ALDS finale: New York Yankees fight home ground war – MLB Preview
The New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers with two wins apiece are looking to battle it out in the American League Division Series Game 5. The winner will advance to the American League Championship Series.
Winning the last game in a dominating manner, the American League Champions, New York Yankees will have a psychological advantage over the Tigers. There batting camp will be at the height of confidence to subdue the opposing pitchers. However, the Yankees
will be looking to put in a tremendous performance and avoid any errors as the Tigers bull-pen has the ability to alter the results of a game in no time.
Yankees will have home ground advantage and looking at their track record, a perfect performance can be predicted. This season at home, the Yankees entered in 83 outings and managed to grab victory in 52 of these outings. In the first half, they played 53
games and snatched 30 while in the second half their performance improved and the club took 22 wins out of 34 games.
However, their post-season record was not considerably impressive in the last two outings they played at their home ground. Starting the playoffs at Yankee Stadium ended up in the club’s favour and they overpowered the opposition, getting nine runs to grab
a dominating 9-3 triumph. The club, however, had to face a close 5-3 defeat in the second match-up.
The game the Yankees lost at home was started by Freddy Garcia, who allowed six hits, including a game-starting homer and four runs in just over five innings. Garcia was completely out of focus as his 12-year-career was at stake. The 35-year-old right-hand
hurler was under a tremendous amount of criticism and was considered a trouble starter for the club.
Girardi, however, was not so angry with his pitcher, as he provided full back-up to his hurler. He did not consider a veteran pitcher a source of loss. Girardi’s opinion might have been due to the fact that he knows that pitchers are always in need of little
appreciation after such a loss.
The Yankees have now employed Ivan Nova for the fifth game. The 24-year-old was a catalyst as the team won to start their post-season journey. Nova gave away only two runs and four hits in just over six innings to help the Yankees batting to pile up nine
vital runs. Nova, allowed four walks, but his fastballs and changeups worked.
The right-hand pitcher also had a strong track record in this season. He has 16-4 governing proof with a 3.70 ERA in 27 starts. Although the number of strike-outs are below average, but his ability to hold the opposition scoreless, has helped him create
damage.
A game, that has become a do-or-die situation for both clubs, will be a real test of for the young pitcher. Yankees’ batting line-up will be looking to repeat their same fourth inning performance to help their pitcher drive the club into the most important
game of the 2011 season. A finale is likely to be seen by the packed Yankees Stadium, on Thursday night.
It will be interesting to see how the Yankees manage to carry their winning momentum in Game 5, as the Tigers are also performing brilliantly in the series. It will be a true test for both teams, with the winner advancing to the American League Championship
Series and moving one step closer to the coveted World Series.
Tags: