Tonight's game is rained out. That makes me sad. So does losing on my birthday. Here are the two times the Yankees did since I was born.
2001 ALDS: Game 2
Thursday, October 11th, 2001 - Yankee Stadium (New York City, NY)
Oakland Led Series 1-0 (Best of 5)
Winning Pitcher: Tim Hudson
Losing Pitcher: Andy Pettitte
Save: Jason Isringhausen
Home Runs (Oakland): Ron Gant
Home Runs (New York): None
Going into the game down 1-0 in the series, the Yankees sent Andy Pettitte to the mound to try and ease the series back neutral. On the other side of the ball, the Athletics went with Tim Hudson. For both teams, this worked out almost perfectly.
Over 6.1 innings of work for Andy Pettitte, he allowed 7 hits and 2 walks, though even with the pressure mounting in almost every inning, the Athletics plated just one run- off a lead-off solo home run from Ron Gant in the 4th inning. Over 8 innings of work for Tim Hudson, he allowed 6 hits and 1 walk, allowing just 2 Yankees total to get into scoring position. Neither of them would come across and score a run.
The Yankees used Ramiro Mendoza to finish out the 7th and 8th innings, doing so without any additional problems, though when they went to Mariano Rivera in the 9th inning, the Athletics were able to plate another run across on a Scott Brosious error on a Miguel Tejeda groundball, allowing Jonny Damon to score (after he hit a triple in the previous at-bat).
For the Athletics, they went to closer Jacob Isringhausen to finish out the game, and though the Yankees tried to mount a comeback with a lead-off double and a walk, they were unable to score either run.
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Following this game the famous "Flip Play" by Derek Jeter helped the Yankees stave off a looming Athletics threat in Game 3, which helped energize the Yankees to win the ALDS in 5 games. They then easily won the ALCS against the Seattle Mariners (the team that won the most regular season games ever) with 4 games to 1, however they fell in the World Series to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
2012 ALDS: Game 4
Thursday, October 11th, 2012 - Yankee Stadium (New York City, NY)
New York Led Series 2-1 (Best of 5)
Winning Pitcher: Pedro Strop
Losing Pitcher: David Phelps
Save: Jim Johnson
Home Runs (Baltimore): Nate McLouth
Home Runs (New York): None
Already leading the series by 2 games to 1, the New York Yankees were looking to finish out the series against the Orioles early. The night before they won in walk-off fashion in the 12th inning, and I can't imagine either team was looking forward to another extra inning game.
So, that's exactly what we got. In a pitching match-up that featured the Yankees sending out Phil Hughes against the Orioles' Joe Saunders. And, both pitched well. For Hughes, he pitched 6.1 innings while allowing just 1 run (a Nate McLouth solo home run) around 4 hits and 3 walks. For Saunders, he pitched 5.2 innings while allowing just 1 run (a Robinson Cano RBI groundout) around 3 hits and 4 walks. A very close and competitive game.
The Orioles used 7 pitchers after removing Saunders to get them out of the 6th inning and through the rest of the game. And, the Yankees also used 7 (!) pitchers after removing Hughes. Such it is when a game goes 13 innings the night after a 12 inning game. Both bullpens were already taxed of their stretched out and dependable relievers.
The offenses made very little notice through the game. The Orioles had a player get to third base in the 1st, 3rd, and 4th innings but were unable to do any damage. They finally got a runner home from third in the 13th inning, scoring Manny Machado (the 9th hitter) off a J.J. Hardy RBI double. For the Yankees, they had a few threats after scoring their lone run in the 5th inning. They had a player in scoring position in both the 5th and 6th innings, but made no further advances over the final 7 innings of play.
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After the Orioles tied up the series at 2 games apiece, the Yankees took Game 5 of the ALDS by a score of 3-1 to advance to the ALCS and face off against the Detroit Tigers. They would fall in 4 games to the Tigers, scoring just 6 runs while allowing 19. It was a quick and painful way to end a season marked by the pain of losing Mariano Rivera in May after a batting practice flyball injury.
