Major League Baseball: Master Lee tames the New York Yankees game 3 (Part 4)
The New York Yankees were always going to be in the best situation when they were going to host the Texas Rangers at home in the American League Championship. The team that had been heavily favored to win the World Series was going
to face off against a club that it practically beat in every playoff series that it had featured in. The visitors were however, robust from their contribution in making Major League Baseball history with their first series clinch in the post season. The opportunity
to win the World Series was split open and there was a major chance for the roster to prove to the fans that it doesn’t take money to decide a champion at the end of the day.
The Yankees were ruling the spectators’ expectations for a win. The side had a hard take on going up against one of the top teams in the American League. They had taken the easy route to the championship when they went against
the Minnesota Twins in the playoffs season. However, in the championship, the task turned harder and it was the Rangers who came out of the first bout, victorious.
The Rangers were enjoying the situation to the limit. They have a fairly medium priced squad and their players are more focused in the American League than the top seeded ball clubs in the division. They’re West title claim is
one that has come after 1999; 11 years. In other words, the last time they progressed through the stages of the post season was a long time ago. Of that roster that existed at the time, only Michael Young remains in the side.
The Yanks were looking for a win and with Carsten Charles Sabathia scheduled to feature in the 5th game; Andy Pettitte made his way to the mound and pitched for the side. The 38 year old ball thrower had a long history
of playoff history and his task was to render the opposition hit less. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be the case as Josh Hamilton struck gold for the Texans with a 2 run homer that he smashed 346 feet towards the right. Young was one of the scorers from the
hit and this led to a 2 – 0 score line.
The Yankees were ineffective and their efforts were rendered useless by Cliff Lee’s superb pitching. The man who had gone in two matches with 10 or more strike outs in the playoff series, thus far, was optimally throwing the ball
in tight areas.
The Rangers kept the pressure on the reigning World Series champions and this was a feature that allowed them to prosper in the strike zone with the hitters. By the end of the 8th inning, the Yankees were still scoreless.
But, that didn’t change things for the Rangers. They started off their 9th inning with Hamilton who pushed a double to the center. Vladimir Guerrero came in next and he singled to the left, getting Josh on 3rd base.
Julio Borbon took Guerrero’s place and it was Nelson Cruz who introduced himself to the bullpen. He didn’t waste time in doing what was necessary for him to do. The big man stroke the ball for a single to the left and got Hamilton
threw for the 3rd run. David Murphy was the next to walk in and he was following Ian Kinsler who struck out earlier. Nelson Cruz had stolen second but when Murphy was walked to the first, the game was setup with full bases.
The Yankees were on the back foot again, this time. They had the ample chance to rectify their status in the match but with no decent chance against Master Lee, the struggle was entering another dark zone. The hosts were down and
now they were about to face one of the biggest challenges in the fixture.
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