The New York Yankees salvage final game of road trip in Anaheim

The New York Yankees defeated the Anaheim Angels on Wednesday night.  The game took place at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, California and the final score was 6-1.  Nathan Eovaldi started for the Yankees and was good and the bullpen was really good.  Chase Headley led the offense with three hits and Chris Young and Didi Gregorius each had a couple of hits. 

Eovaldi pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up five hits and no runs with three walks and three strikeouts.  He earned his eighth win of the season.  Chasen Shreve pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings with a strikeout, Justin Wilson pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout and Dellin Betances earned his seventh save of the season.  Betances pitched 1 1/3 innings walking two batters and striking out two. 

Matt Shoemaker pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up seven hits and two runs with a walk and three strikeouts.  Shoemaker lost his seventh game of the season.  Cesar Ramos pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit, Fernando Salas pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with two strikeouts and Jose Alvarez pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up three hits and a walk with a strikeout. 

Brett Gardner had a hit, Headley had three hits and an RBI and Alex Rodriguez had a hit.  Mark Teixeira drew a walk, Brian McCann had a hit and Garrett Jones had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk.  Young had two hits, Gregorius had two hits and an RBI and Stephen Drew had a hit.  Young and Drew each hit a double and Jones hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 3-11 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. 

Johnny Giavotella had two hits, Mike Trout had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk and Albert Pujols drew two walks.  Erick Aybar drew a walk, David Freese had a hit and Matt Joyce had a hit.  Chris Iannetta had a hit and drew a walk, Trout hit a homerun and the Angels were 0-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.  Aybar had a stolen base. 

In the third Headley had an RBI single to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.  In the sixth Jones hit a solo homerun to push the lead to 2-0 Yankees.  In the eighth Gregorius had an RBI single to make it a 3-0 game.  The Angels got on the board in the bottom of the eighth with a Trout solo homerun to make it 3-1. 

The Yankees salvaged the last game of the three game series.  They will be off on Thursday before beginning a six game homestand on Friday night against the Tampa Bay Rays.   

The Yankees lose a close one in Anaheim as the offense does next to nothing

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Anaheim Angels on Tuesday night.  The game took place at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, California and the final score was 2-1.  Ivan Nova made the start and pitched well and Adam Warren making his first appearance out of the bullpen for the year was great.  The Yankees offense only managed two hits. 

Nova pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up eight hits and two runs with two walks and seven strikeouts.  Nova lost his first game of the season.  Warren pitched 2 2/3 innings giving up a hit and a walk with two strikeouts. 

Andrew Heaney won his first game of the season pitching seven innings and giving up two hits and a run with two walks and seven strikeouts.  Joe Smith pitched a perfect inning and Huston Street saved his 23rd game of the season pitching a perfect inning with a couple of strikeouts. 

Brett Gardner had a hit, Mark Teixeira had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk and Chase Headley drew a walk.  Teixeira hit a homerun and the Yankees never had a runner in scoring position and didn't leave anyone on base. 

Johnny Giavotella drew a walk, Kole Calhoun had a hit and Mike Trout had two hits.  Albert Pujols had a hit and an RBI, Erick Aybar had two hits and an RBI and David Freese had a hit.  Matt Joyce had two hits and drew a walk, Chris Iannetta drew a walk and Joyce and Aybar each hit a double.  Pujols and Aybar each hit a homerun.  The Angels were 0-11 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.  Trout was caught stealing and Smith committed an error. 

In the second Teixeira hit a solo homerun to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.  In the sixth Pujols and Aybar hit back-to-back homeruns to give the Angels a 2-1 lead and that would be the final score.  The two teams will play the third and final game of the series on Wednesday night.   

The New York Yankees lose to Mike Trout and the Anaheim Angels

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Anaheim Angels on Monday night.  The game took place at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, California and the final score was 4-1.  CC Sabathia started and pitched ok and Brett Gardner had three hits to lead the offense. 

Sabathia pitched 7 1/3 innings giving up six hits and four runs with a walk and five strikeouts.  He lost his eighth game of the season.  Nick Rumbelow pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a walk and a strikeout. 

C.J. Wilson pitched six innings giving up five hits and a run with three walks and five strikeouts.  Wilson won his sixth game of the season.  Trevor Gott pitched an inning giving up a hit and he walked a batter, Joe Smith pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out one and Huston Street saved his 22nd game of the season pitching an inning and giving up a hit. 

Gardner had three hits, Alex Rodriguez had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk and Mark Teixeira drew a walk.  Carlos Beltran had two hits, Brian McCann drew a walk and Didi Gregorius had two hits and drew a walk.  Gardner hit two doubles and the Yankees were 1-10 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.  Murphy had a passed ball. 

Johnny Giavotella had a hit, Kole Calhoun had a hit and an RBI and Mike Trout had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk.  Albert Pujols had a hit and an RBI, David Freese drew a walk and C.J. Cron had a hit and an RBI.  Daniel Robertson had a hit, Pujols and Calhoun each hit a double and Trout and Cron each hit a homerun.  The Angels were 0-3 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base.  Trout had a stolen base. 

In the first Pujols hit an RBI double to give the Angels a 1-0 lead.  In the third Rodriguez hit an RBI single to tie the game at one.  Trout hit a solo homerun in the third to give the Angels back the lead at 2-1.  In the fifth Kalhoun hit an RBI double to increase the lead to 3-1 and in the seventh Cron hit a solo homerun to make it 4-1 which would be the final score.  Trout robbed Young of two doubles and three RBI so he was the biggest reason the Yankees lost as he took away three runs and had his own solo homerun to account for four runs.  The two teams will play on Tuesday night in game two of three. 

New York Yankees win late in Anaheim

The New York Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Tuesday night.  The game took place at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California.  Hiroki Kuroda started and pitched great.  Yangervis Solarte and Brian Roberts each had two hits to lead the offense. 

Kuroda pitched 7 2/3 innings giving up five hits and three runs with one of them being earned.  He walked none and struck out eight.  Shawn Kelley picked up his first win of the season pitching 1/3 of an inning and giving up a hit.  He did strike out a batter and Dave Robertson picked up his fifth save in as many chances.  Robertson pitched a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout. 

C.J. Wilson pitched eight innings giving up seven hits and three runs with three walks and five strikeouts.  Ernesto Frieri took his third loss of the season pitching an inning.  He gave up a hit and a run with a strikeout. 

Jacoby Ellsbury drew a walk, Derek Jeter had a hit and drew a walk and Carlos Beltran had a hit and drew a walk.  Alfonso Soriano had a hit and an RBI, Solarte had two hits and Brett Gardner had a hit.  Roberts had two hits and two RBI and hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 2-8 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Solarte committed an error. 

Erick Aybar had a hit and an RBI, Mike Trout had a hit and an RBI and Albert Pujols had two hits and an RBI.  Hank Conger had a hit, Colin Cowgill had a hit and Trout hit a triple.  The Angels were 1-2 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. 

In the third Aybar and Trout each hit a sacrifice fly to give the Angels a 2-0 lead.  Roberts hit an RBI single and Ellsbury hit into a double play to score a run and tie the game at two.  In the eighth Soriano hit an RBI single giving the Yankees a 3-2 lead.  Pujols hit an RBI single in the eighth to tie the game at three and Roberts hit a solo homerun in the ninth to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead.  The game would end 4-3 and the series tied at one game each.  The two teams will play the rubber game of the series on Wednesday night. 

The New York Yankees hold off the Anaheim Angels

The New York Yankees defeated the Anaheim Angels on Saturday afternoon.  The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York and the final score was 4-3.  Vidal Nuno was ok but not great and the bullpen was excellent.  John Ryan Murphy led the offense with a couple of hits including his first major league homerun. 

Nuno pitched 4 1/3 innings giving up three runs on five hits.  He walked two and struck out four.  Dellin Betances got his first major league win pitching two innings.  He gave up a hit and a walk with three strikeouts, Shawn Kelley pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up two hits and a walk with a strikeout and Matt Thornton pitched to one batter and retired him.  David Robertson earned his third save of the season pitching an inning and giving up a hit with two strikeouts. 

Hector Santiago took the loss his fourth of the season.  He pitched 4 1/3 innings giving up six hits and four runs with a walk and three strikeouts.  Kevin Jepsen pitched 2/3 of an inning striking out one, Nick Maronde pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and had a strikeout and Michael Kohn pitched 1 1/3 innings striking out one.  Ernesto Frieri pitched a perfect inning.   

Jacoby Ellsbury had a hit, Derek Jeter had a hit and Alfonso Soriano had a hit.  Brett Gardner had two hits, Brian Roberts drew a walk and Murphy had two hits and three RBI.  Murphy hit a homerun and the Yankees were 1-7 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Gardner had a stolen base and Roberts committed an error. 

Collin Cowgill had a hit, Mike Trout had two hits, an RBI and drew two walks and Albert Pujols had two hits.  Howie Kendrick drew a walk, Chris Iannetta had two hits and an RBI and Ian Stewart had  a hit and drew a walk.  David Freese had a hit, Iannetta hit a double, Trout hit a homerun and the Angels were 2-14 with runners in scoring position and left ten men on base.  Trout had a stolen base. 

In the first inning Trout hit a solo homerun to give the Angels a 1-0 lead.  In the second Teixeira scored on a balk and then Murphy hit a two run single to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead.  In the fourth the Angels came back to tie the game at three.  Erick Aybar grounded into a force out which scored a run and Iannetta hit an RBI double.  In the fifth Murphy hit a solo homerun to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead and that would be the final score.  The two teams will play the rubber game of their three game series on Sunday night. 

The New York Yankees are crushed by the Anaheim Angels to begin homestand

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Anaheim Angels on Friday night.  The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York and the final score was 13-1 Angels.  Hiroki Kuroda started for the Yankees and pitched terrible.  The offense didn't do much, Brett Gardner had a couple of hits. 

Kuroda pitched 4 2/3 innings giving up ten hits and eight runs with six of them being earned.  He didn't walk a batter and struck out two and lost his second game of the season.  Bruce Billings pitched four innings giving up four hits and four runs with a walk and seven strikeouts.  Shawn Kelley pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a run with a strikeout. 

C.J. Wilson pitched six innings giving up four hits and a run.  He walked three and struck out five and earned his third win of the season.  Nick Maronde pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout, Ernesto Frieri pitched a perfect inning and Yoslan Herrera pitched an inning giving up a hit and an walk with a strikeout. 

John Ryan Murphy had a hit, Derek Jeter had a hit and drew a walk and Carlos Beltran had a hit.  Alfonso Soriano had an RBI, Mark Teixeira drew two walks and Gardner had two hits.  Brian Roberts had a hit, Yangervis Solarte drew two walks and Beltran hit a double.  The Yankees were 0-4 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.  Gardner and Beltran each had a stolen base and Beltran committed an error. 

J.B. Shuck had an RBI, Albert Pujols had two hits and an RBI and Raul Ibanez had a hit and drew a walk.  Howie Kendrick had three hits, Ian Stewart had two hits and two RBI and Erick Aybar had four hits and three RBI.  Hank Conger had three hits and three RBI and Colin Cowgill had a hit and two RBI.  Conger hit two doubles, Kendrick and Aybar each hit a double.  Stewart, Pujols, Aybar and Cowgill each hit a homerun.  The Angels were 4-10 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. 

The Angels scored three in the second and two in the third to take a 5-0 lead and never looked back.  They scored three in the fifth, four in the seventh and one more in the ninth.  The Yankees only run came on a Soriano sac fly in the sixth.  The two teams will play game two of their three game series on Saturday afternoon. 

The New York Mets get beat bad in Anaheim

The New York Mets were defeated by the Anaheim Angels on Sunday evening.  The game took place

at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, California and the final score was 14-2.  Bartolo Colon started for the

Mets and did not pitch well at all.  The bullpen didn't fare much better and Juan Lagares led the

Mets offense with a couple of hits. 

Colon pitched five innings giving up eleven hits and nine runs.  He walked two and struck out three.  Scott Rice pitched an inning giving up two hits and two runs with two walks and two strikeouts, Jeurys Familia pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout and John Lannan pitched an inning giving up three hits and three runs with a walk and a strikeout. 

C.J. Wilson pitched seven innings to pick up his second win.  He gave up six hits and two runs with three walks and nine strikeouts.  Kevin Jepsen pitched a perfect inning with a couple of strikeouts and Yoslan Herrera pitched an inning giving up a walk. 

Eric Young Jr. drew a walk, David Wright had a hit and an RBI and Josh Satin had a hit.  Curtis Granderson had a hit, Andrew Brown drew two walks and Lagares had two hits.  Travis d'Arnaud had a hit and drew a walk and Satin hit a double.  The Mets were 1-7 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.  Wright was caught stealing. 

J.B. Shuck  had three hits and an RBI, Mike Trout had three hits and an RBI and Albert Pujols had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk.  Raul Ibanez had a hit, two RBI and drew two walks, Calhoun had two hits and Howie Kendrick had a hit and drew a walk.  Ian Stewart had two hits, three RBI and drew a walk, Hank Conger had two hits and two RBI, Erick Aybar had a hit, two RBI and drew a walk and Mcdonald had a hit.  Calhoun, Stewart, Conger, McDonald each hit a double, Aybar and Calhoun each hit a triple and Trout, Pujols, Ibanez, Conger and Stewart each hit a homerun.  The Angels were 3-13 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. 

In the first Wright hit an RBI single to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.  In the bottom of the first Trout, Pujols and Ibanez hit back-to-back-to-back homeruns to give the Angels a 3-1 lead.  Stewart hit an RBI double later in the inning to extend the lead to 4-1.  In the fourth Aybar hit a two run triple to make it 6-1 Angels and then Shuck hit an RBI single to extend the lead to 7-1.  Young Jr. hit into a double play scoring a run in the fifth.  The Angels had a 7-2 lead and would add to that in the bottom of the fifth on a Conger two run homerun.  It was 9-2 Angels and then in the sixth Ibanez had an RBI walk and another run scored on a wild pitch to push it to 11-2.  In the eighth a wild pitch and a Stewart two run homerun finished the scoring at 14-2.  The Angels won two out of three in this series.  The Mets will head to Arizona on Monday night to begin a three game series. 

The New York Mets lose to the Anaheim Angels in extra innings

The New York Mets were defeated by the Anaheim Angels on Friday night.  The game took place at

Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California and the final score was 5-4 Angels.  Dillon Gee started for

the Mets and pitched ok and the bullpen was pretty good.  Daniel Murphy led the offense with a

couple of hits. 

Gee pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up six hits and four runs with four walks and five strikeouts.  Carlos

Torres pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and a walk with three strikeouts, Gonzalez Germen

pitched 2/3 of an inning walking a batter and Scott Rice gave up a hit to the only batter that he

faced.  Kyle Farnsworth pitched 1/3 of an inning walking a batter and Jeurys Familia took his second

loss of the season pitching 2 1/3 innings and he gave up three hits and a run with three walks.

Tyler Skaggs started for the Angels and pitched seven innings giving up nine hits and four runs.  He

struck out four.  Joe Smith pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one, Ernesto Frieri

pitched an inning striking out two and Fernando Salas pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. 

Michael Kohn earned his first win of the season pitching a perfect inning with a strikeout. 

Eric Young Jr. had a hit, Murphy had two hits and David Wright had a hit.  Andrew Brown had a hit,

Curtis Granderson had a hit and Josh Satin had a hit and two RBI.  Juan Lagares had a hit, Travis

d'Arnaud had a hit and an RBI and Ruben Tejada had a hit.  Granderson, Satin and Wright each hit a

double.  d'Arnaud hit a homerun and the Mets were 1-8 with runners in scoring position and left

four men on base.  Lagares was caught stealing. 

Kole Calhoun had a hit and drew two walks, Mike Trout had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk and

Albert Pujols had a hit and drew a walk.  Raul Ibanez had a hit and drew a walk, Howie Kendrick had

two hits and drew two walks and J.B. Shuck had a hit, two RBI and drew a walk.  Chris Iannetta had a

hit, an RBI and drew two walks, Hank Conger had an RBI and Erick Aybar had two hits.  Kendrick hit a

double, Trout and Shuck hit homeruns.  The Angels were 1-8 with runners in scoring position and

left 17 men on base.  Skaggs had a pickoff. 

In the first inning Wright grounded into a double play scoring a run.  In the bottom of the first Trout hit a solo homerun to tie the game at one.  Iannetta hit an RBI single in the second giving the Angels a 2-1 lead.  d'Arnaud hit a solo homerun in the third to tie the game at two.  Satin hit a two run double in the fourth to give the Mets a 4-2 lead.  Shuck hit a two run homerun in the sixth to tie the game at four.  In the bottom of the 11th Conger was hit by a pitch that scored the winning run and gave the Angels a 5-4 victory.  The two teams will play game two on Saturday night and complete the three game series on Sunday afternoon. 

New York Yankees hold on for victory after a late rally by the Anaheim Angels

The New York Yankees defeated the Anaheim Angels on Sunday afternoon. The final score was 6-5 and the game took place at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California. CC Sabathia started for the Yankees and pitched well, the bullpen almost blew the game. Travis Hafner hit a three run homerun for the Yankees.

Sabathia pitched eight innings giving up five hits and two runs. He walked three and struck out six. He actually started the ninth but didn’t record an out and got taken out of the game. Dave Robertson pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and two runs with a walk and a strikeout and Mariano Rivera picked up his 24th save of the season. Rivera pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up three hits and a run with a walk and a strikeout.

Brett Gardner had two hits, Ichiro Suzuki drew two walks and Robinson Cano had a hit. Hafner had a hit, three RBI and drew a walk, Vernon Wells had a hit and an RBI and Lyle Overbay had a hit and an RBI. Jayson Nix had three hits and an RBI, Chris Stewart drew a walk and Gardner, Overbay, Nix and Cano each hit a double. Hafner hit a homerun and the Yankees were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and they left three men on base. Gardner and Suzuki each had a stolen base and Nix was picked off.

Jered Weaver pitched six innings and picked up his third loss of the season. Weaver gave up seven hits and five runs with four walks and six strikeouts. Jerome Williams pitched three innings giving up two hits and a run and struck out one batter.

Peter Bourjos had two hits and an RBI, Mike Trout had two hits and drew two walks and Albert Pujols drew a walk. Mark Trumbo had a hit and an RBI, Howie Kendrick had a hit and Chris Ianetta drew a walk. Shuck drew a walk, Erick Aybar had a hit and an RBI and Alberto Callaspo had a hit and two RBI. Brad Hawpe had a hit, Trout hit a double and the Angels were 4-10 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Aybar and Ianetta each committed an error. Ianetta was picked off.

In the third inning the Yankees scored five runs to take a 5-0 lead. Hafner hit a three run homerun, Overbay hit an RBI double and Nix hit an RBI single. Wells hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth to make it a 6-0 game. In the ninth the Angels scored five runs but the final score was 6-5 Yankees. Trumbo hit an RBI single, Aybar hit an RBI groundout and Callaspo hit a two run single. Bourjos hit an RBI single and Rivera struck out Pujols with the bases loaded to end the game.

The Yankees salvaged the final game of the series and long road trip. They finished the road trip with a 4-6 record and their overall record improved to 38-31. The Angels record dropped to 30-39. The Yankees have an off day on Monday and then begin a two game series at Yankee Stadium with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night.

The New York Yankees drop their fifth straight

The Anaheim Angels defeated the New York Yankees on Saturday night. The final score was 6-2 and the game took place at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. David Phelps started for the Yankees and didn’t pitch bad, the offense scored two runs in one inning and that was it.

Phelps pitched six innings giving up nine hits and four runs with a couple of walks and strikeouts. Shawn Kelley pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with three walks and Joba Chamberlain pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with a walk and two strikeouts.

Brett Gardner had a hit and an RBI, Jayson Nix had a hit and an RBI and Robinson Cano drew a walk. Ichiro Suzuki had two hits, Chris Stewart had a hit and Suzuki hit a double. Gardner hit a triple and the Yankees were 1-6 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. Nix and Stewart each had a stolen base and Suzuki had two. Suzuki was also caught stealing.

Tommy Hanson pitched 6 1/3 innings giving up five hits and two runs with a walk and eight strikeouts. Scott Downs struck out the only batter that he faced, Michael Kohn struck out the only batter that he faced and Kevin Jepsen pitched an inning striking out one. Ernesto Frieri pitched a perfect inning with three strikeouts.

Mike Trout had a hit and drew three walks, Josh Hamilton had a hit and an RBI and Albert Pujols had two hits, two RBI and drew a walk. Mark Trumbo drew a walk, Howie Kendrick had three hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Callaspo had a hit. Erick Aybar had two hits and two RBI, Peter Bourjos had two hits and Hamilton hit a double. Aybar hit a homerun and the Angels were 4-17 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Trout and Bourjos each had a stolen base and Hanson committed an error.

In the second Aybar hit a solo homerun giving the Angels a 1-0 lead. Gardner hit an RBI triple to tie the game in the third. Nix hit an RBI single to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead that would be it for the Yankees scoring. Pujols hit an RBI single to tie the game at two in the third. Aybar hit an RBI single in the sixth to make it 3-2 Angels. In the seventh Hamilton hit an RBI double and Kendrick had an RBI walk to give the Angels a 5-2 lead. Pujols had an RBI single in the eight to make it 6-2 which would be the final score.

The Yankees have now lost five games in a row. The Yankees record dropped to 37-31 and the Angels record improved to 30-38. The two teams will play game three of three on Sunday afternoon with the Yankees looking to avoid their second straight sweep.

Yankees win rubber game over Angels as offense explodes

The New York Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim by the score of 11-5 on Sunday night. Ivan Nova started for the Yankees and pitched ok for six innings. It was revealed after the game that he was sick. The Yankees have a bug going through their clubhouse right now as Robinson Cano also was sick and Brett Gardner had been the other day. The Yankees knocked out Jerome Williams early and then added on against the Angels bullpen late as well. 
Nova pitched six innings giving up four runs on eight hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. Rafael Soriano had a rough night pitching 2/3 of an inning and giving up two hits and a run with two walks, Dave Robertson pitched 1 1/3 scoreless giving up a hit. Boone Logan pitched one inning striking out the side with a walk. Williams took the loss pitching 2 2/3 innings and giving up five hits and five runs with three walks and a strikeout. The Angels used three other pitchers to finish off the game. They didn’t fare too much better as they all gave up runs.

Derek Jeter had two hits and three RBI, Curtis Granderson had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk and Alex Rodriguez had a hit and an RBI. Robinson Cano had two hits and drew two walks, Mark Teixeira had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Nick Swisher had a hit and two RBI. Raul Ibanez had two hits and three RBI, Russell Martin drew two walks and Brett Gardner had a hit and drew a walk. Jeter, Teixeira and Cano each had a double. Jeter and Ibanez each hit a homerun. The Yankees were 5-13 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Teixeira and Cano each had a stolen base and Granderson was caught stealing. Martin had a passed ball.

Howie Kendrick had three hits for the Angels, Albert Pujols had a hit and an RBI and Vernon Wells had a hit. Mark Trumbo had a hit and an RBI, Maiztur Izturis had three hits and an RBI and Chris Iannetta had two hits and two RBI. Kendrick and Izturis each had a double. Kendrick had a triple and Trumbo and Ianetta each hit a homerun. The Angels were 1-11 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Izturis had a stolen base.

The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the game on a solo homerun by Mark Trumbo in the second inning. In the bottom of the second the Yankees answered back with an RBI single from Ibanez. In the third inning the Yankees offense erupted. Curtis Granderson grounded out scoring a run. Alex Rodriguez had an RBI single, Teixeira had an RBI double and Swisher had a sacrifice fly. It was 5-1 Yankees through two. In the fourth inning they extended their lead on a three run homerun by Jeter and it was 8-1 Yankees. The Angels tried to get back in the game. Chris Ianetta hit his second two run homerun in as many days in the fifth inning. In the sixth Maicer Izturis hit an RBI double to make it an 8-4 game. The Angels would get one run closer and threaten with the bases loaded in the seventh before Robertson shut them down. In the bottom of the seventh Swisher hit an RBI single and Ibanez hit a two run homerun to make it 11-5 and that would be the final score.

The Yankees won two out of three in the series. The Yankees are now 5-4 on the season and will play the Minnesota Twins at home for four games. The Angels are 3-6 and will return home to take on the Oakland Athletics. The Yankees have been having a bug go through their clubhouse. Nova was victim to it on Sunday night as well as Cano. Gardner had it a few days ago, the Yankees will hope it doesn’t spread around the rest of the clubhouse and really limit them.

Yankees winning streak ends at four as they are buried by the Angels

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim this afternoon by the score of 7-1. Phil Hughes started and was not very good, David Phelps was great out of the bullpen. Phelps saved the Yankees bullpen from extra work. The Yankees offense only had six hits and left many runners on base. C.J. Wilson started for the Angels and got his first career win against the Yankees. 
Hughes pitched 3 1/3 innings giving up six runs on eight hits. He walked two and struck out six. Phelps pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up one run and one hit. He walked two and struck out four. Clay Rapada faced one batter and got him out. Wilson for the Angels got the win pitching six innings giving up one run on six hits. He walked two and struck out two. The Angels bullpen pitched 2 2/3 perfect innings.

Derek Jeter had two hits, Nick Swisher had a hit and Robinson Cano had a hit and an RBI. Mark Teixeira had a hit, Curtis Granderson drew a walk and Russell Martin drew a walk. Eduardo Nunez had a hit. The Yankees were 1-10 with runners in scoring position and they left nine on base.

Erick Aybar had a hit, Howie Kendrick had three hits and three RBI and Albert Pujols had two hits and an RBI. Vernon Wells had two hits and an RBI, Chris Ianetta had a hit, two RBI and drew two walks. Pujols had a double, Ianetta, Kendrick and Wells each hit a homerun. The Angels were 1-8 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Wilson and Aybar each made an error.

Ianetta hit a two run homerun in the second inning to give the Angels a 2-0 lead. Pujols hit an RBI double in the third and it was 3-0 Angels. In the fourth Kendrick hit a three run homerun to make it 6-0. That was the end for Hughes as he walked off the mound to some boos. In the fifth Wells hit a solo homerun to extend the lead to 7-0. The Yankees finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth on a Cano RBI single. That was the final run of the game as it ended 7-1 in favor of the Angels.

The two teams will play the rubber game of the three game series tomorrow night at 8:00PM. Ivan Nova will make his second start of the season against Jerome Williams who is making his first start of the season. The Yankees record is now 4-4 as the four game winning streak ends. The Angels are now 3-5 on the season. The Yankees will look to win the game tomorrow and then play four against the Twins at home before hitting the road once again. The Yankees would love to be 5-2 or 6-1 on this seven game homestand. They will try to begin a new winning streak tomorrow night.

Yankees Postgame Notes after the home opener

The Yankees had their home opener.  They won it 5-0 in two and a half hours.  It was a nice tidy win.  There was all the pomp and circumstance.  They also had Jorge Posada throw out the ceremonial first pitch.  Here are the notes from today.

There are just four men standing ahead of Alex Rodriguez now on the all-time home-run list — Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714) and Willie Mays (660). A-Rod tied Ken Griffey Jr. for fifth by hitting No. 630 in this 5-0 home-opening win over the Angels.  It is amazing, of course he will always have that he played in the steroid era and that he did them himself which he was caught and did confess to it. 

“It definitely means I’m getting old,” said Rodriguez, who has sent up 69 of the homers against the Angels, his top total against any team. “Obviously Griff is special to me because we came up together. It was kind of like the same relationship that Melky (Cabrera) and (Robinson) Cano have with me, kind of flip it a little bit. He was a teammate, he was a brother and a mentor all in one. So it was a special day today.

“You never dream of anything like this. I remember being in a cab when we were about 18 years old. We were in a cab, Derek (Jeter) and I. And we were just thinking if we could ever just get five years in the major leagues, or if we can ever make a million dollars, that would be like the biggest day of our life. So you dream of just being in the major leagues. You never dream of winning world championships or reaching milestones.”

Joe Girardi said the chase for the next milestone will be an “interesting sidebar” this season. …
I didn't even realize it but he is right.  If he hits 30 more homeruns this season he will tie Willy Mays four fourth place. 

Hiroki Kuroda scattered five hits, fanned six and walked two over eight-plus in his Bronx debut, a marked improvement from his first start at Tampa Bay. The 37-year-old righty showed why he can be an upgrade as the No. 2 man in the rotation.

“His splitter was good today,” Girardi said. “… Today it appeared to be a strike and then dipped down.”

He became the first Yankees starter to go at least eight scoreless in his first start at Yankee Stadium, this version or the previous one, since Bob Shirley in 1983, and the first to do that in a home season opener since Rick Rhoden in 1988. Kuroda walked off to a standing ovation.

“It’s the greatest feeling in the world,” Kuroda said through interpreter Kenji Nimura. “I’d like to repeat it as much as I can this season.” …

Nick Swisher delivered a two-out three-run double in the first. That means eight of his nine RBI have come with two outs. He’s at .417 (5 for 12) with two homers in those situations, and he has hit safely in six of the first seven games after this 2-for-4 day took him to .250 overall. …

The Yankees won their fourth straight game after losing the first three. They took their 14th home opener in the last 15 tries. And they dropped the Angels to 2-5 in the process. After managing only a single in four at-bats, Albert Pujols is sitting at just .222 with no homers and two RBI. Manager Mike Scioscia knows Pujols will get going.

“Obviously sooner is better than later, but this isn’t about Albert,” Scioscia said. “This about our team doing some things better on the mound and playing a little more fundamentally sound baseball. Albert is going to be there, but we have to be more than Albert and we are.” …

The teams have a Fox game scheduled for Saturday at 1:05. The pitching matchup will be Phil Hughes vs. C.J. Wilson.

Yankees win their home opener behind a dominant Kuroda

The New York Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim this afternoon by the score of 5-0. It was a very tidy two hour and 33 minute game. It was a beautiful day in New York City and Jorge Posada was in the house to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. The Yankees Opening Day is something special and today was no different. Hiroki Kuroda started for the Yankees and was brilliant. Dave Robertson finished the game off pretty easily and the offense was led by a big hit by Nick Swisher. Alex Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson each added a homerun. Albert Pujols was shutdown. 
Kuroda pitched eight innings giving up no runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out six in earning his first victory of the season. Robertson pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Ervin Santana took the loss for the Angels going six innings and giving up six hits and five runs with three walks and five strikeouts. The Angels bullpen pitched two innings giving up two hits and no runs.

Derek Jeter had a hit, Curtis Granderson had a hit and an RBI and Alex Rodriguez had three hits and an RBI. Robinson Cano drew a walk, Mark Teixeira drew a walk and Nick Swisher had two hits and three RBI. Russell Martin had a hit, Brett Gardner drew a walk. Swisher and Jeter each had a double, Rodriguez and Granderson each had a homerun. The Yankees were 1-6 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. Rodriguez and Martin each had a stolen base and Gardner was picked off.

Erick Aybar had two hits, Bobby Abreu had a hit and Albert Pujols had a hit. Mark Trumbo drew a walk, Maizur Izturis drew a walk and Peter Bourjos had a hit. They were 0-3 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. The Yankees scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Santana got the first two outs then a single to Rodriguez. Cano and Teixeira walked and then Swisher hit a three run double. Rodriguez hit a solo homerun in the third inning to make it 4-0 Yankees. Granderson hit a solo homerun in the fifth inning to make it 5-0. That was the final run of the game.

The Yankees have now won four games in a row and are 4-3 on the season. The Angels record fell to 2-5. Kuroda looked like a completely different pitcher then he was in Tampa Bay. It could have been that it was his first start as a Yankee, it could of just been a bad start. Whatever the case was for him he was the complete opposite today. Rodriguez looked like a completely different player. Rodriguez may have needed to get home also to get him going. The two teams will play game two of their three game series on Saturday afternoon. The Yankees will be looking for their fifth straight win as they send Phil Hughes to the mound.

Winter Meetings end with a bang and Braun tests positive for PEDS?

The Final day of the winter meetings was Thursday and it ended with a bang.  Albert Pujols formerly of the St. Louis Cardinals decided on going to the Anaheim Angels.  The Angels in recent years have always been involved with free agents but never went the extra mile and always seem to fall short.  This time they gave the best player in baseball a ten year deal worth 254 million dollars.  This deal is crazy, he is the best player but he will be 41 years old at the end of the deal, if you believe he is really 31 now.  There are some who believe he is older then he has said.  I would say they will be good with him for the first five years and then he will start to decline and the contract will become a big problem.  The good thing for Pujols is that he could become a DH, we have seen what has happened to Arod after he signed his ten year deal with the Yankees. 

The Angels didn't stop with Pujols though, they signed C.J. Wilson to a five year 77.5 million dollar deal.  Anaheim got a lot more interesting with the additions of these two players.  The Angels who have been a very good team for the last decade or so have missed the playoffs the last two years but instantly they are a contender once again. 

Ryan Braun tested positive for PEDS it was being reported tonight by ESPN.  The test was done in October and Braun and his camp have stated that they are appealing it because he didn't knowingly take anything and he is innocent.  I would say don't hold your breath on that one, you just can't believe these ballplayers with the history of them but you never know.  It is being reported now later tonight that Braun requested a second test and it came back negative and they are using that in their appeal process, or trying to use it.  We will stay tuned with this story as it continues to develop.  He will be a marked man no matter what now though and suffer because of it and after such a great year and October for baseball and offseason so far this is another black mark on the sport. 

Winter Meetings Heating up

The Winter Meetings began on Monday in Dallas and nothing really happened.  The Jose Reyes signing by the Miami Marlins actually happened on Sunday.  There were lots of rumors and suprisingly but not unexpected the Yankees have been quiet.  Tuesday was a different story.  The Mets in a span of an hour this evening became very busy signing two relievers and making a trade.  The Albert Pujols derby has really heated up.  We first heard that the Marlins wanted a resolution by tonight and are believer to have offered 10 years and as much as 220 million.  The Cardinals also upped their offer apparently and then we heard there was a third mystery team involved.  In the last half hour or so it looks like the mystery team has been revealed as the Anaheim Angels who may also have a 10 year offer out there.  Stay tuned on this, I don't think we will know tonight but maybe on Wednesday. 

I want to look at the Mets action more closely since I do cover the Mets as well as the Yankees.  The Yankees right now are very quiet so we will look at them later.  The Mets signed Frank Francisco and Jon Rauch.  This should solidify the back end of their bullpen.  I wouldn't say that Rauch is great but Francisco is good.  The deal the Mets made was Angel Pagan to the Giants for Ramon Ramirez and Andres Torres.  Torres will most likely be the leadoff hitter.  There had to be someone replacing Reyes at the top of the lineup and Pagan didn't like doing that, the Mets also didn't like Pagans non baseball instincts for lack of a better word.  Ramirez is a very solid reliever, one of the better ones in all of baseball so it will be interesting to see what they do for the closer. 

The Yankees are interested in bringing Eric Chavez, Andruw Jones and even Bartolo Colon back.  These will be one year deals and maybe even only minor league deals so they are on the back burner.  The Yankees are interested in starting pitching but find the prices to be too high and that hasn't changed yet.  They like Hiroki Kuroda and we heard today he would come east but doesn't look like the Yankees will get him.  Gio Gonzalez was another rumor, even heard a three team between Oakland, the Yankees and Royals but I don't think that was a legitimate rumor.  Heard the A's were asking for Jesus Montero and Manny Banuelos or Dellin Betances which isn't going to happen.  The Yankees like John Danks but for right now they want too much for him also.  I think the Yankees will come away with a pitcher this offseason but not yet, the prices will drop eventually and then they will strike.  The Yankees aren't desperate remember with a full rotation right now and young guys who are looking to get into the major leagues. 

Tomorrow could be a big day with news of the big guys like Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson signing.  Wilson looks like it could be the Angels, the Marlins and Rangers are also involved.  Prince Fielder is the other big name out there and it looks like the Mariners may be the front runner for him. 

The Cardinals defy the odds to win their 11th World Championship

The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Texas Rangers by the score of 6-2 on Friday night. It was the final game of the 2011 baseball season and no it didn’t live up to the hype. It would have been hard to top Game Six and it sure didn’t although it was a close game through the early stages before the Cardinals started pulling away later in the game. Chris Carpenter started for the Cardinals and was great after a rough start. Matt Harrison wasn’t as good for the Rangers and their bullpen wasn’t that good. Texas scored two first inning runs and couldn’t score the rest of the night. David Freese set the all-time record for postseason RBI and won the World Series MVP. St. Louis was a team that never said die from September all the way through this postseason and they ended up being the last team standing.
Carpenter started for the Cardinals and pitched 6 innings giving up six hits and two runs with two walks and five strikeouts. Arthur Rhodes faced one batter and retired him, Octavio Dotel faced two hitters and got both of them out, striking out one and Lance Lynn pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Jason Motte pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to close out the game.

Matt Harrison who took the loss pitched four innings giving up five hits and three runs with two walks and a strikeout. Scott Feldman pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two runs and three walks. C.J. Wilson pitched 1 1/3 innings striking out two, Mike Adams pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and one run with a walk and a strikeout and Mike Gonzalez pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts. Alexi Ogando faced one batter and struck him out.

Allen Craig had a hit, RBI and a walk for the Cardinals. Albert Pujols had a walk, Lance Berkman had a hit and a walk and Freese had a hit, two RBI and two walks. Yadier Molina had two hits, two RBI and a walk, and Rafael Furcal had two hits and an RBI. Freese had a double, Craig had a homerun. The Cardinals were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. Pujols made an error and Molina picked a runner off of first base.

Ian Kinsler had two hits and a walk for the Rangers. Elvis Andrus had a walk, Josh Hamilton had a hit and an RBI and Michael Young had a hit and an RBI. Mike Napoli and David Murphy each had a hit. Hamilton, Young and Murphy each had a double. The Rangers were 1-9 with runners in scoring position and they left six men on base. Kinsler was picked off of first base.

The Rangers struck first again in the first inning. Hamilton had an RBI single and Young had an RBI double. That would give Texas a 2-0 lead but that would be all the scoring in the game for them. The Cardinals came right back in the bottom of the first with two runs to tie it. Freese hit a two run double. In the third Craig hit a solo homerun to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead. In the fifth Molina had an RBI walk and Furcal was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 5-2 Cardinals. The Cardinals would tack on the final run of the game in the seventh inning. Molina hit an RBI single to make it 6-2 and that was how the final game of the baseball season would end.

This was a great World Series that culminated a wonderful baseball season. September was a great month for baseball and it carried into October culminating with this seventh game of the World Series. The Cardinals who were left for dead in September when they were 10 ½ games out of a playoff spot and were three games out with five to go just kept coming and became the World Champions. When you look back at this season is it truly remarkable. They defeated the best team in baseball and the heavy favorites to win it all the Philadelphia Phillies and won a Game Five in Philly against Roy Halladay. They defeated the favored Brewers who also had home field advantage and now defeated the favored Texas Rangers who were making their second straight trip to the World Series. The Rangers had a good season and a good postseason but being one strike away two times in Game Six is going to haunt them for a long time. The season is over and now the winter is upon us, it can be a cruel winter but the hot stove will be in full swing in a couple of weeks. Until the magical words are spoken again, pitchers and catchers we bid a fond farewell to the game we love, baseball.

The Cardinals one strike away from losing the World Series come back twice and force a Game 7

The Texas Rangers who twice were one strike away from winning their first World Series Title were stunned on Thursday night by the St. Louis Cardinals who survived and have forced a winner take all Game 7. Game 7 will take place on Friday night in St. Louis where the baseball season will come to a close and we will have a World Champion on Friday night. This game had so many layers to it and so many good and bad things that happened but in the end it became an instant classic. This is the kind of game that people will talk about for years, that you can tell your kids and grandkids about. This World Series game ranks right up there with the greatest of all-time. 1975, 1986 and 1992 all come to mind and this game is right there with all of them. The Rangers at least in the amount of hits dominated early and Jaime Garcia the St. Louis starter was pulled early but they could never put the Cardinals away although they had their opportunities. There were a few bad defensive plays including two dropped fly balls by the Cardinals. In the end a walk-off homerun decided the game.
Garcia started for the Cardinals and he pitched three innings giving up five hits and two runs with two walks and three strikeouts. The Cardinals used six pitchers after their starter was pulled and Jake Westbrook got the win pitching one scoreless inning and giving up one hit. Jason Motte the closer threw two innings in the game but gave up two runs on two hits and a walk. He came into a tie game because they were at home. The other relievers had good and bad outings, it was a mixed bag for the Cardinals.

Colby Lewis started for the Rangers and pitched much better then his opponent but he also got a no decision. Lewis pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up three hits and four runs with only two of them being earned. He walked three and struck out four. Alexi Ogando got charged with a blow save, he pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two walks. Derek Holland a starter pitched two innings in this game and gave up only a run on two hits. The Rangers used five other pitchers and there was a mixed bag with them also. Neftali Feliz the closer blew the save giving up two hits and two runs in an inning. He also walked one and struck out two, he had the Cardinals down to their last strike but couldn’t put them away. Scott Feldman also got charged with a blown save giving up a hit and a walk in 2/3 of an inning. Mark Lowe took the loss, facing one batter and giving up a homerun.

Lance Berkman and David Freese were the offensive stars for the Cardinals. Berkman had three hits, three RBI and a walk. Skip Schumaker had a hit, Albert Pujols had a hit and a walk and Matt Holliday had two walks. Allen Craig had a hit and an RBI, Freese had two hits, three RBI and a walk and Yadier Molina had a hit, two RBI and a walk. Nick Punto had a walk, Daniel Descalso had two hits and John Jay had two hits. Pujols had a double, Freese had a triple and Berkman, Craig and Freese each had a homerun. The Cardinals were 3-12 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base. Holliday got picked off of third base. Holliday, Salas and Freese all made errors in the game. The Holliday and Freese errors were both botched pop ups.

The Rangers had several hitting stars but their biggest star Josh Hamilton had three hits and three RBI. Ian Kinsler had two hits, two RBI and a walk, Elvis Andrus had two hits and Michael Young had two hits and an RBI. Adrian Beltre had a hit and an RBI, Nelson Cruz had a hit and an RBI and Mike Napoli had two hits an RBI and three walks. Craig Gentry had a hit and David Murphy had a hit and a walk. Kinsler and Young had doubles. Beltre, Cruz and Hamilton each hit a homerun. The Rangers were 4-15 with runners in scoring position and they left 12 men on base. Young made two errors and Napoli picked off a runner at third base.

In the first inning Hamilton had an RBI single to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the first Berkman hit a two run homerun to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead. Kinsler hit an RBI double in the second to tie the game at two. Napoli hit an RBI single in the fourth to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead. In the bottom of the fourth Molina hit a ground ball and a run scored to tie the game at three. Young hit an RBI double in the fifth to give Texas a 4-3 lead. In the sixth the Cardinals tied the game again, this time on a Molina RBI walk. In the seventh inning Beltre and Cruz hit back-to-back homeruns to give Texas a 6-4 lead. Kinsler hit an RBI single to extend the lead to 7-4. In the bottom of the eighth Craig hit a solo homerun to bring the Cardinals closer, making it a 7-5 game. At the time that seemed insignificant but it wasn’t. In the ninth the Cardinals were down to their last strike and Freese hit a two run triple to tie the game at seven. In the tenth inning Hamilton hit a two run homerun to give the Rangers a 9-7 lead and then in the bottom of the tenth the Cardinals tied it again. Ryan Theriot hit an RBI groundout to make it 9-8 and once again down to their last strike Berkman hit an RBI single to tie the game at nine. The Rangers went quietly in the 11th and Freese hit a walk-off homerun to give the Cardinals the 10-9 win in the bottom of the 11th inning.

This game became an instant classic and unless you were there or witnessed it on T.V. you would never believe it. It had so much in one game and now sets up a dramatic end to the baseball season. Game 7 is winner take all and anything can happen, it is amazing that a long crazy baseball season can come down to one last game. I would expect another good game because this has been a great World Series, it will be hard to top Game Six but they will try their best. The Rangers are searching for their first World Title and the Cardinals are looking for their 11th. The Cardinals last won it all in 2006 and the Rangers never as first the Washington Senators and then the Texas Rangers. The Cardinals have won the second most titles behind the New York Yankees 27. The starters for Game Seven will be Matt Harrison for the Rangers and Chris Carpenter for the Cardinals. There may be a lot of pitching changes in this game because there is no tomorrow and all hands are on deck. You can see anyone pitch in this game and any position player get into the game. There is no reason to leave anything on the table when you don’t have another day to worry about. It will be interesting to see how Game 7 measures up to Game 6, it will be hard to top but these two teams will try and close out a memorable World Series with another memorable game.

Derek Holland pitches the game of his life as the Rangers even the series at Two

The Texas Rangers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals by the score of 4-0 on Sunday night. The Best of seven World Series is now tied at two games each and ensures at least a six game series. Derek Holland started for the Rangers and was outstanding, Edwin Jackson pitched a pretty good game for the Cardinals but was wild. The big hit in the game came off the bat of Mike Napoli. Albert Pujols after going 5-5 with three homeruns was hitless in this game.
Holland pitched 8 1/3 innings giving up two hits and no runs with two walks and seven strikeouts. Neftali Feliz pitched 2/3 of an inning, walking one and striking out one. Holland won the game, he pitched the best game of his life. Edwin Jackson pitched 5 1/3 innings for the Cardinals giving up three hits and three runs. He walked seven and struck out three. He took the loss in the game. Brandon Boggs pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up two hits and one run with three strikeouts. Jake Westbrook pitched one inning giving up one hit and he walked one.

Ian Kinsler pitched one hit and one walk, Elvis Andrus had two hits and Josh Hamilton had a hit and an RBI. Michael Young had a walk, Nelson Cruz had a hit and two walks and David Murphy had two walks. Napoli had a hit, three RBI and two walks. Hamilton and Andrus had a double. Napoli hit a homerun and the Rangers were 1-8 with runners in scoring position. The Rangers left eight men on base. Kinsler was caught stealing.

Lance Berkman had the only two hits of the game for the Cardinals. Rafael Furcal had a walk, Allen Craig had a walk and Nick Punto had a walk. Berkman had a double. The Cardinals were 0-4 with runners in scoring position and they left four men on base.

The Rangers got on the board first in the first inning with an RBI double from Hamilton. The Rangers had a 1-0 lead until the sixth inning when they scored three more to take a 4-0 lead. Napoli hit a three run homerun in the sixth and that would complete the scoring in the game as the Rangers won the game 4-0.

The World Series is now tied at two games each and there will be at least a sixth game. Game Five will be on Monday night in Texas with C.J. Wilson and Chris Carpenter starting the game. The story of this series so far has been the pitching. Game Three became an offensive game and Pujols was the story with the three homeruns but other then that game the pitching has been up to the task in the other three games. If Holland had completed the shutout he would have been only the third lefty to throw a two-hit shutout in World Series history. Warren Spahn and Whitey Ford are the only two that have done it. Ron Washington the Rangers manager said “We needed him to go out there and pitch well, and he did, and he showed the world what he’s capable of doing.” The Series will conclude in St. Louis on Wednesday in Game Six or Thursday in Game Seven if necessary. This World Series has been very entertaining and now it becomes a best of three.

Pujols three homers power the Cardinals to victory in Game Three

The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Texas Rangers by the score of 16-7 on Saturday night in Game Three of the World Series. Albert Pujols took over the World Series as he hit three homeruns. He was hitless in the World Series coming into this game. He took a lot of criticism after not speaking to the media after Game Two. Pujols answered back the best way he could with his bat and now they won’t be criticizing him. Pujols tied four World Series records and broke one, simply amazing. The pitching which has been so good for both teams through the first two games was non existent in this game as the offenses exploded.
Matt Harrison started for the Rangers and took the loss. He pitched 3 2/3 innings giving up six hits and five runs with three of them being earned. He had one walk and three strikeouts. Scott Feldman pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up two hits and three runs with two walks, Alexi Ogando pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up three hits and four runs with three of them being earned, two walks and a strikeout and Mike Gonzalez pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up one hit and two runs with one walk. Mark Lowe pitched one inning giving up two hits and one run with a strikeout and Darren Oliver pitched one inning giving up one hit and one run with two strikeouts.

Kyle Lohse pitched three innings giving up five hits and three runs with two walks and three strikeouts. Fernando Salas pitched one inning giving up four hits and three runs, Lance Lynn got the win pitching 2 1/3 innings giving up three hits and one run with two walks and two strikeouts and Octavio Dotel pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up one hit and striking out one batter. Mitchell Boggs pitched one perfect inning with a strikeout.

Adrian Beltre led the Texas offense with four hits and an RBI. Ian Kinsler had a walk, Elvis Andrus had two hits and Josh Hamilton had a hit. Michael Young had two hits and two RBI, Nelson Cruz had a hit, two RBI and a walk and Mike Napoli had a hit and two RBI. David Murphy had a walk and Yorvit Torrealba had two hits and a walk. Young and Beltre each had a double and Young and Cruz each hit a homerun. The Rangers were 3-9 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. Kinsler, Napoli and Andrus each made an error. Pujols was the star of the Cardinals offense and the game. Pujols had three homeruns, five hits and six RBI. Rafael Furcal had a hit, Allen Craig had a hit, RBI and a walk and Matt Holliday had a hit and a walk. Lance Berkman had two hits and a walk, David Freese had two hits, two RBI and a walk and Yadier Molina had two hits, four RBI and a walk. Ryan Theriot had a hit, RBI and a walk, Freese had a double and Molina had two doubles. Craig also had a homerun besides Pujols three. The Cardinals were 4-13 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Jay was caught stealing and Holliday had an outfield assist.

The Cardinals scored one run in the first inning and it was a 1-0 game through three. In the fourth inning is when it started getting crazy the game. The Cardinals scored four runs, Freese hit an RBI double and Jay reached on a force attempt and an error with two runs scoring. Theriot hit an RBI single and it was 5-0 Cardinals. The Rangers came right back in the bottom of the fourth with three runs. Young hit a solo homerun and Cruz hit a two run homerun to make it 5-3. In the fifth inning Freese grounded out to score a run and Molina had a two run double making it 8-3 Cardinals. In the bottom of the fifth Young hit an RBI double, Beltre hit an RBI single and Napoli hit a sacrifice fly making it 8-6. Pujols hit a three run homerun in the sixth and Molina hit a sacrifice fly to make it 12-6 Cardinals and the rout was on. Pujols hit a two run homerun in the seventh to make it 14-6. Napoli hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh making it a 14-7 game. In the eighth Molina hit an RBI double making it 15-7 and Pujols hit a solo homerun in the ninth to complete the scoring at 16-7.

The Cardinals have now taken a two games to one lead in the best of seven World Series. The Cardinals have also taken back home field advantage with the win. The next two games will also be in Texas on Sunday and Monday nights. The teams will have a travel day on Tuesday and resume the series on Wednesday and Thursday if necessary. I wouldn’t expect the Rangers to lose all three at home so this win by the Cardinals pretty much assured a return trip to St. Louis for Game Six. It was a history making night, the game was very long though and went very late so I am not sure how many people witnessed the history being made. It is amazing to me how baseball can be so different day to day and that is what makes it a special game. The first two games of this series were all pitching and this one was all hitting, will the series go back to the pitching being good or will the offense take over the rest of the series now. Pujols after the game had this to say”It is an honor to be in there, in the same category as those guys . But I just thank god that I was able to come out today and help our ball club to win and hopefully I can do that tomorrow again.” The Cardinals are now halfway home to their 11th World Series Championship in their history. This was the third highest scoring game in World Series history. Cruz hit his seventh postseason homerun in this game which is one short of the single season record held by Barry Bonds(2002) and Carlos Beltran(2004). He has 13 career postseason homeruns which are tied for 10th all-time. It will be interesting to see how Game Four is going to go on Sunday night, will Albert Pujols even have a chance to hit in that game or will the Rangers walk him?? Stay tuned to find out on Sunday night.