A.J. Burnett blasted in the 6th as Texas Rangers beat up Yankees 10-3, grab commanding 3-1 ALCS lead BY Mark Feinsand DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER For five innings, A.J. Burnett did his job as well as the Yankees could have hoped. In the sixth, Joe Girardi spoiled the feel-good story. A questionable decision to put the go-ahead run on base intentionally came back to bite Girardi and the Yankees, as Bengie Molina swatted a three-run homer, lifting the Rangers to a 10-3 win in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series. Texas now stands only one win from its first World Series, taking a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven ALCS. The Bombers will ask CC Sabathia to save their season for at least one more game, sending the big lefty to the mound Wednesday afternoon against fellow southpaw C.J. Wilson in a do-or-die Game 5 for the Yankees. Burnett held the Rangers to two runs over the first five frames, while the Yankees' struggling offense scratched out three runs in the first four innings against Texas starter Tommy Hunter. But Molina's home run turned the tide in Texas' favor, then the Rangers' bullpen shut the Yankees down over the final five innings. Derek Holland earned the win with 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. The Yankees will try to become the 11th team in baseball history to come back from a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-seven series, the first since the 2007 Red Sox won three straight to beat the Indians in the ALCS. They'll likely have to do so without the services of Mark Teixeira, who left Tuesday night's game in the fifth inning with a strained hamstring. The last team to overcome a 3-1 deficit with the final two games taking place on the road was the 2004 Red Sox, who overcame a 3-0 hole against the Yankees in the most epic collapse in history. Pitching in a game for the first time in 17 days, Burnett managed to accomplish something none of the other three Yankees starters could do, holding the Rangers scoreless in the first inning. With the Stadium crowd firmly in his corner, Burnett looked very determined from the outset. He retired the first six batters he faced, recording three strikeouts in the first two innings. Robinson Cano gave the Yankees a lead in the second with a solo homer to right field, though it wasn't without controversy. As Nelson Cruz jumped for the ball at the right-field wall, a fan in the front row appeared to grab his glove, but right-field umpire Jim Reynolds ruled that the ball would have gone out anyway, calling it a home run. "The ball clearly went out of the ballpark, but he didn't feel like the fans came on the field and impeded him (the outfielder) from getting to it," Texas manager Ron Washington said on the TBS broadcast.
I watched the game. It was amazing how quickly Texas pounced on NY. They rocked the Yankees in the final few innings. It was crazy.
The Rangers are my favorite american league team, and have been since the 1970s. I'm shocked, though, at how they can beat up on the Yankees with their stacked roster.
Yup. I fully expect Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, and Adam Dunn to be Yankees. pitching rotation: Lee - Sabathia - Hughes - Pettite -- ??? 1b tex 2b cano 3b aroid ss jeter rf gardener / swisher lf crawford cf granderson c posada dh dunn Thanks Texas for taking 3 big FA's off the market.
