Angels topple Big Unit
NEW YORK – The Big Unit was a big bust when the Yankees needed him most, and Chone Figgins’ clutch plays pushed the Los Angeles Angels within one win of the American League Championship Series.
Figgins made another sparkling grab on defense and hit a tiebreaking single, and Garret Anderson had four hits and five runs batted in to lead the Angels over the New York Yankees 11-7 Friday night for a 2-1 lead in their best-of-5 playoff series.
The Angels, who roughed up Randy Johnson and set their postseason record with 19 hits, recovered after wasting a five-run lead. They can close out the series today and earn a spot against the Chicago White Sox in the ALCS. Los Angeles lefty Jarrod Washburn is scheduled to face New York’s Shawn Chacon in Game 4.
“Our team has always been able to come back against any team,” Bengie Molina said. “That’s just the kind of team we are.”
Molina homered for the third straight game and Anderson hit a three-run shot through the raindrops as Los Angeles went ahead 5-0 and chased Johnson in the fourth. His playoff debut for the Yankees lasted only three-plus innings, the shortest of his 15 postseason starts.
“I pitch and my teammates expect us to win and for me to put us in a position to win, and I didn’t do that,” Johnson said. “My slider found too much of the middle of the plate. I didn’t have a sharp one going down and away. Unfortunately, my pitches were elevated today and I paid the price.”
Sparked by Hideki Matsui’s leadoff homer in the fourth, New York came back against Paul Byrd and the Angels’ bullpen to go ahead 6-5 in the fifth only to quickly fall behind again as Aaron Small and Tom Gordon failed to come through.
New York, with a record payroll of $203 million, must win two straight in order to continue its quest for its first World Series title since 2000. If the Yankees fail, owner George Steinbrenner could order a shake up.
“If you don’t make quality pitches you can’t expect good results,” manager Joe Torre said.
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Angels 11, Yankees 7
LOS ANGELES LEADS SERIES 2-1
| Los Angeles | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. |
| Figgins cf-3b | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .143 |
| OCabrera ss | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .231 |
| VGuerrero rf | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .300 |
| BMolina c | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .455 |
| 1-JMolina pr-c | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| GAnderson lf | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | .308 |
| JRivera dh | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .455 |
| Erstad 1b | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .385 |
| Quinlan 3b | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
| b-SFinley ph-cf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .143 |
| AKennedy 2b | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .300 |
| Totals | 43 | 11 | 19 | 11 | 1 | 6 |
| New York | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. |
| Jeter ss | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .308 |
| ARodriguez 3b | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .222 |
| JaGiambi dh | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .417 |
| Sheffield rf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .167 |
| Matsui lf | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .364 |
| Cano 2b | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .308 |
| BWilliams cf | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .333 |
| TMartinez 1b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| c-Sierra ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Flaherty c | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | —- |
| a-Posada ph-c | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .200 |
| Totals | 38 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 9 |
| Los Angeles | 302 | 002 | 220—11 | 19 | 1 |
| New York | 000 | 420 | 010—7 | 12 | 2 |
a-grounded out for Flaherty in the 4th. b-struck out for Quinlan in the 6th. c-struck out for Martinez in the 9th. 1-ran for B.Molina in the 7th. E—OCabrera (1), Sheffield (1), Cano (2). LOB—Los Angeles 8, New York 10. 2B—OCabrera (1), JRivera (1), Erstad (1), ARodriguez (1), Cano (3). 3B—Figgins (1), GAnderson (1). HR—Jeter (1), off KEscobar; Matsui (1), off Byrd; BMolina (3), off RaJohnson; GAnderson (1), off RaJohnson. RBIs—Figgins (1), BMolina 2 (5), JMolina (1), GAnderson 5 (5), Erstad (2), SFinley (1), Jeter 2 (2), JaGiambi (2), Matsui (1), Cano (5), BWilliams (1), Posada (2). CS—AKennedy (2). S—SFinley. SF—BWilliams. GIDP—Figgins. Runners left in scoring position—Los Angeles 5 (Figgins, OCabrera, JRivera, AKennedy 2); New York 6 (Sheffield 3, Cano 2, Sierra). Runners moved up—AKennedy, TMartinez, Posada. DP—New York 2 (Cano, Jeter and TMartinez), (Cano).
| Los Angeles | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP | ERA |
| Byrd | 3 2/3 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 77 | 9.82 |
| Donnelly | 1/3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 27.00 |
| Shields W, 1-0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 36 | 0.00 |
| KEscobar H, 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 26 | 2.25 |
| FrRodriguez | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 4.50 |
| New York | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP | ERA |
| RaJohnson | 3 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 62 | 15.00 |
| Small L, 0-1 | 2 2/3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 35 | 6.75 |
| Sturtze | 1/3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13.50 |
| Gordon | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6.75 |
| Leiter | 1 1/3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 9.00 |
| Proctor | 1 2/3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 0.00 |
Donnelly pitched to 2 batters in the 5th, RaJohnson pitched to 2 batters in the 4th, Gordon pitched to 4 batters in the 7th. Inherited runners-scored—Donnelly 2-1, Shields 1-1, Small 2-0, Sturtze 2-0, Leiter 3-1, Proctor 2-2. IBB—off Leiter (VGuerrero) 1. HBP—by Gordon (BMolina). WP—Proctor. T—4:00. A—56,277 (57,478).