New York is on the brink of elimination after suffering back-to-back blowout defeats at home to the Texas Rangers in the American League Championship Series.
Texas Rangers at New York Yankees
Texas captured a dominating 10-3 victory in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium and the team knows its close to its first World Series appearance in franchise history. “One game away, you have to be happy about that,” designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero stated. The Rangers started play as the Washington Senators in 1961 and no team has gone longer without ever playing in a World Series. “We know what our ultimate goal is,” third baseman Michael Young commented. “We know we’re still facing a very good club.” The club is hitting .307 in the series compared to the Yankees dismal mark of .198, which includes a .154 average with runners in scoring position. Texas has also managed to homer in each of the club’s nine games in the playoffs.
Rangers starting pitcher C.J. Wilson is set to make this third postseason start and second of this series, notching a no decision versus the Yankees in the opening game, as Texas collapsed and fell 6-5. He pitched seven strong innings and surrendered three runs on six hits, while issuing two walks and striking out four. The left-hander produced a 4-5 record and 2.91 ERA in 14 regular season road starts, giving up just four home runs in 89.2 frames, as opponents hit for a .201 combined average. In 20 career regular season appearances (three starts), Wilson is 0-3 with a 4.12 ERA.
New York has trailed in 29 of the 36 total innings in this series and is now just one loss away from elimination. “They’ve played better and they’ve hit better,” said Yankees captain Derek Jeter. “So when you have that combination, obviously we’ve gotten ourselves behind.” Another loss occurred in Game 4 last night, with first baseman Mark Teixeira suffering a hamstring injury, which will remove him from the playoff roster. Only six teams have rallied from a 3-1 series deficit in the best-of-seven LCS era, but the club is eager in the possibility of meeting Rangers starter Cliff Lee. “This series is far from over,” outfielder Brett Gardner said. “I believe we’ve got a very, very resilient team.” The club is a dominating 28-8 when the total is 8 to 8.5 and the total is 17-19 Over/Under in those games.
Yankees starting pitcher C.C. Sabathia will toe the rubber for a third time during the postseason and the club has won both of his starts thus far. He managed to last just four innings versus Texas in Game 1 of the series, giving up five runs and six hits, while issuing four walks and fanning just three. The left-hander posted an 11-2 record and 3.00 ERA in 16 regular season home starts this year, as opponents hit for just a .220 average. He made 13 daytime starts over the course of the year, going 8-3 with a 2.67 ERA, holding the opposition to an amazing .191 average. In 14 lifetime regular season outings versus the Rangers, Sabathia posted a 8-3 record and 4.29 ERA.
Bettors are likely to play the Rangers in this contest due to their undefeated record in road games this post season, while the Yankees are 21-5 in Sabathia’s last 26 home starts.
