Yanks Finally Win in Anaheim and Clinch Playoff Berth

(Zell's Pinstripe Blog)

The Yankees finally won their first game in Anaheim this year. It’s been a constant struggle for this team to beat the Angels, so it was definitely a satisfying win for the team. They can go into the playoffs knowing that they can beat them.

The Yankees didn’t pop any champagne last night, because the main goal is to take the AL East Division title. There is no reason for them to celebrate twice.

Chad Gaudin put forth a solid outing. He wasn’t putting up a dominant performance, but he keeps the team in the game and gives them a chance. Joba Chamberlain hasn’t been doing that. Gaudin’s line was: 4.2IP 6H 2R 2ER 2BB 3K. Alfredo Aceves wasn’t at his best last night. He gave up 2 runs over 1.2 innings, and allowed the Angels to pull within one run. Marte came in after him..gave up a hit and was pulled immediately for Phil Hughes.

Hughes recorded the last two outs of the 7th with ease. He came back in the 8th inning and things changed a bit. It wasn’t so much Hughes, but a hard hit was bobbled by Cano, which allowed a runner to reach base. A stolen base and a throwing error by Posada allowed the runner to advance to 3rd base. The run scored, but it was unearned. Hughes got his 3rd blown save of the season, but wound up with the win. His record improves to (W-L) 8-3 on the season. Mariano Rivera came on in the 9th inning and nailed down his 41st save of the season.

The offense collected 10 hits, drew 4 walks and knocked in 6 runs. A-Rod, Matsui, & Posada all went yard on the game. Mark Teixeira went 2-for-4 and picked up a run. Robbie Cano also picked up two hits on the game. Alex Rodriguez went 1-for-4, with a run and 3RBI’s. He delivered a clutch sac fly in the top of the 9th inning to put the team up 6-5. Gardner had a big stolen base in that inning, which put him in scoring position. He tagged up on the sac fly and became the go ahead run.

September 22, 2009

1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9     R   H   E  NY Yankees 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 1   6 10 2 LA Angels 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 0   5 12 1

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Jeter, SS	4	0	1	0	1	2	1	.329
Damon, LF	4	0	1	0	0	1	1	.285
Teixeira, 1B	4	1	2	0	1	0	1	.292
Rodriguez, A, 3B	4	1	1	3	0	2	3	.284
Matsui, H, DH	3	2	1	1	1	1	2	.280
Posada, C	4	1	1	2	0	1	3	.283
Cano, 2B	4	0	2	0	0	0	0	.321
Swisher, RF	3	0	0	0	1	2	2	.251
Cabrera, Me, RF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.271
Gardner, CF	4	1	1	0	0	0	2	.280
Totals	34	6	10	6	4	9	15
BATTING 2B: Cano (46, Santana, E). HR: Rodriguez, A (27, 3rd inning off Santana, E, 1 on, 1 out), Posada (22, 3rd inning off Santana, E, 1 on, 1 out), Matsui, H (28, 5th inning off Santana, E, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Jeter; Damon; Teixeira 2; Rodriguez, A 4; Matsui, H 4; Posada 4; Cano 3; Gardner. RBI: Rodriguez, A 3 (89), Posada 2 (79), Matsui, H (88). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Posada 2; Jeter; Rodriguez, A; Matsui, H. S: Damon. SF: Rodriguez, A. GIDP: Swisher. Team RISP: 1-for-10. Team LOB: 8.   BASERUNNING SB: Jeter (27, 2nd base off Santana, E/Mathis, J), Gardner (23, 2nd base off Palmer/Budde). FIELDING E: Cano (11, fielding), Posada (7, throw). DP: (Posada-Cano).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Gaudin	4.2	6	2	2	2	3	1	4.78
Aceves, A	1.2	4	2	2	1	1	0	3.87
Marte, D	0.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	10.97
Hughes, P (BS, 3)(W, 8-3)	1.2	1	1	0	1	2	0	3.04
Rivera, Ma (S, 41)	1.0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1.91

Final Score: NY Yankees 6, LA Angels 5