The New York Yankees are a team filled with above-average players at every position.  From the every spot in the lineup, they are able to hurt you.  Their pitchers are big-game performers who step up on baseball’s grandest stage.

So, you’d figure that they have a leg up on most other major league baseball teams.  In no way do they need help from other teams.  On Friday night, they got plenty from the Los Angeles Angels.

The Bronx Bombers beat the Angels, 4-1, in Game One of the American League Championship Series.  A masterful pitching performance from C. C. Sabathia, and three Los Angeles errors boosted the home team to victory.

Guerrero had the only extra base hit of the night off of Sabathia.

Sabathia gave up 4 hits, struck out 7 and walked only 1 in this game.  In his first postseason with the Yankees, he has been outstanding – posting a 2-0 record and a 1.23 ERA thus far.  He had the Angels’ hitter off balance all night.

Angels’ outfielder Torii Hunter:

“CC was not cold at all. Man, I faced him a lot in Cleveland, when I was in Minnesota, it was a division rivalry. The guy always pitched good in the cold. He’s got a lot of meat, now. He’s a big boy.”

Yankees’ outfielder Johnny Damon:

“That’s why we got CC. To be a workhorse during the season, of course, but to shut down teams in the postseason.”

The Angels committed some fielding miscues that gave New York some opportunities – which they took full advantage of.  Johnny Damon scored on an infield pop-up that third-baseman Chone Figgins and shortstop Erick Aybar both let drop in-between them.

“One of us has got to catch it. Pretty simple,” Figgins said. “The mistakes that we made cost us.”

“I thought he was going to catch it,” Aybar said. “We didn’t communicate well.”

In addition, Angels’ starter John Lackey committed a throwing error on a pick-off attempt.  Centerfield Gold-Glove winner Hunter charged a base hit too aggressively, allowing the ball to kick up off the heel of his glove and over his head.  These miscues turned extra bases into extra runs.

Angels’ manager Mike Scioscia:

“We haven’t seen our guys crack the door open for a team like we did tonight in a long time. And the Yankees are going to take advantage of that.”

For Game Two, they’d better make sure that the door is closed and pad locked.

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