MLB - Angels Sweep the Yankees in Three-Game Series
By Ally White
In first place of the American League West, the Los Angeles Angels swept the New York Yankees in the three-game series during the weekend, winning 10-6 in the first game, 14-8 in the second game and finally 5-4 in the last meeting on Sunday.
With these three losses the Yankees are 51-37 for the regular season, and at second place of the American League East. In the six meetings between the Angels and the Yankees this season, Los Angeles has won 4, a statistic that does not bode well for the 26-time World Series champion, the New York Yankees.
During the first game, the Angels were down by four after playing without Torii Hunter and Vlad Guerrero, but they got the help and contribution first of Kendry Morales, who had a three-run homer and then of Erick Aybar, who hit another homer, and last of Chone Figgins, whose go-ahead triple gave the Angels the game at 10-6. It must be mentioned that even though the Yankees gave a great offensive performance, their weak bullpen led to their defeat.
On Saturday’s game, the Yankees were once more up in the score with a 4-1 run during the first 4 innings, but the Yankees’ pitcher Andy Pettitte allowed the Angeles to score 7 runs in the fifth inning to take the lead. Then in the 8th inning the Yankees gave up 4 more runs to lose the game again with a score 8-14.
Following Sunday’s game, Angels pitcher John Lackey had incredibly solid throws during the first seven innings, whereas the pitcher of the New York Yankees, CC Sabathia, couldn’t hold the Angels, allowing 5 runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings.
In the seventh inning the Yankees had a chance to even the score but in spite of Jorge Posada’s valiant effort, the Yankees couldn’t change the final scoring during the last two innings. The Los Angeles Angels took yet another victory.
In short, even with the great performance of Alex Rodriguez, who hit three homers and drove in five runs in the three-game series, the Yankees couldn’t get the job done in Anaheim since their pitching wasn’t as good as it could have been; the Angels, on the other hand, had three great pitching performances and some great batting plays that gave them their three victories.
With this week’s All-Star game, the Yankees are expecting to reorganize and fight back to return to their best performance. Coach Girardi expects this week will be great for restoration and resting for his players.
"We can't let this carry into Friday. We have a few days off to regroup. We have been playing good baseball. We didn't necessarily play so well here, but you are going to go through those streaks. Let's just end it Friday and get back to what we are used to doing," stated Girardi.
On the other hand, for the Angels this is a great accomplishment that has given them first place in the AL West and the motivation to keep going stronger in the league.
The next game for the New York Yankees will against Detroit on July 17th, whereas for Los Angeles Angels the following meeting will be against Oakland on July 16th.
About the Author
Ally White is a top senior copy writer on MLB games and sports action for the online sports betting: http://www.instantactionsports.com. Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety on your site, make sure to leave all links in place and do not modify any of the content.