I was on 610-WIP last night and I watched the Yankees cut the hearts out of the Rangers with an amazing five-run eighth-inning on the way to getting a 6-5 win over them in Texas. This one had to hurt the Rangers in the worst of ways.
This game and all that happened in it, pushes us towards the World Series we want. Phillies versus Yankees with Phils getting revenge for a year ago.
First of all, the Yankees won the game and secondly, they don’t have the starting pitching to compete with the Phils. I’ll take a matchup between C.C. Sabathia and Roy Halladay any time.
I will give the Yankees relievers credit, they stepped up and did the job last night. They pitched five innings of shutout ball for the Yanks, but I think the Phils will be able to jump out to leads versus New York if the two teams meet in this year’s World Series.
The Rangers were able to jump on Sabathia in the first inning for three runs. Josh Hamilton hit a liner down the right field line which made it into the stands for a three-run homer. Hamilton is a left-handed slugger like Chase Ultey and Ryan Howard, which bodes well for them versus Sabathia, the left-hander.
He threw Hamilton a hanging slider, which came into the plate saying hit-me, hit-me. The Rangers drove Sabathia, New York’s ace, out of the game with another couple of runs in the fourth inning.
They had the Yankees where they wanted them, but their bullpen fell apart in the eighth inning.
In the bottom of the eighth inning the Rangers lead off hitter, Ian Kinsler, got on but was picked off, therefore killing what could have been a rally. How do you get picked off in the eighth inning of a one-run playoff game.
If I were the manager of the Rangers, I would have told him to go get a shower when he came into the dugout. That’s absolutely ridiculous.
The nearly always dependable Mariano Rivera closed the Rangers out in the ninth as Hamilton hit a weak ground ball to third base for the final out. I’d like to see the Phils sweep the Yankees and force New York to leave Rivera stranded in the bullpen for an entire series.
Okay that’s enough daydreaming, we’ve got to get this first one tonight.
