The New York Yankees finally figured out how to score runs off of the Texas Rangers starting pitchers, but A.J. Burnett’s and the Yankees bullpen couldn’t stop Bengie Molina and the high-powered Texas offense.

Molina and Vladamir Guerrero combined for seven of the Rangers thirteen hits, leading the team to a 10-3 victory and 3-1 series lead over the Yankees.

The Rangers are now 5-0 on the road this postseason, and will have three chances to advance to the team’s first World Series.

After a quick first inning, the game had some controversy in the bottom of the second. Yankees second baseman hit a long drive to right field. Nelson Cruz attempted to rob Cano of the homerun, but had his glove grabbed by a Yankees fan in the first row. The ball bounced on top of the wall for a homerun, giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead.

Rangers Manager Ron Washington came out and argued that the play should be reviewed, but the umpiring crew decided that wasn’t necessary. Because Cruz had reached over the wall and at no point made contact with the ball, it wasn’t actually fan interference, but the umpiring crew probably should have taken advantage of instant replay given the high number of bad calls so far in the 2010 playoffs.

A couple batters later, Lance Berkman hit another long shot, which was also ruled a homerun. Ron Washington came out to argue the ball was foul, and the umpires overturned the call. Berkman later struck out, and the Yankees lead was still at 1-0.

The Rangers answered in the top of the third, scoring a pair of runs off of Burnett to take a 2-1 lead. Tommy Hunter, the Rangers starting pitcher, was unable to hold the Yankees and gave up a run in both the third and fourth innings. On the day, Hunter worked just 3.1 innings and allowed all three Yankee runs.

A.J. Burnett pitched well for the first five innings, but ran into trouble in the sixth. With two outs and a runner on second base, Burnett intentionally walked David Murphy to get to Bengie Molina. Molina promptly deposited Burnett’s first offering over the left field wall, giving the Rangers a 5-3 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Following his season of struggles, Yankees fans won’t be happy with another subpar performance tonight. A.J. allowed five runs in six innings and had runners on base all night. With the Yankees now down 3-1, many will likely question Joe Girardi’s decision not to go with CC Sabathia on short rest.

The Rangers added a few insurance runs off the Yankees bullpen, including two homeruns from Josh Hamilton (in the seventh and ninth) and another from Nelson Cruz (in the ninth). Hamilton has now hit four homeruns in the series.

Derek Holland pitched extremely well in relief, shutting the Yankees out over 3.2 innings while allowing just one hit. Although the Rangers ran into some trouble (the Yankees loaded the bases in the eighth against four Texas relief pitchers) they held the Yankees scoreless from the fourth inning on to get the win. After working out of the eighth inning jam, Darren Oliver remained in the game for the ninth and sealed the win for Texas.

Game Five will be tomorrow afternoon (4:00 PM ET) and will be a repeat of the Game One matchup between C.J. Wilson and CC Sabathia. Although Wilson pitched better in that game, the Rangers bullpen blew the lead in the eighth inning, allowing the Yankees to jump out to an early series lead.

The Yankees will have their backs up against the wall with Colby Lewis and Cliff Lee waiting if they are able to get past Wilson. Additionally, if New York is going to make a comeback they would have to win two games in Texas, where the Rangers won 51 games during the Regular season.

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

Cliff Lee keeps making headlines during the postseason. While New York Yankees starter, Andy Pettitte, the career leader in postseason wins, was sharp in Game Three of the ALCS against Lee and the Texas Rangers, the New York Yankees offense was completely shut down by Rangers ace Cliff Lee who led his team to an 8-0 lopsided win.

Lee didn’t allow a hit through the first four innings and allowed just two all night. Only one Yankee batter ever made it into scoring position and none of them made it to third base. Looking at the box score says it all when you notice of the top six batters in the Yankee line-up, only Mark Teixeira made it on base and that was on a walk.

When Lee struck out his tenth batter in the sixth inning he became the first pitcher in MLB history to strike out ten or more batters three times in one postseason, but he didn’t stop there ending with 13 K’s for the game. Additionally, Lee tied Bob Gibson and Randy Johnson for the most 10+ strikeout playoff games in a career (5).

The Rangers offense didn’t hit well against Pettitte, but got two quick runs in the first inning. Michael Young singled with one out and Josh Hamilton followed with his second home run of the series, giving the Rangers a 2-0 lead.

On the night, the Rangers had eleven hits, three that belonged to Michael Young and two that belonged to Josh Hamilton. Aside from Pettitte’s mistake in the first inning, he shut the Rangers lineup down, finishing the night with seven innings pitched and just the two earned runs allowed.

The Yankees were positioned for one of those magical comebacks on their home filed until the Rangers blew the game open in the ninth inning against the Yankees bullpen, scoring six runs and taking an 8-0 lead.

A 1-0 lead probably would have sufficed given the struggles the Yankees had against Lee. On the night, the Rangers hurler allowed zero runs in eight innings while striking out the 13 batters. Lee has now allowed just two earned runs in three starts this postseason, spanning 24 innings.

Neftali Feliz shut the Yankees down in the ninth; preserving the win even though it was a non-save situation. Yankees hitters struck out 15 times on the night while reaching base just three times.

Although a 2-1 hole is hardly insurmountable, the Yankees will need their offense to awaken to have a chance moving forward. The Yankees have now scored a grand total of four runs off Rangers starting pitchers in this series, and two of them were after C.J. Wilson was out of the game.

Game four is scheduled for 8:00 PM (ET) Tuesday night and will pit the Rangers Tommy Hunter against A.J. Burnett. Hunter allowed two earned runs in four innings in his lone start this postseason, while Burnett hasn’t pitched in the playoffs.

Game four is essentially a must win for the Yankees, who will have to face C.J. Wilson again in Game Five and possibly Colby Lewis and Cliff Lee again if the series goes back to Texas. Joe Girardi said he wouldn’t switch his rotation even if the Yankees lost tonight, so Burnett, who hasn’t pitched since October 2^nd, will have to put his struggles this year behind him for the Yankees to have a chance advancing to the World Series.

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

Scoring in each of the first three innings, the The Texas Rangers again started out with a bang against the New York Yankees but this time their bullpen was able to hold on for a 7-2 win and allow Texas to even the ALCS at one game apiece.

The Rangers jumped all over Yankees starter Phil Hughes, scoring one run in the first and a pair of runs in the second, third and fifth. All said and done, Hughes finished the day with a line of four innings pitched and seven earned runs allowed.

Four batters on the Rangers tallied multi-hit games. Mitch Moreland notched a pair of singles and Nelson Cruz rapped two doubles against the Yankees. David Murphy knocked the Rangers only homerun on the night, a solo shot off Hughes in the second inning. Elvis Andrus was the final Ranger with a pair of hits, and he also stole home to give the Rangers their first run.

For the second night in a row, the Yankees offense had trouble scoring off the Rangers starter. C.J. Wilson allowed just two earned runs in 5.2 innings while striking out six batters.

Robinson Cano was the only Yankee with two hits, one of them a solo homerun, and he scored both of the Yankees runs.

The Rangers bullpen, which imploded last night against the Yankees lineup, was sharp today, allowing just one hit over the final 3.1 innings. Although Neftali Feliz (who didn’t take part in last night’s meltdown) walked two batters in the ninth he was able to shut the door.

Game Three will be Monday Night in New York and will feature Rangers ace Cliff Lee, who has been dominant in his in both of his trips to the postseason. The Yankees will counter with veteran Andy Pettitte, whose 19 postseason wins are the most all-time.

Used with permission of the author.

 Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

Yankees vs. Rangers ALCS is off to exciting start. Although it was the Texas Rangers starting Game 1 off with a bang, in the end it was the New York Yankees shocking the Texas home crowd and walking away with a 6-5 win and 1-0 series lead.

After trailing most of the game, the Yankees came from five runs down with the help of a five-run eighth to take the first game of the seven game series on the road in Arlington.

CC Sabathia got the start for the Yankees and struggled right off the bat. A leadoff walk to Elvis Andrus was followed by a Michael Young single for the Rangers in the bottom of the first. Josh Hamilton followed it up with a three run homerun to give the Rangers the early lead. If not for a lucky bounce and nice play following a passed ball with men on base, the Yankees might have been in an even deeper hole.

The Rangers added a pair of runs in the fourth inning, and Sabathia finished his start allowing five earned runs in just four innings of work.

Texas starter C.J. Wilson was in control for most of the game. He threw six scoreless innings before allowing a solo homerun to Robinson Cano in the seventh.

Things came unraveled for the Rangers in the eighth. Wilson started the inning on the hill, and allowed an infield single to Brett Gardner and a double to Derek Jeter. Darren Oliver relieved Wilson, and walked both of the batters he faced, giving the Yankees bases loaded with no outs.

Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano and Marcus Thames then proceeded to hit back-to-back-to-back singles off three separate Rangers pitchers to give the Yankees a 6-5 lead.

The Rangers seemed to be off to a good start in the bottom of the eighth when Ian Kinsler drew a leadoff walk, but he was caught napping on first base and picked off by Kerry Wood.

After escaping the top of the ninth without allowing a run despite a leadoff double to Derek Jeter, the Rangers had one more chance to regain the lead off of Mariano Rivera.

Pinch hitter Mitch Moreland led off the bottom of the ninth with a single, and was quickly bunted over to second base by Elvis Andrus. The Rangers were then silenced by Rivera, who struck out Michael Young and got Josh Hamilton to hit a weak groundball to third to preserve the win.

The Yankees get a dramatic road win to open the series despite a less than stellar performance from Sabathia, which was almost needed knowing that Cliff Lee will be pitching the first game after the series shifts to New York.

Game Two will be Monday night with Phil Hughes (1-0, 0.00 this postseason) facing off against Texas’ Colby Lewis (0-0, 0.00 in one start this postseason).

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

Cliff Lee took the hump last night in the ALDS playoff game between the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays and before the night was over fanned 11 in an impressive outing that punched his team’s ticket to a series against the New York Yankees.

Regardless of which team won this playoff, the series was going to be historic. The Rays were fighting to be just the eighth team to overcome a 2-0 deficit in the Division Series after winning a pair of games on the road in Arlington.

Instead, it was the Rangers making history with their first ever series win in the postseason. Additionally, this was the first time in MLB history that the road team won every game of a playoff series.

Lee made the most of his start for Texas and shut down the Rays. He pitched a complete game, allowing just a single run and six hits to the solid Rays’ lineup. On the night, in addition to the 11 strikeouts, Lee showed great control walking zero.

Offensively, Texas scored early with aggressive base running. After getting on base to lead off the game, Elvis Andrus was on second base with Josh Hamilton up. As David Price delivered, Andrus broke for third. Hamilton hit a slow ground ball to Carlos Pena, who tossed to Price to record the out. Andrus never stopped running, hesitating just for a second at third base before taking off toward the plate. He scored without a throw, giving the Rangers a quick 1-0 lead.

After the Rays tied it up in the third, Nelson Cruz led off the fourth inning with a double. Cruz should have been on third had he not watched the flight of what he thought was a homerun. Cruz attempted to steal third with Vladimir Guerrero up, and Rays’ catcher John Jaso threw the ball into left field, giving the Rangers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Vladimir Guerrero had some fine base running of his own; scoring from second after the Rays failed to turn a double play in the sixth.

Ian Kinsler added a two run homerun off Rafael Soriano in the ninth, but Cliff Lee retired the Rays in order to send the Rangers to their first ever ALCS.

The Rangers will now face the New York Yankees in a best of seven series starting Thursday in Texas. While the pitching matchup hasn’t been officially set, it will likely be CC Sabathia vs. C.J. Wilson because Cliff Lee will be unavailable.

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

Bobby Cox managed his final game last night and like the first three games of the NLDS series, Game Four between the Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants went down to the final batter and was decided by one run.

Madison Bumgarner and Derek Lowe both threw quality starts before the bullpens eventually determined the outcome of the game. Aided once again by the Braves shoddy defense, the Giants scored the winning run following Alex Gonzalez’s second error of the game in the seventh inning.

Another dramatic ending was set up in the bottom of the 9^th inning when Giants reliever Brian Wilson allowed two base-runners before getting Melky Cabrera to ground out to end the game.

The series was filled with drama. Tim Lincecum turned in one of the most dominant playoff performances in Game One of the series; the Giants won the game 1-0 after umpire Paul Emmel erroneously called Buster Posey safe on a stolen base attempt in the fourth inning.

The Giants seemed in complete control in Game Two with a 4-0 lead until a late Braves rally off Brian Wilson tied the game at four. With the game tied, Troy Glaus started a key double play in the bottom of the tenth setting up Rick Ankiel to send a game-winning shot over the fence in the 11^th inning for the Braves win.

With the series moved across the country to Atlanta, Giants’ starter Jonathan Sanchez dominated the Braves before giving way to reliever Sergio Romo who allowed pinch hitter Eric Hinske to hit a two run homerun in the bottom of the eighth.

The Braves, who appeared ready to win another game in their last at-bat, were victims of Brooks Conrad’s terrible defense as the Giants scored the winning run on his third error of the day.

At the conclusion of the fourth game today, fans and the entire Giants team gave a standing ovation to Bobby Cox, who is retiring now that the Braves season is over. The future Hall-of-Famer walks away as one of the most accomplished and well respected men in all of baseball.

The win punches the Giants tickets to Philadelphia for the NLCS. While the Phillies will be heavily favored, we could get to see some amazing pitching matchups in the series. Game One will feature Tim Lincecum and Roy Halladay, who have combined for 18 shutout innings and 22 strikeouts in their two postseason starts.

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

The Cincinnati Reds finished the regular season with the best offense in the National League. They led all NL teams in batting average, homeruns and runs scored; yet in the NLDS the Reds high powered offense was no match for the Phillies H2O pitching staff.

Roy Halladay set the tone for the Phillies in the first game by throwing just the second no-hitter in postseason history. Halladay needed just 104 pitches and allowed a single walk to the Reds. The Phillies offense wasn’t terrific, but their four early runs off of Edinson Volquez was more than enough for Doc.

The Reds battled back in game two and took an early lead but were undone by terrible defense late in the game. Four Reds errors led to five unearned Phillies runs that helped overcome a less than stellar effort by Roy Oswalt (five innings, three earned runs allowed). The Phillies offense still didn’t play well (all eight of their hits were singles) but struck at the right times and helped the team to a 7-4 win.

Game three, much like game one, was all about the Phillies starting pitcher. Cole Hamels, who led Philly to a World Series Championship in 2008, tossed a complete game shutout while striking out nine Reds hitters. The offense again didn’t do much (only eight hits again) but two runs was more than enough for Hamels.

All in all, the Reds never really looked like they had a chance to win the series. Even if they had won Game Two, they would likely be facing Roy Halladay again in Game Four with their backs against the wall.

After finishing the regular season with the best record in all of baseball, the Phillies showed that they are the favorite to win the World Series with dominant pitching against the Reds talented lineup.

Although the Phillies offense hasn’t seemed to catch fire yet, they finished the season second in the NL in runs scored and should turn it on at some point this postseason.

If Philadelphia starts hitting the way they are capable of they may be unstoppable in both the NLCS and World Series.

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

When it comes to October baseball, people are normally quick to point out which teams and players have been on baseball’s biggest stage before.

The Phillies, Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia all have postseason experience and were expected to continue playing well in October. Alex Rodriguez, on the other hand, can’t seem to escape his postseason struggles (even though he’s actually hitting .301 in his playoff career).

Now we are two days into the playoffs and the most dominant pitching performances have been put in by players with no postseason experience.

Four pitchers have gotten starts in their postseason debuts so far, and they have combined for a 1.38 ERA in 26 innings. If you take Edinson Volquez out of the equation (he struggled against the Phillies, allowing four runs in just 1.2 innings) the other three starters making their playoff debuts have a perfect 0.00 ERA.

Roy Halladay started things off by throwing just the second no-hitter in postseason history on Wednesday. The Reds led the NL in runs scored during the regular season, so Halladay accomplished his feat against the NL’s most prolific offense.

Thursday, C.J. Wilson got his first playoff start against the Tampa Bay Rays and threw 6.1 shutout innings, striking out seven batters in the process. Wilson allowed just two hits and two walks against a solid Tampa Bay Rays lineup and left after throwing 104 pitches.

Tim Lincecum then finished off Thursday’s slate of games with a complete game shutout over the Altanta Braves. In what may have been the most dominant performance so far this postseason, Lincecum struck out 14 batters while allowing just two hits and a walk.

Heading into Friday’s slate of games, we will again get to see a pair of players make their postseason debuts. Both Matt Cain and Tommy Hanson (who are opposing each other) are coming off strong seasons but have never pitched in the postseason before.

As the year of the pitcher continues into the postseason, players are showing that it doesn’t take experience to shine on baseball’s biggest stage.

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

Roy Halladay has long been one of the best pitchers in baseball, yet hasn’t played on the playoff stage as the Blue Jays have consistently been below multiple teams in the AL East.

His highly anticipated playoff debut went smoother than anyone could have hoped, as he threw just the second no-hitter in playoff history (Don Larsen’s perfect game was the other) against the Cincinnati Reds.

Halladay, who threw a perfect game in the regular season, was nearly perfect tonight against the NL Central Champion. In just 104 pitches, Halladay retired 27 of the 28 batters that he faced. On the night, Halladay reach three ball counts against only three batters, which allowed him to keep his pitch count low despite eight strikeouts.

Cincinnati right fielder Jay Bruce drew a two out walk in the fifth inning; he was the only Reds batter to reach base all night.

Offensively, The Phillies scored four runs early in the game (one in the first and three in the second) and let Doc take over. The other two members of Philadelphia’s “H2O” pitching staff have postseason experience, but Halladay looked like he had been out there 100 times before and didn’t show any nerves.

Counting his regular season perfecto, Halladay became just the fifth pitcher in MLB history to toss two no-hitters in the same season (and first since Nolan Ryan back in 1973) and is the only player with one in the regular and post-season.

And don’t think that the Reds were a team that got to the postseason on pitching and defense alone. They led the NL in runs scored, batting average and homeruns during the regular season. Add the fact that this was in the postseason and in hitter friendly Citizens Bank Park and Halladay’s effort immediately gets some consideration for most impressive no-hitter of all time (perfect games excluded).

The Reds and Phillies don’t play again until Saturday, when Roy Oswalt (PHI) will face Bronson Arroyo (CIN) as the Reds look to wake their bats up.

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

Following a phenomenal September in which he led the Atlanta Braves into the playoffs; Derek Lowe was named the National League Pitcher of the Month.

Lowe dominated in September, winning all five of his starts while posting a minuscule 1.17 ERA over 30.2 innings. With a 29:3 K:BB ratio, Lowe dominated hitters and finished the year with his best streak as a member of the Atlanta Braves.

Since signing a four year, 60 million dollar contract with the Braves before the 2009 season, Lowe had been a disappointment, winning games almost despite himself. With the playoffs coming up, Lowe can continue to show that the signing wasn’t a mistake if he can continue to pitch well.

With his dominant September coming on the heels of one of the worst September performances in his career (6.23 September 2009 ERA) the Braves look extremely wise for skipping Lowe’s first scheduled start of the month to give his arm some extra rest.

A sinker-ball pitcher who typically gets a ton of ground balls, Lowe’s impressive strikeout numbers may be even more surprising than his dominant ERA. Both his K/9 and K/BB ratio were the highest for any month during his tenure in Atlanta.

For the Braves, Lowe’s resurgence couldn’t have come at a better time. With Tim Hudson struggling to replicate his impressive first half, Jair Jurrjens dealing with an injury and Mike Minor fighting through arm fatigue, Lowe stepped up as the team’s ace and led their run to the NL Wild Card.

Lowe is currently slated to toe the rubber for the Braves in game one of their playoff series (he would have been the go-to guy had the Braves played in a one-game playoff) against Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants. Lincecum also had a fine September (5-1, 1.94 ERA) so both offenses will likely struggle to score runs.

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC