The Los Angeles Angels were able to defend their first game at home, with a thrilling extra innings win.  Jeff Mathis was the hero in game three when he drove in Howie Kendrick for the 5-4 11th inning win.  Although Mathis was the hero, manager Mike Scioscia is going with Mike Napoli as his starting catcher tonight in game four.  There is good reason for this though.  The Yankees are starting their ace C.C. Sabathia and Napoli was 8-12 (.667 avg) against Sabathia in the regular season.  He also had one of only four hits the Angels got off Sabathia in their game one loss.

Game three was a big momentum swing for the Angels and I think they should be able to ride that momentum to another home win to even the series.  If they don’t win tonight, I think they will be done.  They have Scott Kazmir starting, so if Kazmir can keep the game close with Sabathia, then the Angels may be able to get themselves another late game win.  He needs to be careful with Alex Rodriguez though, who has been a home-run machine this posteason.  Hopefully the Angels’ hitters can get to Sabathia early though, since the Yankee ace is pitching on short rest.  This has been an exciting series, with two games decided in extra innings.  I am expecting another exciting close one tonight, with the Angels edging out the Yankees to even the series.

The Los Angeles Angels are now down 0-2 in their ALCS against the New York Yankees, and errors have really been hurting their chances in this series.  The Angels had three errors in their 4-1 game one loss where C.C. Sabathia shut them down, and a solid start by John Lackey was wasted.  They followed that poor defensive performance with another one in game two, as they had two errors.  None were more costly than Maicer Izturiz’s 13 inning throwing error, as Jerry Hairston Jr. came around to score the game winning run on the play.

The Angels got a huge, clutch RBI single from Chone Figgins in the top of the 11th to put the Angels up 3-2.  That lead did not last very long though, as Alex Rodriguez hit a lead-off homer in the bottom of the 11th to tie it up.  It stole all of the momentum as Yankee fans went nuts and the 13th inning error by Izturiz handed them the victory.  The Angels really need to sharpen up their defense or they will be swept.  I think they can turn things around at home and the nice California weather will be a good change after the terrible conditions in New York.  With Alex Rodriguez acting more like Derek Jeter this October, the Angels have their hands full.  David Robertson got the win for the Yankees and Ervin Santana got the loss for the Angels.

The Los Angeles Angels are taking on the New York Yankees in the ALCS, and game one begins Friday night in New York.  The Angels need another great start from John Lackey, who went 7.1 innings in game one of the ALDS against the Twins where he held them scoreless.  He only gave up four hits and struck out four, and the Angels would like Lackey to make a statement in game one and slow down the hot Yankee bats.  Lackey will have his hands full with Alex Rodriguez, as he went 5 for 11 with two homers and six RBIs against the Twins.  If Lackey can shut Arod down in game one, then maybe it will get in his head and he will struggle all series like he did in past postseasons.

The Angels bats will face a challenge in Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia.  The big lefthander pitched well in the ALDS against the Twins, where he went 6.1 innings and gave up one earned run.  Sabathia is one of the top pitchers in the game so the Angels will need players like Bobby Abreu and Vladimir Guerrero to continue the hitting they did in the ALDS.  Abreu went 5 for 9 and took five walks, while Vlad went 4 for 10 with 2 RBIs including the series winner.  Both teams are hot coming into this series and it should be a  great match-up.  The weather may cool off both teams though, as the New York weather has been awful lately with forecasts not looking good for game one tomorrow night in the Bronx.

A lot of people were expecting the Los Angeles Angels to get beat down by the Boston Red Sox in their ALDS match-up, especially since the Red Sox have been dominating the Angels in recent postseasons.  The Angels reversed their fortunes this year against the Red Sox though and completed the sweep of the Red Sox last night in Boston.  Scott Kazmir did not pitch great for the Angels, giving up five runs in six innings.  The Red Sox had a 5-1 lead through four innings and things were not looking good for the Angels.

The Angels bullpen did a great job in this game as well as the whole series, and gave the Angels offense the opportunity to get back in the game.  Bobby Abreu had a huge game for the Angels with three hits, two runs scored, and an RBI.  Vlad Guerrero was the hero though, as he had a two-run game winning single in the 9th.  Brian Fuentes was able to hold the Red Sox off in the ninth and got the save.  The Angels scored three runs in the ninth off of Red Sox closer Jonathon Papelbon, who is usually lights out.  The Angels are squaring off against a very hot New York Yankees team in the ALCS, and both teams are playing great right now so it should be a very good series.  The Angels seemed determine to end the recent postseason struggles they have been having in recent years but they will have a great challenge in the New York Yankees.

The Red Sox were supposed to have a huge edge in the bullpen but the Angels are proving that wrong. Brian Fuentes, Darren Oliver and Kevin Jepsen have combined to work 3 1/3 scoreless innings allowing only 2 hits and 1 walk while whiffing 2 batters. With the starters working deep into the game is has masked what had been a problem earlier this season for the Angels. But, the bullpen is looking sharp so far for the Angels in the playoffs and they have their fingers crossed hoping it will continue.