Yankees' rally stuns Rangers
Source: Agencies |
October 17, 2010, Sunday
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Print Edition
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THE New York Yankees erupted for five runs in the eighth inning as they overcame a 0-5 deficit and beat the Texas Rangers 6-5 in Friday's opening game of the American League Championship Series in Arlington, Texas.
The fightback by the reigning World Series champions stunned a red-clad capacity crowd of nearly 56,000 and gave New York a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series that determines the AL representative in the Fall Classic.
Texas was sailing along behind the strong pitching of starter C.J. Wilson and the power of Josh Hamilton before New York's eighth-inning charge in which the first seven batters reached base against five different Rangers pitchers.
"It's just a great win for our club," New York manager Joe Girardi told reporters. "The big inning in the eighth all starts with a hustle play by Brett Gardner."
Trailing 1-5, outfielder Gardner started the game-winning rally with a desperate dive to first base for an infield single, before Derek Jeter, former Ranger Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano and Marcus Thames followed with RBI hits.
"The first seven innings didn't go too well for us," Gardner said. "I was just trying to get something going."
For Texas, it was a case of missing out on a golden opportunity to make a strong opening statement.
"Just a bad eighth inning," Rangers manager Ron Washington said.
New York's late scoring burst had begun in the seventh when Cano cracked a solo homer down the right-field line to make it 5-1 and returned to add to the tally with interest an inning later.
The Yankees looked anything like winners in the first six frames, which were dominated by the Rangers as Wilson outdueled Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia.
The Rangers, whose 3-2 first-round triumph over Tampa Bay marked their first playoffs win in 50 years of existence, played like polished postseason performers, while 27-time World Series champions looked more like rookies.
Sabathia, coming off an eight-day layoff, had trouble finding the strike zone and walked leadoff hitter Elvis Andrus then fell behind to Michael Young, who laced a single.
That brought up Hamilton, who missed most of September with fractured ribs and had struggled since returning.
The power-hitting center-fielder rose to the occasion, crushing a hanging slider down the right field line and over the fence for an instant 3-0 lead. Young made it 5-0 with a two-run double to right-center in the fourth inning.
From that point on, the Yankees bullpen took over to keep the Rangers within range. Four relievers combined for five shutout innings with premier closer Mariano Rivera getting the last three outs for the save.
"We just didn't execute," Washington lamented. "When you face a team like the Yankees, you've got to execute."
Wilson, who yielded just four hits through seven innings, left with a 5-2 lead after Jeter's RBI-double scored Gardner.
New York pitcher Phil Hughes starts Game 2 for the Yankees against Colby Lewis.
The fightback by the reigning World Series champions stunned a red-clad capacity crowd of nearly 56,000 and gave New York a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series that determines the AL representative in the Fall Classic.
Texas was sailing along behind the strong pitching of starter C.J. Wilson and the power of Josh Hamilton before New York's eighth-inning charge in which the first seven batters reached base against five different Rangers pitchers.
"It's just a great win for our club," New York manager Joe Girardi told reporters. "The big inning in the eighth all starts with a hustle play by Brett Gardner."
Trailing 1-5, outfielder Gardner started the game-winning rally with a desperate dive to first base for an infield single, before Derek Jeter, former Ranger Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano and Marcus Thames followed with RBI hits.
"The first seven innings didn't go too well for us," Gardner said. "I was just trying to get something going."
For Texas, it was a case of missing out on a golden opportunity to make a strong opening statement.
"Just a bad eighth inning," Rangers manager Ron Washington said.
New York's late scoring burst had begun in the seventh when Cano cracked a solo homer down the right-field line to make it 5-1 and returned to add to the tally with interest an inning later.
The Yankees looked anything like winners in the first six frames, which were dominated by the Rangers as Wilson outdueled Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia.
The Rangers, whose 3-2 first-round triumph over Tampa Bay marked their first playoffs win in 50 years of existence, played like polished postseason performers, while 27-time World Series champions looked more like rookies.
Sabathia, coming off an eight-day layoff, had trouble finding the strike zone and walked leadoff hitter Elvis Andrus then fell behind to Michael Young, who laced a single.
That brought up Hamilton, who missed most of September with fractured ribs and had struggled since returning.
The power-hitting center-fielder rose to the occasion, crushing a hanging slider down the right field line and over the fence for an instant 3-0 lead. Young made it 5-0 with a two-run double to right-center in the fourth inning.
From that point on, the Yankees bullpen took over to keep the Rangers within range. Four relievers combined for five shutout innings with premier closer Mariano Rivera getting the last three outs for the save.
"We just didn't execute," Washington lamented. "When you face a team like the Yankees, you've got to execute."
Wilson, who yielded just four hits through seven innings, left with a 5-2 lead after Jeter's RBI-double scored Gardner.
New York pitcher Phil Hughes starts Game 2 for the Yankees against Colby Lewis.
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