Yankees Advance To World Series

NFL News - October 26th, 2009 - Written by John

It had to be somewhat surreal for the veterans. Here they were, celebrating their sixth appearance in the World Series, knowing there was still plenty of work to do, watching the new acquisitions embrace like children.

Alex Rodriguez screamed and C.C. Sabathia giggled about their first ever trip to the big show.

"I couldn't be more excited," Rodriguez said. "I feel like a 10-year-old kid."

Mariano Rivera gave a modest fist pump while Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter simply smiled. They all came together, plus a few more, to hold on to a 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels in Game Six. The Yankees now advance to their 40th World Series all-time, where they will face the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies. Rodriguez has been sensational in the playoffs, hitting five home runs with 12 RBI.

"That's what you play for," added Rodriguez. "In order to win a World Series, you have to get there first."

Sabathia will start in a Cleveland Indians reunion in Game One. He will face former teammate Cliff Lee, who like Sabathia, was traded from the Indians a year after winning the Cy Young award. It's hard to tell just who has been more dominant in the playoffs this year. Sabathia is 3-0 with a 1.19 ERA in three starts, while Lee is 2-0 with an ERA of 0.74.

Andy Pettitte, who was visibily anxious to get the ball during the game's postponement on Saturday, won his record 16th playoff game and Rodriguez extended his record ninth game with an RBI. It is the first time the Yankees have won the American League crown since 2003.

Rodriguez's walk in the fourth inning came with the bases loaded and forced home Jeter to make it 3-1. Moments earlier Johnny Damon gave New York it's first runs of the game when he also stepped to the plate with bases loaded and drove a liner into left center to score Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher.

The Angels clawed back late in the game, but became unnerved and made several key mistakes.

It was 3-2 on Vladimir Guerrero's run-scoring single that scored Chone Figgins in the eighth when the Yankees slammed the door. In the bottom of the inning, Robinson Cano and Brian Gardner moved to second and third on Melky Cabrera's sacrifice bunt. Each runner moved up a base when pitcher Scott Kazmir's throw to first base sailed into right field. Gardner then came in to score on Mark Teixeira's sac fly that made it 5-2 and effectively ended the night.

Rivera with a three-run lead is like a thoroughbred with a two-length head start (you're not going to catch up), and he slammed the door without allowing a base runner in the top of the ninth.

"Pretty incredible, especially with all the stuff I've been through this year," Rodriguez said. "I just felt very happy and very blessed, and all I cared about this year was winning games."

Going into the World Series, the Yankees are favored in the MLB Betting Lines. Currently, for the series as a whole, the Yankees are 1 to 2 favorites, paying -200 for a series win. As for the Phillies, bettors wagering on them stand to earn 1.7 to 1 or +170 payout for winning it all.

The World Series begins on Wednesday, and MLB Odds can be found at many online sportsbooks including Bookmaker, who provided the odds above.

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