Angels at Yankees-ALCS Game 6 weather permitting

The Yankees will play the Angels tonight weather permitting at 7:57PM on FOX. The Yankees remain one win from a 40th pennant and first World Series trip since 2003. They were nine outs away from it on Thursday in Anaheim after a thrilling six-run rally, but could not hold a two-run lead and now have to win one of the next two games at Yankee Stadium to advance. The odds are certainly in their favor; 19 of the 28 teams to hold a 3-2 lead since 1985 have gone on to win the series. Here are the pregame notes and lineups via the Lohud Yankees Blog. MLB and the Yankees and Angels are in discussions and there should be an announcement on the game by 5, if they postpone it, the game will be tomorrow night. Poor as the conditions may be in the Bronx, the Yankees are always happy to be home. They were a major-league best 57-24 record at home this season, including a 36-10 mark since June 30. They lost consecutive home games only once in that stretch and have won all four postseason games there so far this year. The Yankees have really taken advantage of the New Park this season and are fit so well for it. The Yankees bullpen was supposed to be a strength in the postseason but it hasn’t felt that way lately. Phil Hughes has allowed three earned runs, nine hits and has a WHIP of 2.36 in 4 2/3 innings during the playoffs while Joba Chamberlain has a 3.38 ERA and has seen opponents hit. 500 off him over 2 2/3 innings. I wonder if they should use Robertson more often as he has been the best guy other then Melky Cabrera has five hits in the past two games and has upped his ALCS average to .381 (8-for-21). Cabrera also has three walks and four RBI, meaning that he might be flip-flopped in the lineup with … Nick Swisher continues to be a black hole in the lineup during the postseason. Joe Girardi has said he may sit Swisher tonight, but if he doesn’t, look for him to at least be dropped even lower in the batting order. Swisher is 2-for-17 with 16 LOB in the ALCS and 3-for-29 in the playoffs with only one RBI. I personally would play him in center and try to create runs at the bottom of the order instead of having Swisher continue to kill the offense. The Angels four first-inning runs in Game 5 marked the first time they’d scored in any of the opening three innings of any postseason game this year. The four runs also equaled the total runs they scored in all of Games 1 and 2 combined. Derek Jeter will play in his 47th LCS game tonight, moving him past David Justice and into second place on the all-time list (Manny Ramirez has 49). Jeter isn’t just showing up either; he’s on a nine-game postseason hitting streak that dates back to 2007. Alex Rodriguez had a down night, relatively, in Game 5, since he didn’t drive in a run for the first time in eight postseason games this year. He did go 1-for-3, though, with a double and run scored as well as two walks (one intentional). A-Rod has a hit in 10 straight playoff games. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Posada(C) Matsui(DH) Cano(2B) Swisher(RF) Cabrera(CF) No Angels lineup yet and I am headed out, hope to have a good postgame recap later if they plan and they win hopefully, could be a long night.

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Yankees workout news

There was no real news out of this evenings workout. The weather forecast isn't looking good and with that in mind Joe Girardi was asked about possibly using Sabathia on Sunday for Game 6 if it gets postponed tomorrow. He said he is going to stick with Pettitte for Game 6. It is a interesting thing to think about as you would love to finish it off in 6 and move on but of course if you use him to finish it off he won't be available for GAme 1 of the World Series. I think you just stick with what you have and hope that you come out on top with Andy Pettitte on the mound. The other thing was that Joe Giardi said he is going to sleep on Nick Swisher going to the bench or continuing to start him. I personally don't know he can get another start as he has been killing this team with the bat. I would like to see Gardner in CF and Melky in RF. I think there is enough offense against Saunders and I would like to see better defense anyway. I guess rain will be a big topic tomorrow but we will see how it goes. I will have any updates as they come in tomorrow and hopefully I will have the lineups and notes available ahead of time. I am heading out to the game tomorrow so as long as everything is available early I will get a post up.

Angels stay alive

The New York Yankees lost to the Anaheim Angels 7-6 tonight. The Angels took a quick 4-0 lead on A.J. Burnett in the first inning and then the Angels were cruising. John Lackey was dealing and then it fell apart in the 7th inning. He was taken out with the bases loaded and two outs which I didn't agree with and Darrin Oliver gave up a 3 run double to Mark Teixeira. Hideki Matsui tied the game with a single and Robinson Cano hit a 2 run double to give them the lead. A.J. Burnett came out to start the 7th inning which once again I didn't agree with but it wasn't the heart of the order. He walked the first guy and gave up a hit and then Marte came in got Figgins on a sac bunt and he got Bobby Abreu out on a groundout with a run scoring. Phil Hughes came into the game and you think ok he will get out of this and pitch a good 8th inning and if he gets in trouble you go right to MO for the 4 or 5 out save. Phil Hughes walked the Torii Hunter and then ahead of Vlady Guerrero 1-2 he throws a fastball for some reason and its a single to tie the game and then Morales hits a single the give the Angels the lead. Mariano Rivera had to bail Joba Chamberlain out in the 8th as he gave up a double and single and got a out. Mo came in and got out of the inning and gave the Yankees a chance. They loaded the bases in the ninth inning and Nick Swisher was up with a 3-2 count but he popped up. He is the one guy in the lineup who is doing nothing and I would be shocked to see him playing on Sat night. I would start Brett Gardner in center and Melky in right. It would be nice to manufacture some runs plus your at home where they have enough power from other guys. Andy Pettitte will look to close it out on Saturday.

Yankees at Angels-ALCS Game 5

The Yankees will play Game 5 tonight in Anaheim looking to win their 40th pennant and head back home going to the World Series. The game is at 8:00PM on FOX. A.J. Burnett will oppose John Lackey. Here are the gamenotes from Chad Jennings and Sam Borden of the Journal News and also from the Yankees press notes. Burnett pitched decently in his first start of the postseason and very well in his second, but hasn’t earned a win in either one. He pitched into the seventh inning of Game 2 and allowed just two runs and three hits, but got a no-decision when the game went 13 innings and 310 minutes. Burnett did come back out to deliver a walkoff pie to Jerry Hairston, who scored the winning run. Alex Rodriguez had a single, double and homer in Game 4, continuing what has been an insane postseason for him. A-Rod has driven in a run in every Yankees playoff game (and eight straight dating back to 2007), and has 11 total RBI. If he continues to hit this well, he’ll shatter the franchise record of 15, held by Scott Brosius (1998) and Bernie Williams (1996). Melky Cabrera had a critical RBI single in the fourth inning of Game 4, and that hit snapped a personal 0-for-7 slide with runners in scoring position, as well as a team-wide 0-for-28 with RISP. As a team, the Yankees are 7-for-45(.156) with RISP during the ALCS. Game 3 was the first time that four teammates – in this case, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada and Johnny Damon – aged 34 or older homered in any game, postseason or otherwise. Joe Girardi wouldn’t commit one way or another during the off day, but he’ll have a decision to make at DH if Jose Molina is catching. Jorge Posada, who has been on the bench this postseason when Molina catches, is hitting .333 this postseason (8-for-24) with two homers and three RBI and is 12-for-29 lifetime against Lackey. Hideki Matsui is at .261 (6-for-23) during the postseason and is coming off an ugly 0-for-5 in Game 4. The Angels have their ace, Lackey, going in the elimination game tonight and Lackey gave up only two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings of Game 1. If you’re looking for a weird prop bet on the game tonight, see if someone will give you action on how long Lackey will stay in the game; in each of his three postseason starts against the Yankees, he’s lasted exactly 5 2/3 innings each time. The Yankees are 33-20 in games where they can clinch a best of 7 series. They lost just one of the previous 13 series where they had a 3 games to 1 lead, that of course was the 2004 series against Boston. The Yankees at 6-1 this postseason have tied their best postseason start. They also accomplished this in 1999 and 2004. They have to remember what happened in 2004 and it doesn't mean anything unless you finish it. The Game 4 win was the Yankees most runs and largest margin of victory since Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS in Boston. CC Sabathia improved to 3-0 and became the 7th Yankees pitcher to ever be 3-0 in the postseason. Melky Cabrera had a postseason career high with 4 rbi's in Game 4. Yankees pitching this postseason has a 1.91 era while their opponents have a 4.41 mark. The Yankees pitchers have gone 6 innings or more with 3 runs or less in all 7 postseason starts marking the best stretch to start a postseason in franchise history. The Yankees pitching has given up 3 homeruns this postseason. The Yankees had 14 unanswered homeruns before an opponent hit one in the postseason which was the best streak in postseason history. A-rod has homeruns in 3 straight postseason games which ties him with Lou Gehrig, Johnny Mize, Hank Bauer, Reggie Jackson, Bernie Williams and Jim Leyritz. He also has rbi's in 8 straight postseason games which is tied for the best ever. The Yankees have come from behind to win 4 of their 6 postseason games. They led the majors with 51 comeback wins in the regular season. Happy Birthday to Robinson Cano who turns 27 today, it would be a nice way to celebrate with a AL Pennant. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Matsui(DH) Cano(2B) Swisher(RF) Cabrera(CF) Molina(C) Angels Lineup: Figgins(3B) Abreu(RF) Hunter(CF) Guerrero(DH) Morales(1B) Izturis(2B) Rivera(LF) Mathis(C) Aybar(SS)