Yankees Break Open Series On Angel Error

NFL News - October 18th, 2009 - Written by John

Alex Rodriguez hit his third game-tying homerun of the postseason and the New York Yankees won in extra innings, 4-3, to take a 2-0 lead over the Los Angeles Angels in the ALCS.

Rodriguez came up to bat with the pressure on again, down 3-2 in the 11th inning, and delivered. He was 0-for-his-last-4 and fell behind 0-2 on reliever Brian Fuentes. But he belted a high fastball to tie it, setting up a dramatic comeback in the 13th. Melky Cabrera hit a sharp ground ball between first and second base, and Maicer Izturs tried to turn a double play to get out of the inning. His throw to second, however, was wide, and allowed Jerry Hairston to score from second.

"Izzy just tried to do too much," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "You're not going to turn two."

"I was a little aggressive there," Izturis added. "I'm not scared to be aggressive. Unfortunately, it cost us the game."

Rodriguez broke the record for most game-tying homers in one postseason, passing six other players with two.

"Wow, what a game," he said.

The Yankess still haven't lost this postseason. They have found ways to win in every game, even when the offense wasn't at it's best, leading the MLB during the regular-season wins (12). They scored both of their first runs in the second and third innings.

Derek Jeter homered in the second inning to make it 1-0, and Robinson Cano followed with a run-scoring triple in the third. A.J. Burnett surrendered the win in the fifth, being single-handedly terrorized by Erick Aybar. The shortstop got the inning going with a single up the middle to score Izturis, and later moved around to third on a wild-pitch. With the bases loaded, Burnett again threw an errant pitch that got by Jose Molina, allowing Aybar to slide in safely to tie it.

Both bullpens would hold for five more innings, forcing extras amidst the swirling wind and light freezing rain. Chone Figgins, who has had a woeful postseason thus far, finally snapped his skid to give Los Angeles a 3-2 when he slapped a single to left to score Gary Matthews Jr.

That's when Rodriguez brought his team back, slapping a fastball just out of reach of Bobby Abreu, who nearly lost his glove trying to rob it.

"I certainly wasn't sure," Rodriguez said. "I was fortunate to get enough of it...I'm doing what I've done all year -- try to stay in the moment and really enjoy the momen. I had a blast out there today."

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