Dodgers, Yankees Closer To Matchup

C.C. Sabathia pitched the Yankees to a 4-1 victory over the Angels last night in Yankee Stadium.

The Dodgers and Yankees won yesterday with both teams one game closer to a World Series matchup between the two teams that used to play each other in the fall classic when the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn.

Dodgers 2 Phillies 1

The Dodgers-Phillies contest consisted of great pitching from Pedro Martinez and Vicente Padilla. Martinez pitched seven scoreless innings and limited the Dodgers to two hits while Padilla only allowed one run and four hits in seven and one-third innings.

Ryan Howard hit a solo homer in the fourth inning to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. Neither team scored again until the eighth inning when Juan Pierre scored the tying run on a Russell Martin forceout with Martin safe at first on a throwing error by Chase Utley.

Andre Ethier drew a walk later in the inning to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead which would be the final score.

Utley made a throwing error for the second game in a row making an errant throw to the right of first baseman Howard.

The game was played in 93 degree weather while Sunday night’s forecast for the game in Philadelphia shows 100 percent chance of rain with a temperature of 41 degrees and a 34 degree wind chill due to 13 MPH winds from the north.

Yankees 4 Angels 1

C.C. Sabathia pitched eight innings of one run baseball and allowed only four hits and struck out seven to take the win for the Yankees in a 4-1 victory over the punchless Angels. He has allowed only two runs in 14 innings this postseason for a 1.23 ERA while striking out 15.

John Lackey was the victim of three Angels errors including his pickoff throw that went past first baseman Kendry Morales.

Alex Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly to drive in the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning. Hideki Matsui singled in the second run of the inning and the Yankees held a 2-0 lead at the end of the frame.

The Angels scored their lone run in the fourth inning on a Kendry Morales single edging closer to the Yankees with a 2-1 score. Hideki Matsui doubled in another run in the fifth inning to make it 3-1 in favor of the Yankees.

Derek Jeter ended the scoring in the game with a single in the sixth inning giving the Yankees an eventual 4-1 win.

Angels-Yankees Game In Jeopardy

Today’s Angels-Yankees  game is in jeopardy due to a 90 percent chance of rain for the 7:57 ET game with 9 MPH winds from the NNE making the 45 degree weather feel like 40 degrees.

If this game is rescheduled for Sunday it could wreak havoc with the Fox NFL football games already scheduled unless it is played at night and if that happens the game would be in direct competition with the Phillies-Dodgers game on TBS and the NBC Sunday Night Football game.

World Series Scheduled To End November 5

The World Series is scheduled to end on November 5 if there are no rainouts and it lasts seven games.  The earliest it can end is November 1. Scheduling games this late is a recipe for disaster. It is possible we could see games canceled because of snow because of the early snows this fall.

What happened to the good old days when the World Series would be over by the end of the second week of October? I know the playoffs are all about money but I liked it better back in the eight team league days.

Hot Wild Card Team Can Win World Series

Back then a team had proven they belonged in the World Series by being on top of their league at the end of the season. Now a wild card team can wind up being world champion because they got hot at the right time.

I realize that teams clinched their pennants on the last day of the season even in the old days. However today a team that clinches on the last day of the season could be out of the playoffs a few days later today.

This year we will be seeing baseball, basketball and football games all being played at the same time until the end of the World Series. When you add NHL hockey season which starts today all four major sports will be in competition with each other thanks to the World Baseball Classic pushing the completion of the World Series back to November.

Today’s Matchup

Los Angeles Angels at New York Yankees

Gametime: 7:57 ET on Fox

Starting Pitchers: Joe Saunders will be making his first appearance of the 2009 postseason when he takes the mound tonight against A.J. Burnett who has allowed one run in six innings and has posted a 1.50 ERA this postseason.