The Yankees held home-field advantage because they had a better regular-season record than Los Angeles Angels. The series, the 39th in league history, began on October 16 and ended on October 25. Fox Sports carried all games with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver in the broadcast booth. Starting with the 2009 season, weeknight games began 40 minutes earlier as suggested by Commissioner Bud Selig.[2]
On a blustery night where the official game time temperature was 45°F (7°C),[9] starter CC Sabathia limited the Angels to one run on four hits and a walk in eight innings, striking out seven in a 4–1 Yankee win.[9]
The Yankees staked Sabathia to a 2–0 lead in the bottom of the first on an Alex Rodriguez sacrifice fly and an unusual RBI infield single from Hideki Matsui. Matsui hit a short popup to the left side of the infield, but there was a miscommunication between third baseman Chone Figgins and shortstop Erick Aybar and the ball fell in for a single, enabling Johnny Damon to score from second.[9]Vladimir Guerrero set up the Angels' only run in the top of the fourth, hitting a high fly ball to deep left field that looked to be a home run but bounced in front of the fence for a double instead, possibly due to the windy conditions. Guerrero scored two batters later on Kendrys Morales' single. The Yankees added a run in the fifth on Matsui's second run-scoring single of the night, and a pair of Angels errors led to New York's fourth run in the sixth. After reaching base on a walk, Melky Cabrera advanced to second on John Lackey's errant pickoff attempt.[9]Derek Jeter then singled up the middle, but Torii Hunter overran the ball, allowing Cabrera to score without a play at the plate.[9]
Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth, recording his 36th career postseason save.[9]
Once again, the Yankees struck first in the second inning. After Nick Swisher worked a two-out walk—his first in this postseason—Robinson Canó hit his first career postseason triple to deep right-center field to score Swisher. In the bottom of the third, Derek Jeter hit a solo home run to right field to give the Yankees a 2–0 advantage. The Angels fought back in the fifth. After Maicer Izturis hit a leadoff ground rule double to right field, Erick Aybar's one-out single brought Izturis home to cut the lead in half. Later in the inning, New York starterA. J. Burnett's bases-loadedwild pitch caused the game to be tied at two. Both teams threatened multiple times in the ensuing innings, but neither scored and the game was sent to extra innings. In the top half of the 11th, Gary Matthews Jr. drew a walk off Yankees reliever Alfredo Aceves, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Erick Aybar, and scored on an RBI single by Chone Figgins. At this point, the weather took a turn for the worse, which included rain and snow falling, but the Yankees battled back. In the bottom half of the frame, Alex Rodriguez tied the game with a leadoff home run off Angels closerBrian Fuentes. Then, the Yankees won the game in the bottom of the 13th inning. Jerry Hairston Jr. led off with a single and advanced to second on a groundout. Angels reliever Ervin Santana then intentionally walked Robinson Cano to set up a force play. Then, Melky Cabrera hit a ground ball to second. Maicer Izturis had the option of throwing to first for the second out and leaving runners on second and third, but instead attempted a tough throw to force Cano out at second and get a potential double play. However, Izturis's throw completely missed shortstop Aybar and went towards third base. Figgins, who was backing up the play, came up with the ball in an attempt to throw out Hairston at home, but the ball slipped out of his hand and Hairston scored the game-winning run.
Alex Rodriguez's 11th-inning home run was his second late-inning game-tying home run in this postseason. Both were off the opposing team's closer (the Minnesota Twins' Joe Nathan, in ALDS Game 2).
For the third game in a row the Yankees scored first, this time on Derek Jeter's leadoff home run off Angels starter Jered Weaver. They extended their lead on solo home runs by Alex Rodriguez in the fourth inning and Johnny Damon in the fifth, both off Weaver. Yankees starter Andy Pettitte held the Angels scoreless until the fifth inning, when he yielded a solo home run to Howie Kendrick in the fifth. The next inning, Vladimir Guerrero hit a two-run home run, also off Pettitte, to tie the game. The Angels took the lead in the seventh, thanks to Kendrick's one-out triple and Maicer Izturis' sacrifice fly, both off Joba Chamberlain. However, a Jorge Posada solo home run off Kevin Jepsen—the sixth in the game—tied it again in the eighth.
Another Angels' gaffe proved costly. In the eighth inning Abreu led off with a double but attempted to stretch it into a triple. An alert Jeter called for the ball at second and tossed to Mark Teixeira who was covering second, since Robinson Canó was in the outfield, to tag Abreu for the out.
For the second consecutive time in the series, the Yankees and Angels played extra innings. The Angels loaded the bases with one out in the tenth inning against Mariano Rivera, but were unable to score. In the bottom of the 11th inning, Yankees pitcher David Robertson retired the two Angels batters he faced and was one out away from forcing a 12th inning when managerJoe Girardi replaced him with Alfredo Aceves, a decision that would later be criticized by the New York media. Aceves, who yielded a go-ahead run to the Angels in the 11th inning of Game 2 that was later erased by Rodriguez' home run, yielded a single to Kendrick on a 3–1 count. Jeff Mathis, the Angels' backup catcher who was inserted into the game in the eighth inning, followed with a double to deep left field, scoring Kendrick from first and winning the game in a walk-off.
Yankees aceCC Sabathia started Game 4 on three days' rest, which proved to be no problem, as he pitched eight strong innings, allowing only one earned run on a home run by Kendrys Morales in the fifth, five hits, and two walks, while striking out five. For the fourth straight game in the series the Yankees scored first. With runners on second and third and one out, Robinson Cano hit into a fielder's choice to score Alex Rodriguez. After a walk loaded the bases, Melky Cabrera's two-run single made it 3–0 Yankees. Next inning, Mark Teixeira hit a leadoff single and Angels' starter Scott Kazmir was relieved by Jason Bulger, who allowed a two-run home run to Rodriguez, tying a postseason record set by Lou Gehrig and Ryan Howard for recording an RBI in eight consecutive games. In the eighth, Cabrera walked off of Ervin Santana who was relieved by Matt Palmer. Johnny Damon's home run made it 7–1 Yankees. Rodriguez doubled to lead off the ninth and scored on Jorge Posada's sacrifice fly. One out later, Robinson Cano walked and Brett Gardner singled before both scored on a double by Cabrera, giving him four RBIs. Chad Gaudin relieved Sabathia in the bottom of the ninth and retired the Angels in order as the Yankees were one win away from their first World Series since 2003. The game included three controversial calls by the umpiring crew that third base umpire and crew chief Tim McClelland—who made two of the three calls in question—admitted were in error,[10] drawing more attention to the argument for instant replay in baseball.[11]
Unlike the previous four games, this time the Angels scored first. With Chone Figgins on third base and Bobby Abreu on first, Torii Hunter singled to center field, scoring both Figgins and Abreu. Hunter then scored on an RBIdouble by Vladimir Guerrero, followed by a Kendrys Morales RBI single that scored Guerrero from second. All this was done before the first out was recorded. From that point on, neither starter—John Lackey for the Angels and A. J. Burnett for the Yankees—allowed a run until the seventh inning. In the top half of that inning, Lackey worked into a bases-loaded jam with two outs when manager Mike Scioscia replaced him with Darren Oliver. Mark Teixeira connected with Oliver's first pitch for a double that scored all three inherited runners—Melky Cabrera, Jorge Posada, and Derek Jeter. After an intentional walk to Alex Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui singled, scoring Teixeira and tying the game. Oliver was replaced with Kevin Jepsen, who yielded a triple to Robinson Canó that scored Rodriguez and Matsui, giving the Yankees a two-run lead. In the bottom half of the seventh, Abreu hit an RBI groundout that scored Jeff Mathis from third. Hunter then drew a walk, followed by a Guerrero single that scored Erick Aybar, and a Morales single that scored Hunter, giving the Angels a one-run lead. The Yankees threatened Angels closerBrian Fuentes in the ninth inning. With two outs, Fuentes loaded the bases, but Nick Swisher popped out to end the game.
As of 2024, this remains the Angels last post-season victory.
Game 6
New York Yankees celebrate after their 5–2 win against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Game 6 was originally scheduled to be played on Saturday, October 24, but was postponed because of rain. Angels gaffes once again proved costly. In the top of the second, baserunner Vladimir Guerrero ran too far from first base on a fly ball out and was doubled off. The game remained scoreless until the top of the third inning when Bobby Abreu singled home Jeff Mathis, who singled to lead off and moved to second on a groundout, to give the Angels the early lead. The Yankees left six men on base in the first and second innings before they finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth after Johnny Damon lined a two-run single with the bases loaded off of Joe Saunders to give them the lead for the remainder of the game. A single reloaded the bases before Alex Rodriguezwalked to force in another run. Saunders was then removed in favor of Darren Oliver, who pitched 2+2⁄3 shutout innings.
Andy Pettitte pitched a strong game, allowing one run in 6+1⁄3 innings while striking out six. Mariano Rivera entered the game in the eighth inning for a six-out save. Chone Figgins hit a leadoff single in the eighth, moved to second on a groundout and scored on a Guerrero single with two outs to close the gap to 3–2. In the bottom of the eighth, Robinson Cano drew a leadoff walk off of Ervin Santana, who was relieved by Scott Kazmir. The Angels misfielded two sacrifice bunts by the Yankees, a fielding error by Howie Kendrick and a throwing error by pitcher Scott Kazmir, allowing a run to score. A walk loaded the bases before Mark Teixeira's sacrifice fly made it 5–2 Yankees. Rivera retired the side in the ninth to record the Yankees' 40th American League pennant.
A week and a half later, the Yankees would defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series in six games. It was the fifth and final ring for the Core Four era Yankees (fourth for Posada who was left off the playoff roster in 1996) and the only one for star players such as Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, and Hideki Matsui. It was the team's 27th World Series and their last to date; the Yankees have been to the ALCS six times since (2010, 2012, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2024), losing on each occasion until 2024.
Hideki Matsui tips his hat during his first game back at the Yankee Stadium
In regards to Matsui, on December 16, 2009, the 2009 World Series MVP agreed to a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim worth $6.5 million. Matsui told Yomiuri Shimbun that he "loved the Yankees the best" but that he no longer felt valued and when his agent called to negotiate, "The Yankees had nothing prepared [in terms of contract conditions]." He made up his mind to sign with the Angels quickly. "I really felt their high expectations of me," he said.[12] On April 13, 2010, Matsui returned to Yankee Stadium as a member of the Angels and received his championship ring and a long standing ovation.
The 2009 American League Championship Series marked the end of the most successful era in Angels franchise history. From 2002 to 2009, they made six postseason appearances, which was highlighted by the by team winning the 2002 American League pennant and World Series. Before 2002, they had been to the postseason just three times in franchise history (1979, 1982, and 1986), never winning a postseason series. Since 2009, the Angels have made the postseason just once (in 2014) and have not won a postseason game since Game 5 of the 2009 ALCS.
↑ Castrovince, Anthony (October 21, 2009). "Umpires shaky on several Game 4 calls". Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim official website. Archived from the original on October 25, 2009. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
The 2003 American League Championship Series (ALCS) was a semifinal series in Major League Baseball's 2003 postseason played between the Wild Card Boston Red Sox and the top-seeded New York Yankees from October 8 to 16, 2003. The Yankees won the series four games to three to advance to the World Series, where they lost in six games to the National League champion Florida Marlins.
The 2004 American League Championship Series was a semifinal series in Major League Baseball's 2004 postseason deciding the American League champion earning the privilege to play in the 2004 World Series. A rematch of the previous year’s ALCS, it was played between the Boston Red Sox, who had won the AL wild card and defeated the Anaheim Angels in the American League Division Series, and the New York Yankees, who had won the AL East with the best record in the AL and defeated the Minnesota Twins. The Red Sox became the first team in MLB history to force a Game 7 after going down 3–0 in a series, and they remain the only team in MLB history to come back from a 3–0 series deficit to ultimately win a best-of-seven series.
The 2004 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the 2004 American League playoffs in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) 2004 postseason, began on Tuesday, October 5, and ended on Saturday, October 9, with the champions of the three AL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. They were:
The 2005 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the American League side in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) 2005 postseason, began on Tuesday, October 4, and ended on Monday, October 10, with the champions of the three AL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. They were:
The 2005 American League Championship Series (ALCS), the second round of the American League side in Major League Baseball's 2005 postseason, which determined the 2005 American League champion, matched the Central Division champion and top-seeded Chicago White Sox against the West Division champion and second-seeded Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The White Sox, by virtue of having the best record in the AL during the 2005 season, had the home-field advantage. The White Sox won the series four games to one to become the American League champions, and faced the Houston Astros in the 2005 World Series, in which the White Sox swept the Astros in four games to win their first World Series championship in 88 years; as a result of the 2005 All-Star Game played in Detroit, Michigan at Comerica Park on July 12, the White Sox had home-field advantage in the World Series. The series was notable both for a controversial call in Game 2 of the series, and the outstanding pitching and durability of Chicago's starting rotation, pitching four consecutive complete games; the +2⁄3 of an inning Neal Cotts pitched in the first game was the only work the White Sox bullpen saw the entire series.
The 2002 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the American League side in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) 2002 postseason, began on Tuesday, October 1, and ended on Sunday, October 6, with the champions of the three AL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. The teams were:
The 2006 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the American League side in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) 2006 postseason, began on Tuesday, October 3, and ended on Saturday, October 7, with the champions of the three AL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. They were:
The 1998 American League Championship Series (ALCS), the second round of the American League side in Major League Baseball's 1998 postseason, was played between the East Division champion and top-seeded New York Yankees and the Central Division champion and second-seeded Cleveland Indians.
The 2002 American League Championship Series (ALCS) was a semifinal matchup in Major League Baseball's 2002 postseason between the Wild Card Anaheim Angels and the Central Division Champion and third-seeded Minnesota Twins. The Angels advanced to the Series after dethroning the reigning four-time AL Champion New York Yankees in the 2002 American League Division Series three games to one. The Twins made their way into the Series after beating the Athletics three games to two. The Angels won the Series four games to one and went on to defeat the San Francisco Giants in the 2002 World Series to win their first World Series championship.
The 2007 American League Championship Series (ALCS), the second round of the American League side in Major League Baseball's 2007 postseason, began on October 12 and ended on October 21. It was a best-of-seven series, with the East Division champion and top-seeded Boston Red Sox facing the Central Division champion and second-seeded Cleveland Indians. The Red Sox have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs by winning the season series against Cleveland, five games to two, although both teams finished with 96–66 records. The Red Sox came back from a 3–1 deficit to defeat the Indians 4–3, outscoring them 30–5 over the final three games of the Series.
The 2007 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the American League side in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) 2007 postseason, began on Wednesday, October 3 and ended on Monday, October 8. The 2007 AL Division Series consisted of three AL division champions and one wild card team, participating in two best-of-five series. They were:
The 2008 American League Division Series (ALDS), the first round of the 2008 American League playoffs in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) 2008 postseason, consisted of two best-of-five series to determine the two participants in the 2008 American League Championship Series. They were:
The 2009 New York Yankees season was the 107th season for the New York Yankees franchise. The Yankees opened their new Yankee Stadium on April 3, 2009, when they hosted an exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs. The new stadium hosted its first regular season game on April 16, when the team played against the Cleveland Indians and their first playoff game against the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS on October 7, 2009. The Yankees swept the Twins in three games to win the divisional series. They won their 40th American League pennant on October 25, defeating the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 6 games to advance to the World Series, where they defeated the defending World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies in six games to win their 27th World Series title on November 4. The Yankees finished the regular season with 103 wins and 59 losses, the best record in the majors.
The 2009 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2009 season. As the 105th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff contested between the Philadelphia Phillies, champions of the National League (NL) and defending World Series champions, and the New York Yankees, champions of the American League (AL). The Yankees defeated the Phillies, 4 games to 2, winning their 27th World Series championship.
The 2009 American League Division Series (ALDS) consisted of two concurrent best-of-five game series in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) 2009 postseason that determined the participating teams in the 2009 American League Championship Series. Three divisional winners and a "wild card" team played in the two series. The ALDS began on Wednesday, October 7, 2009, and ended on Sunday, October 11, 2009. The matchups were:
The 2010 American League Division Series (ALDS) were two best-of-five-game series in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) 2010 postseason to determine the participating teams in the 2010 American League Championship Series. The three divisional winners and a fourth "Wild Card" team played in two series from October 6 to 12. TBS televised all games in the United States.
The 2010 American League Championship Series (ALCS) was a best-of-seven-game semifinal series in Major League Baseball's 2010 postseason pitting the winners of the 2010 American League Division Series for the American League Championship. The American League wild card-winning New York Yankees - the defending World Series champion, faced the American League West Division champions and third-seeded Texas Rangers. The Rangers won the 2010 ALCS and faced the National League champion San Francisco Giants in the 2010 World Series, the franchise's first ever appearance in the World Series, but would go on to lose to the Giants in five games. The series, the 41st in league history, began October 15 and ended on October 22. The Rangers had home field advantage in the series, as the wild-card team defers home field advantage in the LDS and LCS regardless of regular-season record.
The 2011 American League Division Series were two best-of-five playoffs comprising the opening round of Major League Baseball’s (MLB) 2011 postseason, played to determine the participating teams in the 2011 American League Championship Series. Three divisional winners and a fourth team—a wild card—played in two series. TBS televised all games but the Game 2's of both series in the United States. The Game 2's of both series were aired on TNT due to schedule conflicts with other ALDS games or the NLDS. The regular season finished on September 28, with the ALDS beginning September 30. Game 5 of the Yankees–Tigers series was played on October 6.
The 2012 American League Division Series were two best-of-five-game series in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) 2012 postseason to determine the participating teams in the 2012 American League Championship Series. The three divisional winners and a fourth team—the winner of a one-game Wild Card playoff— played in two series. TBS carried most of the games, with some on MLB Network or TNT.
The 2012 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven playoff in Major League Baseball's 2012 postseason pitting the top-seeded New York Yankees against the third-seeded Detroit Tigers for the American League pennant and the right to play in the 2012 World Series. The series, the 43rd in league history, began on Saturday, October 13 in New York and ended on Thursday, October 18 in Detroit. The Tigers swept the Yankees, winning the series 4–0. TBS televised all games in the United States. In global markets, MLB International broadcast the ALCS in its entirety, with long-time Baltimore Orioles announcer Gary Thorne and ESPN's Rick Sutcliffe calling the games.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
