Cliff Lee battles the Yankees in Game 3 of the ALCS tonight.
Texas couldn’t have a better ace on the mound tonight, as the Rangers look to take a commanding 2-1 lead and move one step closer to their first World Series.
Lee was absolutely dominant in his two starts against Tampa Bay in the ALDS: iIn 16 innings he allowed 11 hits, two earned runs, walked zero and struck out 21.
And last year he was just as good for the Phillies: He won all four of his decisions, allowed just seven ER in 40.1 innings and his strikeout to walk ration was 33-6.
That’s been one of the best postseason stretches in recent memory.
But does he rank as one of the 10 greatest postseason pitchers? Check out this list to find out.
Game 3, American League Championship Series, Cliff Lee of the Texas Rangers vs. Andy Pettitte of the New York Yankees.
“In my opinion he’s probably the best postseason pitcher of all time just by the number of wins and the number of rings he’s got,” Lee says of Pettitte.
However, it is Cliff Lee that has been doing things in the postseason that Andy Pettitte, or any other pitcher for that matter has ever done.
Making it look as easy as pie, Lee has mowed down anything put in his path.
Pettitte, asked what he thinks of Lee, responds: “You see everything that you want to see in a starting pitcher to be successful. He throws strikes. He throws quality strikes. He gets ahead. He changes speeds. And, you know, I think what is separating him from any other pitcher right now is really his cutter, how late it is.”
The Yankees will try to hit that cutter as hard as they can when Lee and the Rangers travel to Yankee Stadium on Monday night.
The series is tied 1-1 and Game 3 is looking like a momentum swing for either team.
Pettitte is the all-time leader in post season victories, with 19.
The most shocking stat is that of Lee’s, seven post season starts has garnered him a 6-0 record, with a 1.44 ERA.
Amazing.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi wanted to remind the media before Game 3, that Lee isn’t the only pitcher in this game, “The guy that’s getting lost in this is Andy Pettitte, and he’s pretty good.”
What is also getting lost in all of this Cliff Lee talk is the Yankees offense is still scary and no pitcher is invisible against them.
If the Yankees offense wants to hit Lee, they are going to need to do it early and often.
Waiting on your pitch isn’t going to work, being patient isn’t going to work.
In his seven post season starts, Lee has only walked six, while striking out 54.
The strikeout to walk ratio stat jumps out at me and tells me one thing, Lee will throw strikes often, and you got to jump on his pitches.
However, that cutter rivals Mariano Rivera’s and is going to be hard to it.
If anyone can hit Lee, the Yankees can.
With a left-hander going against the Yankees, Nick Swisher will likely take the number two spot in the lineup, while Lance Berkman will likely sit.
In two games this year, Derek Jeter has managed to hit Lee quite well, hitting 3-for-5. A couple of those hits went for extra bases, a double and a triple.
In the most surprising stat, Lee only walked three Yankees this year, Jeter had two of those, and also wasn’t a victim of one of Lee’s 16 strikeouts against New York.
Jeter could be a huge piece for the puzzle tonight if the Yankees want to score runs and win this game, and he could be the tone setter the entire evening.
If the Yankees want to defend their World Series title from last season and continue their quest to 28, winning this game is more huge then words can describe.
Follow me on Twitter @nyyrobinson.
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The Yankees are up against Cliff Lee tonight, and everyone seems to have counted them out.
Despite that fact, the Yankees have Andy Pettitte on the mound with the potential to make tonight’s game an instant Yankees classic.
Let’s take a look at this matchup by the numbers:
2010 Numbers
Lee: 28 G, 12-9 record, 212.1 IP, 3.18 ERA, 1.00 WHIP.
Pettitte: 21 G, 11-3 record, 129 IP, 3.28 ERA, 1.27 WHIP.
2010 numbers vs. respective teams
Lee vs. Yankees: 3 G, 2-0 record, 23.1 IP, 3.09 ERA, 0.94 WHIP.
Pettitte vs. Texas: 1 G, 1-0 record, 8 IP, 2.25 ERA, 0.88 WHIP.
Career numbers vs. respective teams
Lee vs. Yankees: 12 G, 6-4 record, 75.1 IP, 4.42 ERA, 1.35 WHIP.
Pettitte vs. Texas: 23 G, 11-9 record, 146 IP, 5.24 ERA, 1.57 WHIP.
2010 home/road splits
Lee on road: 15 G, 7-6 record, 112.1 IP, 3.53 ERA, 1.10 WHIP.
Pettitte at home: 12 G, 7-3 record, 69.1 IP, 3.89 ERA, 1.31 WHIP.
Career playoff numbers
Lee: 7 G, 6-0 record, 56.1 IP, 1.44 ERA, 0.78 WHIP.
Pettitte: 41 G, 19-9 record, 256 IP, 3.87 ERA, 1.32 WHIP.
Key matchups vs. Lee
Derek Jeter: 15-for-36 (.417), 4 2B, 1 3B, 5 BB, 3 K, 1.071 OPS.
Marcus Thames: 7-for-36 (.194), 2 2B, 3 HR, 0 BB, 15 K, .694 OPS.
Mark Teixeira: 10-for-30 (.333), 5 2B, 1 HR, 2 BB, 3 K, .994 OPS.
Robinson Cano: 6-for-28 (.214), 1 2B, 1 BB, 3 K, .491 OPS.
Nick Swisher: 8-for-25 (.320), 2 2B, 2 HR, 4 BB, 6 K, 1.059 OPS.
Key matchups vs. Pettitte
Ian Kinsler: 3-for-14 (.214), 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K, .552 OPS.
Nelson Cruz: 1-for-11 (.091), 4 BB, 2 K, .424 OPS.
David Murphy: 4-for-11 (.364), 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 K, 1.144 OPS.
Josh Hamilton: 3-for-10 (.300), 1 HR, 0 BB, 2 K, .900 OPS.
Jeff Francoeur: 5-for-8 (.625), 1 2B, 1 HR, 0 BB, 1 K, 1.750 OPS.
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The Yankees may have stolen a game in Texas, but heading into Game 3 of the 2010 ALCS, they can’t be happy about their situation.
With Cliff Lee on the mound, the Yankees look likely to fall back a game in the series, and with Lee going in Game 7, New York would certainly would like to rap this up early. Should Lee win tonight, Games 4-6 become almost must wins.
But Yankees fans shouldn’t write off Game 3 just yet.
Let’s face it: The Yankees are very fortunate they’re not preparing to face Cliff Lee tonight trying to avoid a 3-0 hole in the ALCS.
That reality wasn’t far off. If you want to break it down, you could say the Yankees were outplayed in 16 of the 18 innings in Arlington. Luckily, the two innings New York had the upper hand were the last two in Game 1’s unlikely comeback.
Now they face the much bally-hooed Lee, who it seems has been preordained for glory before he ever steps on the mound at Yankee Stadium.
Never mind the fact that the Yankees have actually had some success against the left-hander (including last year in the World Series), or that New York counters with one of the best postseason pitchers who ever lived.
Oh right. Andy Pettitte. People always seem to forget about Andy Pettitte. For those a little murky on the subject, here’s a quick refresher:
The way the Yankees’ chances in this game are being described, you’d think Melido Perez was getting a spot start. Don’t sleep on the type of competitor Pettitte is, either. You think he hasn’t noticed how the media has fawned over Lee and crowned him as the best left-hander since Sandy Freaking Koufax?
I don’t doubt that Lee will pitch well tonight. Just don’t be surprised if this becomes a battle of the bullpens, where both starters do their jobs well and we head to the eighth inning with a 2-2 game.
I think that’s more likely than the current populace prediction: Lee channels Steve Nebraska in The Scout, strikes out 27 straight on 81 pitches, hits two homers, cures A.I.D.S. then opens a successful chain of T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants around greater Dallas.
I think all that happened in The Scout. I tend not to see Brendan Fraser movies more than once, unless that movie is called Encino Man.
My friend Howie is a season ticket holder who also doubles as the most pessimistic Yankee fan alive. I’m usually talking him off the ledge — he famously declared the 2009 Yanks dead in May, and had he been around in the 1920s, he would have railed against Babe Ruth’s lack of closing speed on balls hit in the gap. But I can’t argue with his theory that New York needs to take two out of three in the Bronx to have any chance here.
Going down 3-2 just seems a steep hill to climb with the starting pitching being as suspect as it has been. Even CC Sabathia has dropped down to “show me” status until he can put together seven or eight strong innings.
Joe Torre always said that Game 3 was the most important game of any playoff series. I’m inclined to agree. Are the Yankees done if they can’t beat Lee and the Rangers tonight? Nah. But a sense of dread will certainly start to creep into the proceedings.
Stray thoughts:
Dan Hanzus writes the Yankees blog River & Sunset and can be reached at dhanzus@gmail.com. Follow Dan on Twitter @danhanzus.
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How many Major League Baseball pitchers can claim they own the New York Yankees?
Tonight, in Game 3 of the ALDS, the Bronx Bombers face crafty lefty Cliff Lee, who for the most part has shut them down over the last two seasons.
With the confidence that Andy Pettitte’s many successful postseason appearances afford, manager Joe Girardi is scheduled to start his wily southpaw in a bounce-back game.
Yankees’ left-handed ace CC Sabathia lasted only four innings in Game 1, but New York came back to win as it does quite often.
Mariano Rivera sealed the victory that left Yankees fans in high spirits.
But the Rangers bats gnashed their wooden teeth again early in Game 2 on Saturday in Arlington, as the team bounced back to tie the series.
Manager Ron Washington feels confident that his team will be more than competitive in the friendly confines of the Bronx in Game 3.
Why wouldn’t he be?
He has a pitcher who is on the short list of those who can claim they own the Yankees.
One of the names on that short list is current Philadelphia Phillies’ ace Roy Halladay, who pitched a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds in the first game of this year’s NLDS.
Last year Cliff Lee, the current Rangers’ ace, was the ace of the Phillies. He pitched a complete game victory for Philly in Game 1 of the 2009 World Series against the Yankees. Lee won Game 5 in the World Series as well.
This year he has had an outstanding postseason, and he is riding his hottest streak yet.
Cliff pitched the first game of the ALDS against Tampa Bay on Oct. 6 and threw seven innings, gave up one run, no walks and struck out 10.
Incredibly there have been eight postseason pitching performances of at least 10 strikeouts and zero walks in MLB history. Lee pitched the last four of them, including the two against the Rays.
In Game 5 against Tampa, he set the ALDS strikeout record and tied the MLB record with 21 in two starts. The Rays have a potent lineup, but they are known for going lame at times.
They were no-hit this last regular season.
Lee has no-hit stuff: a knuckle curve, circle change, two-seam fastball and a cut fastball.
In three starts this season he is 2-0 against the Yankees. One of those two victories came at Yankee Stadium, with another Lee complete game.
His 3.09 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and .209 batting average against the Yankees this year has been remarkable.
Those numbers are slightly better than his overall ERA and WHIP on the season.
Lefties are batting .288 against him this season. He is always around the zone and the Yankees hitters will have to step up tonight.
Bryan Gardner, Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Lance Berkman and Curtis Granderson will be the players to watch in the Yankees lineup.
Lee sealed a Rangers three-game sweep in Arlington on Sept. 12 by defeating New York, 4-1 in over eight innings.
Andy Pettitte is 1-0 against Texas this season, posting a 2.25 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and a .154 batting average against the Rangers, lasting eight strong innings.
The Yankees swept the Rangers then, back in April, when AJ Burnett was pitching well and Rich Harden was the Rangers’ ace.
But the Rangers scooped Lee up in a trade with the Seattle Mariners in July after a deal with the Yankees fell through.
Lee had cursed the New Yorkers in a different way this time by adding to their angst in the light of their pitching woes around that time.
The Yankees pitching staff appeared to be in danger after a spate of injuries and poor performances, but they find themselves three wins away from yet another World Series.
Lee solidified the Rangers’ staff by providing guidance and a good example on the field for lefty CJ Wilson, who performed admirably in the first game of this series.
By all rights, Texas should have won the first two games.
Now they face Pettitte, who is widely underrated even though he is usually money in the playoffs.
This season he has even more incentive to win the championship for former owner George Steinbrenner, who passed away earlier this season.
The Boss’ sons run the club now and the Steinbrenner family wants a championship even more than ever. Derek Jeter is one of the family, and he will make sure it happens starting tonight.
Prediction: The Yankees will lift the curse and defeat Cliff Lee tonight, 5-2.
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Before the pennant races concluded, many people thought, and wrote, that the Yankees did not want to win the American League East because they did not want to to possibly face Cliff Lee twice in a five-game series.
Once again, be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.
And the Yankees now have it.
They are in the same situation as the 2010 AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays were: Since they split the first two games in Arlington, they are now in a five-game series against the Rangers.
And Cliff Lee is starting Game 1 and, if necessary, Game 5.
Most Yankee fans thought they were getting a break when Lee had to pitch Game 5 in the ALDS and could not start Game 1 in Arlington.
I marvel at all the people who say that the Yankees should be happy that they got a split in Texas, “which is all they really needed, anyway.” Actually, the opposite is true.
When you win the first game on the road, nothing short of winning two should be acceptable.
It seems that Yankees fans (and many in the media) are already throwing in the towel in Game 3, assuming Lee will keep his masterful pitching performances going.
That may be the case, but it also can be far from the truth.
Lee has faced the Yankees three times this season, and is 2-0, 3.09 ERA. In the first game, Lee threw a complete game, allowing four runs while striking out only two hitters.
In his second start against New York, the Yankees rallied late, beating the Rangers in Texas. Although he struck out 11, Lee also gave up four runs this game. In his third start, Lee won 4-1, but walked three, his season high.
Twice in his three starts against the Yankees this year, Lee allowed four runs—so the Yankees have gotten to Lee this season. The issue in all three of those games this season was the Yankee starting pitching was atrocious.
Dustin Moseley, Javier Vazquez and Phil Hughes all were hit around by the opposition.
Even last year during the World Series, the Yankees lost twice to Lee, but after getting dominated in Game 1, they scored five runs off Lee in seven innings in his second start.
Again, by scoring five runs off Lee in Game 5 last year, they should have won the game, but A.J. Burnett was pretty bad that day.
I have all the confidence in Andy Pettitte tonight. The major league’s all-time winningest postseason pitcher is coming off a tremendous performance in the ALDS, but it was 11 days ago.
Unlike CC Sabathia, who has no command after longer rest, as he has gotten older, Pettitte is much better with longer rest between starts. Over the last three years, Andy is 4-2 with a 3.14 ERA on six-plus days rest, better than his overall numbers.
Looks like a good pitching matchup to me, a game the Yankees can win. In Lee’s 28 starts this year, Lee has allowed four or more runs in 11 games. And in those games, the opposing team was not patient at the plate, working the count, but were aggressive early in the count.
Lee threw primarily fastballs the first time through the order in his two games in the ALDS. In Game 1 at Tampa Bay, he threw only fastballs in the first inning when the Rays loaded the bases.
At that point, the Rays stopped being aggressive and did not score.
If the Yankees are aggressive early, and look to attack the first pitch fastball, they can score runs. You can not “pitch count” Lee out of the game, but need to bang him around and knock him out.
If the Yankees get four runs off Lee, they will win tonight.
Be aggressive early and let Pettitte do his thing.
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Before the postseason started, I predicted that the Texas Rangers would make the World Series. I didn’t write an article about it, but I did tell my friends. Everyone thought I was crazy. I got comments like, “Are you serious? There is no way they are beating the Rays!” Yeah OK.
Throughout the ALDS against the Rays, where the road team won every game, I was second-guessing my prediction. But it turns out I was right.
Fast forward to the ALCS against the Yankees. Well just continue reading.
It’s not going to be a sweep for the Yankees. The Rangers got their first postseason victory at home in their nearly 50 seasons with a 7-2 blowout win over the Yankees.
After a bullpen collapse Friday night, the Rangers were able to hold on to their lead. The Rangers’ bullpen was the complete opposite of what it was in their loss to New York on Friday. The Yankees were only able to obtain one hit in a little over three innings against the Rangers’ bullpen.
Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis pitched well into the sixth inning, and Texas threw in five relievers that completely shut down the Yankees’ star-studded offense. Y
ankees pitcher Phil Hughes had arguably one of the worst outings in ALCS history—the young pitcher had four innings of work, while surrendering 10 hits, along with seven earned runs. He also gave up three walks and struck out three. According to the Bill James Game Score rating system, Hughes had the third-worst ALCS pitching performance in baseball history, only behind Jim Perry (1970 Twins) and Fausto Carmona (2007 Indians). The rating system showed that Hughes scored a 14.
Texas’ Elvis Andrus got the Rangers off to a fantastic start, after an incredible steal of homeplate, putting the Rangers up 1-0. MVP candidate Josh Hamilton also stole second base on the play.
“Opportunity seemed right, so I took a chance. That’s the way we play. It worked. Got us going,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said about the play.
Outfielder David Murphy would then hit a solo shot in the second inning, putting the Rangers up 2-0. Michael Young would then double later in the inning, scoring Mitch Moreland.
Murphy would come back in the third inning, doubling to right field and scoring Nelson Cruz on the play, while extending the Rangers’ lead to 4-0. Bengie Molina proceeded to double, scoring Murphy on the play.
The Yankees would finally get on the board in the fourth inning when Lance Berkman singled and scored Robinson Cano—Berkman was thrown out at second, trying to extend the play.
In the fifth inning, Ian Kinsler got the lone triple of the night, scoring Cruz, putting the Rangers’ lead at 6-1. Moreland then singled and scored the aforementioned Kinsler. The Rangers were now looking at a blowout, and had the Yankees at a 7-1 lead.
Robinson Cano hit a 448-foot blast in the sixth inning, but it was too late. The Yankees would not get another run, and the game would end at 7-2.
Neftali Feliz came in the ninth inning and pitched near-perfect. He did surrender two walks in the inning, but struck out Derek Jeter to start the inning. That set the tone for the rest of the inning and after walking Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixiera, he was able to get Alex Rodriguez to ground out and Cano to fly out to end the game.
Game 3 will be on Monday at Yankee Stadium. Cliff Lee, who has won his last four starts in New York, will start for the Rangers. Andy Pettitte will start for the Yankees. But, that is Monday night, and the Rangers are looking forward to it.
With their win on Saturday, the Rangers ended their 10-game postseason losing streak against the Yankees. With the momentum on their side, they’re hoping that they can take a 2-1 series lead on Monday.
“That’s what they have been doing for us all year. That’s how we got to this point. (Friday) night, we didn’t get it done. We didn’t make any excuses about it,” Washington said after the game. “We took the whipping, we took a shower…I was going to give the ball back to those guys if it presented itself. It presented itself, they did a great job. I expected that.”
And we expected it, too, Mr. Washington.
By Tyler Ward : Sports Guys Universe; SJ Contributing Author
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