11, 4.60 regular season / 0-1, 2.57 postseason) vs. Andy Pettitte (21-11, 4.16 regular season / 1-1, 2.84 postseason)
UMPIRE
Dale Scott, working his 17th postseason series, will call the balls and strikes in this one after a season that saw him post 19-15 Home/Visitor and 18-15-1 O/U records. A veteran of nearly 3,000 MLB games, including more than 750 behind the mask, Scott's last postseason assignment at the plate was Game 1 of the 2008 NLDS, a 7-2 Dodgers win at Wrigley. That game featured 10 walks, 14 strikeouts and four home runs to push the final total past the posted 7.
WEATHER
It’s baaaaaaaaaaack! Yes, the nasty weather that threatened Games 1 and 2 last weekend in New York is back for Game 6 on Saturday when there is an 80%-90% chance of rain in the forecast. The weather.com website describes it as “a steady, soaking rain” during the day but it could be gone by game time. Look for the thermometer to be in the upper-50s, low-60s for game time with winds forecast out of the South at 15-25 MPH (from 1B across to 3B).
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they start games. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com and ESPN.com and of course, S-BEE-R-dot-com!