Major League Baseball

A-Rod's HR, CC's gem sends Yanks to 3-1 lead

Published Oct. 21, 2009 6:11 a.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

Alex Rodriguez has done something remarkable in every game of his charmed October. CC Sabathia is settling for every time he takes the mound.

Together, they've got the New York Yankees within one win of a long-awaited return to the World Series.

Rodriguez homered in the third straight game of his outstanding postseason, Sabathia pitched eight resilient innings of five-hit ball on short rest, and the Yankees beat the Los Angeles Angels 10-1 Tuesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the AL championship series.


downlevel descriptionThis video requires the Adobe Flash Player. Download a free version of the player.


Rodriguez had three hits and scored three runs, while Melky Cabrera drove in four for the Yankees, who have built a commanding cushion in this once-wild series with power and pitching from their big-name, big-money stars.

"It's the best I've felt all year, no doubt," said Rodriguez, who is 6 for 16 with three homers and five RBIs in the ALCS. "I certainly feel free and liberated. It's the happiest I've been in a long time."

Johnny Damon added a late two-run homer for the Yankees, who could sew up their first trip to the World Series in six years with a win in Game 5 on Thursday night at Angel Stadium. New York's A.J. Burnett faces Angels ace John Lackey.

One day after the Angels handed New York its first playoff loss in an extra-inning thriller, the Yankees calmly asserted control with two early rallies before piling on five runs late - all backed by Sabathia's steady work on three days' rest for his second win of the series.

"This team's good. We have great players, Hall of Fame players," said Sabathia, who has won three of the Yankees' seven playoff games. "We've got all the confidence in the world."

With a two-run homer to left field that silenced an excited Anaheim crowd in the fifth, Rodriguez drove in a run in his eighth straight postseason game, tying the major league record. It was his fifth homer in New York's seven postseason games, matching Reggie Jackson's iconic 1977 effort for the second-most homers in a single playoff year for the Yankees.

share

Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Major League Baseball