Yankees-Angels Game 4 Puts Yankees at Brink of World Series

The Yankees-Angels Game 4 would either create drama in the ALCS, or end it all. So the Yankees-Angels Game 4 ended the drama quickly, as the Yankees jumped out early. The game went a lot like the Phillies-Dodgers Game 3, in that the Yankees offense finally exploded in Game 4, and they let their red-hot ace do the rest. The Yankees-Angels Game 4 had C.C. Sabathia hitting all his targets on three days rest, and Alex Rodriguez and company gave him all the runs he needed and more.

The Yankees-Angels Game 4 was settled in the fourth inning, when the Yankees got three runs and would have had a fourth if not for a bad call. But despite questionable calls from third base umpire Tim McClelland, it was an easy 10-1 Yankees Game 4 win, to all but lock up the ALCS.

C.C. Sabathia, A-Rod, the Yankees offense, and head-scratching calls defied the Yankees-Angels Game 4. Among the bad calls were Tim McClelland wrongly ruling that Nick Swisher left third base early on a sacrifice fly in the fourth, and McClelland missing a tagout of Robinson Cano right in front of him.

The most infamous night of umpiring yet in the playoffs meant nothing in the Yankees-Angels Game 4, at least scoreboard wise. Nothing the umpires did, and nothing the Angels did, could stop the offense and C.C. Sabathia. Whereas Sabathia breezed through eight innings of five-hit, one-run ball, the Angels Scott Kazimer was knocked around early and often.

Alex Rodriguez provided an exclamation with his fifth home run of the playoffs, while Johnny Damon got a late blast, and the Yankees got five late runs in the eighth and ninth to make things look even worse. The Yankees-Angels Game 4 looked like the slaughters of old for New York - even though several key batters still have bad postseason batting averages.

For the first time since the Yankees-Red Sox 2004 ALCS, the Yankees have a commanding lead in the playoffs. The Angels may be too far gone to pull a 2004 Red Sox trick out of their hat, or even match the 2007 Red Sox, who came back 3-1 in the ALCS over the Indians. They'll settle for matching the 2008 Red Sox, who were down 3-1 to Tampa Bay, won a shocking Game 5, and pushed things to a seventh game.

After the Yankees-Angels Game 4, Los Angeles is just out to shock by winning a Game 5, and sending things back to New York. The two teams have a day of rest while the Phillies try to become the first team to get to the World Series tonight. The Yankees could possibly meet them by winning Game 5 tomorrow night on FOX.

Sources

Washington Post- "Yankees coast in Game 4, hang 10 on Angels" www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/21/AR2009102100203.html

ESPN- "Umpire errors a real embarrassment" sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs/2009/columns/story

FOX Sports- "There's no flaws to find with these Yankees" http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/10250704/There's-no-flaws-to-find-with-these-Yanks#