Kuzul

Game 1 of the 2012 American League Championship Series is underway from Yankee Stadium in New York.

SCORE UPDATE:

Bottom 12th: Yankees 4-6 Tigers

Jeter Injured in the 12th

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From the commissioner and league that brought you a TIE in an MLB All-Star Game, I present to you the 2012 American League Championship Series schedule.

A little over 12 hours have passed since the Yankees beat the Orioles in their division series. Now, it’s time for the Yanks to strap ’em back on and for the Tigers to catch a bird to the Big Apple for the first game of the ALCS Saturday night at 8 EST.

Using our MLB simulation engine, we “played” the Detroit Tigers versus the New York Yankees in the 2012 best-of-seven American League Championship Series 101 times.

In the table below, you will find each team’s chances of advancing to the World Series and how often they win in 4, 5, 6 or 7 games. The Yankees win 56.4 percent of the time overall, but the most likely scenario is the Tigers beating the Yankees in seven games 20.8 percent of the time.

Despite Jose Valverde‘s ninth-inning collapse in Game 4 against the A’s, Justin Verlander (17-8, 2.64 ERA and 239 strikeouts during regular season) shut down the feel-good-story A’s. Even with the series pushed to a decisive Game 5, Detroit enjoyed Friday off.

However, by tossing JV in Game 5, the Tigs are at a disadvantage in the ALCS. Instead of sending their ace to the mound in Game 1, they have to settle for Doug Fister on Saturday and Anibal Sanchez on Sunday. Verlander will return for a Game 3 showdown with C.C. Sabathia.

Led on offense by Miguel Cabrera, the first Triple Crown winner in four decades, the Tigs finished third in on-base percentage (.335), sixth in batting average (.268) and seventh in slugging (.422). Miggy finished with a .330 batting average, 44 home runs and 139 RBI. New addition Prince Fielder pounded out 30 bombs with 109 RBI, while hitting over .300 as well. The team’s 726 runs scored (4.48 runs scored per game) ranked 11th overall.

In New York, the headlines range from new t-shirts full of hubris, to “meh, we won another division series,” to “DID YOU SEE THEY BENCHED A-ROD?!?!”

As previously mentioned, the Yanks will be without their No. 1 starter, Sabathia (15-6 / 3.38 ERA / 1.14 WHIP), who shut down the Orioles in Game 5. So, Andy Pettitte is up Saturday with TBD to follow in Game 2. Pettitte missed the majority of the second half due to a broken ankle suffered after a comeback liner drilled him. In his final three September starts, the lefty was 2-1 with a 1.62 ERA in 16 2/3 innings of work. The 40-year-old pitcher defined “overachieving” in 2012.

The same cannot be said of Alex Rodriguez, who also missed a chunk of the second half with a broken wrist (courtesy of a Felix Hernandez fastball). He finished the season 29-111 (.261 BA in September/October) with only three home runs. He was pinch-hit for twice in the ALDS and benched in Game 5 in favor of Eric Chavez.

New York finished the regular season first in slugging, second in runs scored and on-base percentage and eighth in batting average. To put in perspective how important the team’s on-base percentage was compared to batting average, the Yankees hit just .257 in September (14th in the league); however, they posted an OBP of .340 (sixth in the league), which allowed them to score the second-most runs (146) in the month.

Note: The Yankees won the season series 6-4. In seven starts against the Yankees in 2011 and 2012, including the playoffs, Verlander is 2-1 with a 3.92 ERA. Sabathia is 3-0 in three starts with 20 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings against Detroit this season.

Using our MLB simulation engine, we “played” the best-of-seven series 101 times—using regular-season stats—and it’s the Yankees advancing to the World Series 56.4 percent of the time.

Though the Tigers had the best pitcher in the simulation, with Verlander sporting a 3.63 ERA, the Yankees bullpen (collective 4.56 ERA) outdueled the Tigers bullpen (5.04 ERA). Robinson Cano led the Yankees with a .326 batting average, while Cabrera topped the Tigers with a .340 average, 6.2 RBI and 2.2 home runs.

Remember, you can simulate the Tigers vs. Yankees ALCS as many times as you want for free using our MLB SimMatchup tool.

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The Washington Nationals were defeated in a soul crushing Game 5 of the 2012 MLB National League East Division Series by the deceptively invincible defending World Champions St. Louis Cardinals.

And as yet another starting pitcher, Gio Gonzalez, had a poor outing, one question hung over the entire series: Where was Stephen Strasburg?

There is going to be a tremendous amount of bitterness directed towards Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo over the decision not to pitch one of his best pitchers in the postseason. It is one thing to come up a strike short with your best team. It is quite another to lose by the tightest of margins with a weapon that was never taken out of the holster.

Oddly, there are some people, like CBS Sports insider John Heyman, who tried to brush aside any connection with the loss and Strasburg not being used. He wrote on his Twitter feed, “#nats defeat had nothing to do with strasburg. so let’s stop talking about it like it did.”

How can anyone say that with a straight face?

The Nationals starting pitching posted a 5.25 ERA, and that includes Ross Detwiler’s wonderful outing in Game 4. Washington’s bats scored enough to win Games 2 and 5 with a decent start.

Instead, they got two subpar outings from Gio Gonzalez and horrible starts from Jordan Zimmermann and Edwin Jackson.

So pointing out that an All-Star pitcher with electric stuff could have been used in one of those games and given the Nationals a better chance to win is out of line?

According to Amanda Comak of the Washington Times, Rizzo responded to the Strasburg question after the collapse Friday night by saying, “I’m not going to think about it.”

Well, it is nice to see that someone is not going to think about it. But that will be Rizzo’s legacy.

The Nationals, a franchise that had not played in a postseason series since Prince Charles and Princess Diana were newlyweds and in a city hosting its first baseball October since FDR’s first year in office, played their hearts out all year.

And Rizzo chose to not put the best team on the field because he wanted to win later.

With the disastrous performance by the Strasburg-less rotation and an overworked bullpen that did not get it done, the level of success that the Nationals will have to reach to justify the decision is sky high.

Nothing less than a World Series title in the very near future will be acceptable to put the debacle of the 2012 postseason behind Rizzo.

In the same Washington Times article, pitcher Tyler Clippard toed the company line and had an interesting quote:

And we showed to everyone that we had the personnel without Stephen in the playoffs to get it done. At the end of the day, it didn’t happen, but we showed we were good enough.

Actually, Tyler Clippard, you showed you were not good enough to get it done without Stephen Strasburg in the playoffs. And that is the point.

Had the Cardinals defeated Strasburg the way they defeated Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee last October, you could tip your cap and say, “They defeated our best.”

When they win a series like this, the lingering reality that they did not defeat your best is fair game to point out.

Mike Rizzo might not want to think about it, but he will be reminded every day until Washington, D.C. celebrates its first title since 1924.

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With a 2-0 series lead following two dominant wins at AT&T Park, the Cincinnati Reds looked like a good bet to close out their NLDS with the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday evening.

After pounding out 22 hits in the first two games of this series, the Reds lineup only managed four hits and one run in Game 3 against Ryan Vogelsong and the Giants’ four best relievers. Obviously, San Francisco’s pitching—which has always been its strength—deserves credit for shutting down Cincinnati’s batters, but the Reds have to be surprised at how ineffective their bats were.

After looking all but beaten when Cincinnati steamrolled them in the first two games of the NLDS, the Giants have some life again. Even the Reds likely didn’t expect to build a 2-0 series lead so decisively when they had to play two games on the road.

But now we have a playoff series. And though the Reds still hold a 2-1 lead in this NLDS, they’ve seen how formidable the Giants pitching can be. With Cincinnati’s Game 4 starting pitcher uncertain, the team can’t feel as confident about this series as it did before Game 3. That’s created an opportunity for the Giants, one that could allow them to steal the next two games and a NLDS victory. 

Reds Know They Blew One

Cincinnati won’t get better better pitching than it received in Game 3. Homer Bailey didn’t allow a hit in his first five innings. In seven innings overall, he only gave up one hit. 

Sean Marshall and Aroldis Chapman each followed up with a hitless inning, meaning that the Giants only got one hit in nine innings. 

That is the number that should have the Reds kicking themselves as they go home to digest this loss. Their pitchers allowed one hit in nine innings, and three hits in 10 innings, yet didn’t win the ballgame. 

Cincinnati has gotten excellent pitching performances in two of the first three games of this series between Bailey’s outing on Tuesday and Bronson Arroyo allowing one run over seven innings. Bailey won’t pitch again in the NLDS, but Arroyo will start Game 5 if the series gets to that point. But the Reds have to be hoping they can close this out in Game 4.

Pitching in Giants’ Favor

Johnny Cueto’s injury was bound to wreak havoc on the Reds’ starting rotation—unless Cincinnati was able to complete a three-game sweep.

With the Giants’ victory, however, the Reds need a starter for Game 4 and they don’t know who it will be.

Cincinnati hopes Cueto will be able to start, but his injury is worse than originally feared. Back spasms can be alleviated in a few days with proper rest and treatment. Cueto, however, was found to have a mild oblique strain, which takes more time to heal.

Mat Latos, who pitched as a reliever in Game 1, has come down with what was initially reported as a flu bug. But Latos insists it’s “just some congestion,” according to the Cincinnati Enquirer’s John Fay, and presumably thinks he can pitch. 

The other option is to activate Mike Leake for the start. But if the Reds have to put Cueto on the disabled list to make room for Leake, he would be unavailable if Cincinnati advances to the NLCS.

Meanwhile, the Giants have a pitcher ready to go for Game 4 in Barry Zito. While that may draw some snickers because of how poorly he’s pitched in his previous five seasons for San Francisco, Zito pitched well this year.

He compiled a 15-8 record and 4.15 ERA, his best season in a Giants uniform. Zito has also reduced his fly ball rate over the past couple of seasons, which should help him while pitching at Great American Ball Park. 

The Giants also have Tim Lincecum available to pitch in long relief if Zito is ineffective. Lincecum might have to be used anyway after Jeremy Affeldt and Sergio Romo each had to pitch two innings in Game 3. But there was a reason manager Bruce Bochy didn’t put him in the postseason starting rotation. Lincecum didn’t finish the season very strong, giving up 11 runs in his past two starts. 

Feeling the Pressure

It might seem silly to say that the Reds are now feeling pressure when the Giants have to win Game 4 to stay alive in the NLDS.

But the Reds do face some urgency. The Reds may not face elimination, but losing Game 4 would boost the Giants’ confidence even further. And it’s not difficult to imagine that Cincinnati would be feeling some doubts as to whether it can win the series after blowing a 2-0 series lead and letting the NLDS go to what amounts to a one-game playoff. 

It was easy to write the Giants off after losing the first two games of the series, putting them in the position of having to win three straight games at Cincinnati. But San Francisco couldn’t win those three games if it didn’t get the victory in Game 3.

Now the task is a bit easier. The Giants only have to win two straight games. And the Reds don’t want this series to become tied and go to a do-or-die game. 

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The St. Louis Cardinals have already experienced what it was like to be without Jaime Garcia earlier this year when he missed time with a left shoulder sprain.  And now, they will be without Garcia for their playoff run.

Following his start in Game 2 of the 2012 NLDS, which lasted just two innings, the Cardinals placed Garcia on the disabled list with rotator cuff strain and inflammation in his left shoulder (h/t Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch).

This injury will have a big impact on the Cardinals’ playoff run moving forward.

Garcia would have played a major role for the Cardinals this postseason, but the Cardinals are not necessarily worse off without him.

During the 2012 season, Garcia had a 7-7 record and a 3.92 ERA over 20 starts. Almost all of the Cardinals other starters had a better year than Garcia.

Lance Lynn had been lights out as a starter during the regular season, but he was on the Cardinals playoff roster as a reliever. During the regular season, Lynn was fourth in the National League with 18 wins and he posted a 3.78 ERA in the midst of an All-Star campaign.

As a result of Garcia’s injury, Lynn will now shift back into the Cardinals’ starting rotation, according to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. Rookie pitcher Shelby Miller has also taken Garcia’s spot on the NLDS roster. This will make getting past the Washington Nationals in the 2012 NLDS a bit more difficult.

There is no denying that this move hurts the Cardinals bullpen. Lynn pitched fairly well in the pen during the Cardinals’ World Series run last year.

However, the Cardinals starting rotation arguably gets better by making Lynn a starter once again. If he could put together a few six inning shut out performances then the bullpen will not be needed as much, which would make his shift a lot easier to handle.

The key wild card that could determine how this injury impacts the Cardinals is Miller. He is just 22 years old and he has only appeared in six MLB games.

With that being said, Miller was rated as the eighth best prospect entering the 2012 season by Baseball America and he did pitch well in the month of September (via Baseball-Reference).

Sending a young, starting pitching prospect to the bullpen has worked out well for teams in the past.

In 2008, David Price was just 22 years old when he made five appearances in September. He was dominant enough to convince the Tampa Bay Rays to put him on their postseason roster.

Price delivered in the playoffs. Between the 2008 ALDS and ALCS, Price made five appearances and allowed just one earned run in 5.2 innings while striking out eight.

If Miller is able to replicate the performance that Price had, then the Cardinals will be in a good position to defend their title in 2012.

Between Lynn and Miller, the Cardinals could be able to replace Garcia without much of a problem. While losing Garcia is tough, the Cardinals have the pieces that can help them to overcome the loss.

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The National League Divisional Series between the Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals will turn one way or the other when the two teams meet for Game 3 Wednesday evening at Nationals Park.

The two games at Busch Stadium couldn’t have been more different. Game 1 produced a pitching duel that gave the Nationals the early advantage.

However, Game 2 was all Cardinals, as Carlos Beltran battered Nationals pitching en route to a 12-5 St. Louis victory.

Obviously, the team that can break the 1-1 tie will have a huge advantage and could close out the series in Game 4 Thursday night.

Here is a look at what matchups will decide Game 3 between the Cardinals and the Nationals.

Begin Slideshow

Up until the 10th inning of Game 3 in the National League Division Series between the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds, the Giants were hitting just .113 for the entire series.

Then the bats woke up.

Well, sort of.

Courtesy of Reds third baseman Scott Rolen, the Giants stayed alive in the series. Rolen’s second error of the series scored Buster Posey with the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th. Posey had reached with a single to lead off the inning, just the second hit in the game for the Giants.

While the normally sure-handed Rolen lent a helping hand—so to speak—the Giants are still pondering a complete lack of offense.

First, they’re completely confounded by Bronson Arroyo on Sunday, held to just one hit in seven innings. Tuesday night, Homer Bailey does the exact same, throwing a career-high 10 strikeouts to boot.

The Giants’ table-setters at the top of the lineup—Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro—are now a combined 2-for-24 in the series (.083). Pretty hard to score runs when your top two in the lineup provide that kind of impotence.

We are now seeing what is no doubt a troubling trend. Last year, the Giants posted the second-lowest team ERA in the majors, yet found themselves hitting the links in October because their offense was the second-worst in the majors.

This season, the pitching staff once again did their part, finishing seventh in the majors with a 3.68 ERA. The offense at least chipped in more than last year, scoring 718 runs to finish 12th in the majors.

However, it’s a punchless offense. The Giants finished dead last in the majors with 103 home runs. Only 31 of those came at home in AT&T Park. On Tuesday night, the Giants were saved by an error from a Gold Glove-winning third baseman. Thank heavens they didn’t need the long ball—Giants fans would have gone home disappointed.

Obviously, the spacious confines of AT&T Park don’t help the Giants’ cause offensively. Scoring just two runs in two home playoff games was clear evidence of that fact.

GM Brian Sabean clearly now needs to spend this offseason attracting some talent that can actually reach beyond the outfield with a few fly balls. Small ball isn’t working for the Giants. That’s now apparent.

It may work in the regular season against pitching staffs that aren’t playoff-caliber—not against a staff like the Reds, or even the Nationals or Cardinals, for that matter.

We saw what happens when a team relies completely on its pitching staff to carry it through the season. That’s why the Giants were sitting at home last October. This year, Sabean brought in some talent with Pagan, Melky Cabrera and later, Marco Scutaro and Hunter Pence.

Obviously, Cabrera’s new-found offense was fueled, and Pagan and Scutaro—while both are solid contributors—don’t have home-run power, especially at home. Ditto for Pence, who clubbed just seven homers in 59 games following his trade from the Phillies.

Sabean must find some power to complement his stellar pitching staff. Otherwise, even postseason appearances will be short-lived.

The Giants’ current season now falls on the shoulders of Barry Zito, who hasn’t started a postseason game since October 2006 with the Oakland A’s.

Lucky for Zito, he’ll have an offense hitting .126 to back him up.

Doug Mead is a featured columnist with Bleacher Report. His work has been featured on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, SF Gate, CBS Sports, the Los Angeles Times and the Houston Chronicle.

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Game 3 of the NLDS between the Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants was a pitchers’ duel. It was an exciting matchup that went into extra innings.

The San Francisco Giants were facing elimination and they needed a win to keep their World Series hopes alive.

San Francisco was able to pick up a 2-1 victory in extra innings to stay alive and cut the Reds’ series lead to two games to one. Now, the Giants will look to bring the series to a decisive Game 5 with a win on Wednesday.

Here is how Game 3 graded out in Cincinnati.

Begin Slideshow

Homer Bailey’s near second no-hitter in a month wasn’t enough for the Cincinnati Reds as the San Francisco Giants got a much needed 2-1 win.

Bailey struck out 10 and gave up just one hit through seven innings, but Ryan Vogelsong and the Giants bullpen helped San Fran keep pace before taking the lead in the 10th inning thanks to an untimely error by veteran Scott Rolen. 

Sergio Romo pitched a perfect ninth and 10th for the Giants to pick up the win, while Jonathan Broxton was saddled with the undeserved loss.

Let’s take a closer look at this back-and-forth pitcher’s duel that featured just three total runs and seven hits in 10 innings. 

Twitter Reaction

In case you were wondering, this is not how you win a playoff series (via ESPN Stats & Info):

Through 2 innings today, Giants starting position players hitting a combined 8-61 (.131 BA) this series.

—ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 9, 2012

Of course, batting average is a stat that will tend to look bad when pitchers keep throwing near no-hitters against you (via ESPN Stats & Info):

For 2nd straight game, Reds starter will take a no-hit bid into 5th inning. Arroyo went 4 2/3 before allowing hit in Game 2.

—ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 9, 2012

In Game 2, it was Bronson Arroyo who eventually gave up just one hit. On Tuesday, it was Homer Bailey, who is clearly no stranger to no-hitters. 

Heck, even Giants fans were willing to admit how dominant Bailey looked (via Minnesota Vikings’ Geoff Schwartz):

In an effort to hopefully jinx it (which I don’t actually believe in)…Bailey is going to no-hit the Giants tonight. He’s dominating rt now

—Geoff Schwartz (@GeoffSchwartz76) October 9, 2012

MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon points out that it’s been quite a long time since someone in a Reds uniform accomplished what Bailey did on Tuesday night:

The last #reds pitcher to strikeout 6 in a row in postseason was Hod Eller in 1919 World Series. You remember him, right? Big on Twitter

—Mark Sheldon (@m_sheldon) October 10, 2012

But Bailey wasn’t the only dominant pitcher in this game. After Ryan Vogelsong pitched five solid innings, Jeremy Affeldt came on for two extremely effective innings of relief. Comcast SportsNet’s Andrew Baggarly thinks he pitched well enough to earn a raise:

Jeremy Affeldt is making money for himself right now.

—Andrew Baggarly (@CSNBaggs) October 10, 2012

Ah, the power of the playoffs.

After some more ridiculous heat from Aroldis Chapman, one fan pondered what it would be like to face the Reds’ specialist. ESPN’s John Buccigross came back with some very intelligent advice:

“@friedgehnic: Would love one at-bat against Chapman. Just to see what it’s like.”–wear a diaper

—John Buccigross (@Buccigross) October 10, 2012

In case you couldn’t tell by Twitter’s obsession, there were a lot of impressive pitching performances in this one. 

Grades

Ryan Vogelsong, San Francisco Giants: A-

The only thing wrong with Vogelsong’s start was his ugly first inning, as he gave up three hits, a walk and a run. Because of that long, inefficient inning, the 35-year-old was only able to last five innings (95 pitches).

Still, he responded with four no-hit innings and left the Giants in a good position to win the game, which is something that Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner couldn’t do at home. 

Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants: B+

Posey had a rough start to his night with two strikeouts in his first three plate appearances, but the batting champ singled to start off the all-important 10th inning and scored the game-winning run.

Throw in the fact that he called 10 fantastic innings behind the plate for five different pitchers, and Posey put forth an underrated game in what turned out to be a classic pitcher’s duel. 

Homer Bailey, Cincinnati Reds: A+

I don’t usually give A-pluses, but yeah, this was a downright dominant performance.

Bailey, who has been arguably the league’s best pitcher over the past month, put his home struggles behind him and put together what will likely go down as one of the best outings of this year’s playoffs. The 26-year-old went seven innings, gave up one run on just a hit and a walk, and struck out 10.

He had the Giants hitters completely off balance as he worked the entire plate and changed up speeds brilliantly. 

Scott Rolen, Cincinnati Reds: F

Boy, the Reds really hit both sides of the spectrum here.

Rolen went 1-for-4 at the plate with two strikeouts. That mediocre performance can be excused. However, he also made the error in the 10th inning that cost the Reds the game. That can’t be excused. 

What’s Next?

The Reds now lead the series two games to one. Game 4 will take place Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET in Cincy. 

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In a best-of-five series, I always tend to look at Game 3 as a really pivotal game. On Wednesday night, the ALDS will head to the Bronx at Yankee Stadium, and the Yankees and Orioles will continue their series.

Hiroki Kuroda will take the ball for the Yankees, while Miguel Gonzalez will be starting for Baltimore. After the Yankees took Game 1 on Sunday night, 7-2, the Orioles rebounded to take Game 2 Monday, 3-2, tying the series up at 1-1.

As the teams head north, a lot of people have wondered if the Yankees can hang on and survive in the series against the Orioles, or if they are going to be doomed for another first-round exit.

Some people, like myself, have wondered going into Game 3 if it is a must-win for the Yankees. Personally, I think it is, and here’s why.

Let’s say the Yankees lose Game 3 and fall behind, 2-1, to a Baltimore team that has shown a lot of heart and determination over the season. Even though they aren’t as talented as the Yankees, the O’s have shown the entire baseball world that they can compete and hang with any team.

If the Yankees head into Thursday night’s game down 2-1, facing elimination, do they want to give the ball to Phil Hughes and trust him to save their season?

Of course, Joe Girardi could go with CC Sabathia on short rest and put his ace back on the mound if he has to, but I honestly doubt he wants to do that; he would probably rather save him for a Game 5, if needed.

Last year in the 2011 ALDS against the Detroit Tigers, the Yankees dropped Game 3 and went into Game 4 looking for A.J. Burnett to save their season.

Before the game, I, like many others, thought the Yankees were doomed, as Burnett had been so inconsistent during the year. But Burnett actually surprised a lot of people by pitching well and winning Game 4 to get the series back to Yankee Stadium for Game 5.

Again, do the Yankees want to have Hughes—who is still scheduled to start Game 4—be the savior and put that kind of pressure on him?

This is why I am looking at Wednesday night’s Game 3 as a must-win for the Yankees, because it takes a lot of pressure off the team and Joe Girardi. If the Yankees are up 2-1, Girardi has a lot of flexibility to mix and match his lineup. He would likely still go with Hughes and keep Sabathia ready for a Game 5, just in case the series gets that far.

I hate to put pressure on Kuroda, but he is by far pitching in one of the most important games of his career on Wednesday.

Against the Orioles in 2012, Kuroda was 1-1 with a 2.93 ERA in two starts. At home, Kuroda had much better numbers, posting an 11-6 record with a 2.72 ERA. Kuroda finished 2012 with a 16-11 record, which means he was 5-5 on the road.

I like the Yankees’ chances with Kuroda on the mound, but how will the offense do against Gonzalez? Against the Yankees, he’s 2-0 with a 2.63 ERA this season, which includes a win on Aug. 31 at Yankee Stadium when he pitched seven shutout innings in a 6-1 victory.

Gonzalez has pitched well against the Yankees, and Wednesday night could be another dose similar to what they saw against Wei-Yin Chen in Game 2.

If that is the case, Kuroda has to be on his A-game and can’t slip up for a rare bad night. Andy Pettitte didn’t have a bad Game 2, allowing three runs in seven innings, but his offense didn’t give him the run support needed to win the game.

Game 3 could either give the Yankees the momentum they need to take over the series, or it could put their backs against the wall, just like it did a year ago. Either way, Game 3 is a crucial one that the Yankees need to win.

Stay tuned, Yankees Universe.

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