Hold up, it’s now a series

A-Rod’s power wasn’t enough in Game 3. The Yankees went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. 

Girardi's gaffes cost Yankees Game 3

With two outs in the 11th inning, Joe Girardi consulted a thick black binder that accompanies him into the dugout and offers countless information about various pitching matchups. The Yankee manager briefly flipped through it and found a reason to bring in Alfredo Aceves instead of letting David Robertson finish the inning.

Those decisions had not caught up Girardi but yesterday they finally burned him as the Angels rallied for a 5-4 victory on Jeff Mathis’ RBI double in Game 3 of the ALCS.

The Angels had already overcome an early 3-0 deficit and nearly won it in the 10th before Mariano Rivera worked out of a bases-loaded jam. It was during that inning that Girardi removed Johnny Damon for defense, lost the designated hitter and with Rivera’s spot due up in the 11th, he had to make a change.

Robertson earned wins in the second games of each series by working out of severe trouble. This time he retired Juan Rivera and recovered from a 3-1 count to get Kendry Morales.

Howie Kendrick was due up next and in his limited experience against Robertson; the second baseman had a two-run single off the right-hander in a 14-8 Anaheim victory on July 11. At the time, Robertson had a 3.57 ERA but since that encounter the 23-year-old had become a more reliable relieve but that apparently was not enough to sway Girardi from inserting Aceves.

“It's just different kind of stuff against those hitters,” Girardi explained “We have all the match-ups, and all the scouting reports, and we felt that it was a better match up for us.”

"I could have stayed out there and given it up, too," Robertson said. "You never know."

Aceves gave up Chone Figgins’ go-ahead hit Saturday but that was at Yankee Stadium, so there was little room for error this time and no potential game-tying home run to bail him out. After falling behind 2-0 on a cutter and changeup, Aceves threw three more cutters and the last one stayed over the plate as Kendrick roped it up the middle.

Following two pickoff attempts, Aceves fell behind and when Mathis saw a four-seam fastball over the plate, he drove it to left field, hopelessly out of Jerry Hairston’s reach.

“He was down in the zone,” catcher Jorge Posada said. “I thought he threw a very good cut to Kendrick and got a pitch to Mathis that was down and away and he hit it. "

It was a script the Yankees had seen before, especially in Anaheim. They have lost four of five postseason games there and each time had a lead at some point though the only difference was this year they possessed the better bullpen, which might explain Girardi’s frequent pitching postseason pitching changes.

In the three extra-inning games this year, Girardi has used seven relievers each time. Following the first two, the Yankees had a travel day but now they have a bullpen that might be tired and unable to produce should C.C. Sabathia falter on three days’ rest.

While the Yankees still lead the series and could close it out in Anaheim Thursday, Girardi’s decision to remove Robertson will draw the ire of callers to sports talk radio and posters on message boards.
Though there is no guarantee Robertson finishes the inning, his gutsy performances Saturday in the 13th and in Game 2 against the Twins might have seemed to warrant another hitter.

To even reach that point, a lot of things happened and they produced mixed results.

The Yankees hit four solo home runs as Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon connected off Jered Weaver in the first five innings. Posada also homered off Kevin Jepsen in the eighth after the Yankees flushed away a 3-0 lead and fell behind by one run.

Technically Posada’s home run could have been the deciding run if two things went right.

Posada’s home run could have given the Yankees a 4-3 lead if Joba Chamberlain was effective in the seventh and did not give up Macier Izturis’ sacrifice fly. The homer also could have put the Yankees in front 5-4 if Brett Gardner was not easily thrown out trying to steal second as a pinch runner when the Angels correctly pitched out.

Even those events might not turn out to be as important as they were if the Yankees performed better at situational hitting and if Andy Pettitte made the right pitch to Vladimir Guerrero when he was one strike away from finishing the sixth.

The Yankees did neither.

They went hitless in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position and struck out 13 times. They couldn’t even score with a runner on third and less than two out in the second and fourth and also went hitless in their final 13 plate appearances.

Pettitte pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs and seven hits but the left-hander was done in by two bad pitches that loomed even larger when his teammates could not deliver anything but solo home runs.
The Angels hit into double plays to end the first and second innings and saw Pettitte pick off Torii Hunter at first in the fourth. They finally broke through when Kendrick continued his assault on Yankee pitching with a long one-out solo homer in the fifth.

Pettitte then lost the lead by leaving a fastball too far over the plate and it was crushed by Guerrero.
“I just missed my location,” Pettitte said. “I had two strikes with two outs. I just didn’t make my pitch.”

There is no telling what happens if Pettitte makes a better pitch and no guarantee the next three innings go smoothly. The only thing that was assured was this series was not going to be a breeze and now has a good chance of returning to the Bronx.

“Anyone who thought we were going to breeze through a series with the Angels is crazy,” first baseman Mark Teixeira said. “This is a great team, and they came to play today.”CLICK ON CHART TO ENLARGE